Swift Nestboxes and the Circular Economy

1. Summer visitors
2. Supporting Swifts
3. Purchasing a Swiftbox
4. Model 30 Swift boxes
5. EuroCell uPVC roof
6. Swift Bricks
7. Attracting swifts
8. The Haringey Swift Group
9. Arranging Installation of Swiftboxes
10. Swiftmapper
11. Benefits of Swift Nestboxes:

Summer visitors

Swifts are social birds that nest in colonies. Migratory in nature, they spend their winters in South Africa and return to the UK around May to breed. The one-year-old birds return later and race around in groups, their shrieking calls evoking the essence of mid-summer—a beautiful and captivating spectacle to witness. Swifts are long lived, reaching speeds of over 60mph, being great aerial acrobats and nesting on vertical surfaces, swifts have few natural predators.

Supporting Swifts

Unfortunately, suitable nest sites are becoming scarce. However, it’s simple to provide a home for these remarkable birds by installing a nest box on the gable end of a house or high under the fascia boards.

Purchasing a Swiftbox

This year, we have a number of nest boxes available, handcrafted by one of our volunteers. We will also have some flat-back boxes that you can help assemble if you’d like to get involved. If you’d prefer to purchase a box, they are available for just £30. The boxes are made from reclaimed buffalo marine plywood and feature a white UPVC double-wall roof designed to reflect heat and provide a long-lasting, waterproof shelter. Boxes can be collected on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Meadow Orchard Project, 151 Park Road, N8 8JD, subject to arrangement. Please email us for more details.

Model 30 Swift boxes

Our boxes are based on the Model 30 box design from Action for Swifts. Plans are available if you’d like to build one yourselves.

We’ll be constructing swift boxes on site as a part of an outdoor workshop this spring. We made a router template (from upcycled Acrylic) for cutting the entry holes and the shaped sides for a neat high quality finish. Get in touch if you’d like to learn some DIY skills and make your own nestbox.

EuroCell uPVC roof

Thank you to Action for Swifts for recommending Eurocell as a supplier for the UPVC soffit board for our Swift box roofs. Eurocell are happy to support swift boxes and have supplied us with a discount off the cost of the materials too!

These boxes below are made from reclaimed buffalo board from Connect Scaffolding. Buffalo board is a resin faced marine plywood and is very durable. Exposed edges sealed with an edge sealer, a generous roof overhang keeps the box dry. The white PVCU reflects heat along with the double thickness roof. A super des res for a swift family!

Eurocell offer a closed loop recycling service for end of life UPVC products and offcuts, they are the largest recycler of UPVC in the UK!

Swift Bricks

Swift Bricks are a great way of adding important wildlife habitat into new build construction projects. However for existing properties they can be a little disruptive and expensive if you have to pay for them to be installed. A Swift Box provides a simple, easy to install and low priced, sustainable alternative.

There are some excellent examples of Swift Bricks local to North London. The rebuilt chimney at the Walthamstow Wetlands pumphouse is a particularly fine example. The swiftbricks were bespoke designs made as a joint project between Ketley Brick and Architects Witherford Watson Mann. Fifty four swiftbricks were attractively integrated into the splendid rebuilt brick chimney.

Attracting swifts

We have a demonstration swift calling system, which can be used to play recorded sounds of swifts calls, to help attract the birds to a new nest site. If you would like to see how it works, please email us using the link at the bottom of this page.

The Haringey Swift Group

Additionally, we’ve partnered with Haringey Swifts, who have local roofing contacts with access to scissor lifts and ladders.

Arranging Installation of Swiftboxes

Mike Priaulx of the Haringey Swifts group can help advise and arrange to install boxes for you for a small charge of around £20, subject to availability. If you have a local neighbourhood group or WhatsApp it’s a good idea to see if a number of households can get together to install a number of boxes. Being social birds, swifts like to nest in colonies. A massive thank you to Mike at Haringey Swifts for the support.

Swiftmapper

If you would like to get involved in a citizen science project and help report swift sightings to get more of a picture of swift numbers and their migratory patterns, check out the swiftmapper site.

Swift Mapper records where swifts are nesting. It collects four different types of record:

1. Occupied Nest: where swifts are observed using a nest site cavity.
2. Previously Occupied: where swifts were known to nest previously, but no longer do so.
3. Nest Box: nesting sites deliberately provided for swifts – nest boxes, nest bricks, etc. Whether occupied yet or not.
4. Screaming Party: records of swifts flying at around roof height, often flying fast in groups, and often giving loud screaming calls. This behaviour indicates that swifts are breeding nearby.

Benefits of Swift Nestboxes:

1. Support for Conservation Efforts:
   • Swifts are a species that has seen declining numbers, often due to the loss of suitable nesting sites in buildings as they are renovated or altered. Swift nestboxes help in offering a controlled, safe environment for them to breed.
2. Increased Breeding Success:
   • Nestboxes designed for swifts are made to mimic the conditions they seek, increasing their chances of successful breeding. Boxes are designed with entrances to reduce the likelihood of other birds such as starlings utilising the nestbox.
3. Easy to Install:
   • Swift nestboxes can be easily installed in urban and rural environments, providing a solution even where natural nesting sites have disappeared. The boxes simply mount to brickwork with screws and rawl plugs. Alternatively if you are reluctant to work at height, Harringay Swifts will be able to help arrange for these to be installed.
4. Urban Biodiversity:
   • By installing swift nestboxes, you can contribute to enhancing local biodiversity. They encourage a healthier ecosystem by supporting bird populations that are valuable for pest control and ecological balance.
5. Durable and Long-Lasting:
   • Our swift nestboxes, based on the design from the Action for Swifts group is designed for durability. We’ve made from high quality phenolic resin faced marine plywood with a uPVC roof to withstand exposure to the elements. They provide a long-term nesting solution for swifts.
   • Swiftboxes are maintenance free. Swifts never land on the ground, hunting and gathering nest materials in flight Swift nests are lined with materials they find on the wing, feathers, animal fur and anything that is small and light enough to catch on the breeze.