Swift Project
I have always had a passion for birds, especially swifts since I was young. I remember lying on the trampoline in my garden in Grimsby just looking up and being in awe of these fantastic aerial masters.
When my wife and I decided to buy a house, we knew we wanted one with a good garden that we could turn into a wild area for a huge variety of species. When viewing properties, this was near the top of the agenda. We found a house that we loved and when viewing in the spring, I noticed swifts screeching overhead, just as I had when I was a kid in Grimsby. We moved into the house in Cadbury Heath, Bristol in August 2024 and I promised I would try my hardest to create a home for these birds, to aid in their conversation.
I spent a lot of time researching and planning and came to the conclusion that I wanted to get a single box on the house and install a camera to easily see what was going on inside. On the 1st May 2025, the swift box from Peak Boxes was installed and the camera fitted, along with a speaker to play the call of swifts. The only thing to do now was wait.
The summer just about came and went, with zero interest in our box. But this did not dishearten me as I knew that it can take years for swifts to locate it. The end of July approached and the swifts were starting to head off back on their mammoth migration to southern Africa when all of a sudden, a few birds noticed the box. They took turns flying at speed past it and on the odd occasion flying up and clinging to the side. I was amazed. It seemed we had managed to attract them in the first year.
After they left, a blue tit decided to over winter in the nest box, a gentle reminder of its importance to other species during the tough colder months. This bird stayed all winter and it was wonderful to watch.
On the 30th April 2026, a couple of swifts arrived, flying over the house and announcing the arrival of these birds back from Africa. So on the 1st of May, I attempted to play the calls again. Unfortunately, this failed and we couldn't play the calls this year.
Despite this and to our amazement, on the 24th May 2026 a single swift entered out nest box. We were both overjoyed and couldn't believe our luck. This was remarkably followed by a second bird on the 25th May. They began bonding in the box securing their status as a pair.
They initially looked as though there was no interest in breeding this year. They had not built any form of nest but on the 2nd June 2026, an egg was laid on the cold hard floor of the nest box. They were clumsy with it and managed to turf it out of the nest cup and in the general box. On the 5th June a second egg was laid. One being kept inside the cup and the other rolling around the box. I am certain that these are a very inexperienced pair and will certainly get better as the years go on. The birds were named via an Instagram vote, they are called Sonic and Skye.
I plan on putting up more swift boxes on the house and try and create a mini colony in the local area. I would also love to spread the love of swifts among local people, maybe we can even create the next swift street in a few years and really contribute the conservation efforts of these fantastic birds.
If you would like swift information please get in touch. I also recommend looking at the following resources to learn more about swifts.
Bristol Swifts - https://www.bristolswifts.co.uk/
Action for Swifts - https://www.actionforswifts.com/
Swift Conservation - https://www.swift-conservation.org/
Have a look on my Swift Blog page here to see daily update on our swift pair Sonic & Skye.