Making Buildings Hospitable with Swifts
Each year, between 1200 and 2400 pairs of black swifts (Apus apus) land in Brussels’ districts. Through voids and cracks in buildings, they reach cavities and holes in direct flight; this makes it harder for humans to notice these birds who mostly live flying, high up in the sky. Swifts have their...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Conference Object |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2078.3/238707 |
id |
ftunistlouisbrus:oai:dial.uclouvain.be:boreal:238707 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunistlouisbrus:oai:dial.uclouvain.be:boreal:238707 2024-05-12T07:56:54+00:00 Making Buildings Hospitable with Swifts d'Hoop, Ariane USL-B - Centre de recherches et d'interventions sociologiques (CESIR) 2021 http://hdl.handle.net/2078.3/238707 eng eng info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/University of Cambridge/Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship/ boreal:238707 http://hdl.handle.net/2078.3/238707 urban ecology Species exinction habitat multispecies studies bird info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject 2021 ftunistlouisbrus 2024-04-18T17:20:51Z Each year, between 1200 and 2400 pairs of black swifts (Apus apus) land in Brussels’ districts. Through voids and cracks in buildings, they reach cavities and holes in direct flight; this makes it harder for humans to notice these birds who mostly live flying, high up in the sky. Swifts have their own ways of inhabiting these places. They circumscribe suitable nesting sites by doing "sound roundsâ€. They weave nests with all kinds of materials: feathers, grass, leaves, butterflies, pieces of plastic, etc. They are highly philopatric: they always return to the same breeding area. Yet, in densely urban neighbourhoods, the dynamics of building construction, renovation and isolation devastate those discreet homes and hence contribute to the disappearance of their inhabitants. For over two decades there has been a growing concern over the fate of the Brussels’ swifts and their living places. This paper explores urban sites where swifts’ homes have become inhospitable to them. It articulates ethnographic research with scientists and amateurs activists who experiment with more caring forms of cohabitation with these fascinating birds. How these multispecies places are re-constituted to address species loss? In the wake of Extinction Studies (van Dooren, Flight Ways) and Philosophical Ethology (Despret, Habiter en oiseau), the descriptions unfold the dilemmas and compromises, modes of attentiveness and responsiveness that are emerging in these sensory worlds. These ethical issues call to critically rethink the scientific notion of “habitatâ€, that can no longer be limited to the physical parameters and biological components of a location. Conference Object Apus apus DIAL@USL-B (Université Saint-Louis, Bruxelles) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DIAL@USL-B (Université Saint-Louis, Bruxelles) |
op_collection_id |
ftunistlouisbrus |
language |
English |
topic |
urban ecology Species exinction habitat multispecies studies bird |
spellingShingle |
urban ecology Species exinction habitat multispecies studies bird d'Hoop, Ariane Making Buildings Hospitable with Swifts |
topic_facet |
urban ecology Species exinction habitat multispecies studies bird |
description |
Each year, between 1200 and 2400 pairs of black swifts (Apus apus) land in Brussels’ districts. Through voids and cracks in buildings, they reach cavities and holes in direct flight; this makes it harder for humans to notice these birds who mostly live flying, high up in the sky. Swifts have their own ways of inhabiting these places. They circumscribe suitable nesting sites by doing "sound roundsâ€. They weave nests with all kinds of materials: feathers, grass, leaves, butterflies, pieces of plastic, etc. They are highly philopatric: they always return to the same breeding area. Yet, in densely urban neighbourhoods, the dynamics of building construction, renovation and isolation devastate those discreet homes and hence contribute to the disappearance of their inhabitants. For over two decades there has been a growing concern over the fate of the Brussels’ swifts and their living places. This paper explores urban sites where swifts’ homes have become inhospitable to them. It articulates ethnographic research with scientists and amateurs activists who experiment with more caring forms of cohabitation with these fascinating birds. How these multispecies places are re-constituted to address species loss? In the wake of Extinction Studies (van Dooren, Flight Ways) and Philosophical Ethology (Despret, Habiter en oiseau), the descriptions unfold the dilemmas and compromises, modes of attentiveness and responsiveness that are emerging in these sensory worlds. These ethical issues call to critically rethink the scientific notion of “habitatâ€, that can no longer be limited to the physical parameters and biological components of a location. |
author2 |
USL-B - Centre de recherches et d'interventions sociologiques (CESIR) |
format |
Conference Object |
author |
d'Hoop, Ariane |
author_facet |
d'Hoop, Ariane |
author_sort |
d'Hoop, Ariane |
title |
Making Buildings Hospitable with Swifts |
title_short |
Making Buildings Hospitable with Swifts |
title_full |
Making Buildings Hospitable with Swifts |
title_fullStr |
Making Buildings Hospitable with Swifts |
title_full_unstemmed |
Making Buildings Hospitable with Swifts |
title_sort |
making buildings hospitable with swifts |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2078.3/238707 |
genre |
Apus apus |
genre_facet |
Apus apus |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/University of Cambridge/Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship/ boreal:238707 http://hdl.handle.net/2078.3/238707 |
_version_ |
1798837300370604032 |