Swifts Chose My Box - a guest blog

A huge thanks to our volunteer - Jill Leheup - for this guest blog and thanks to Steve Whiteley for the above image.

2025 will be etched in my memory as the year swifts finally nested in my box - talk about giddy.

I first noticed swifts in Matlock Bath on 3 May noisily careering high in the sky, sounding excited to be back. The numbers of swifts in Matlock Bath has declined over the last few decades so every year I am thankful that a few bring their calls and energy to the summer skies over my house.

We’d put up a box several years ago on the front of our house, patiently playing swift calls each summer, with no interest from swifts at all. However the neighbours had plenty of questions about the boxes and the swift calls so they were almost as excited as me when the miracle happened.

I had all but given up hope of swifts ever nesting in the box, when on 14 May I heard swifts calling while flying low near the front of the house. I watched a small gang scythe between the houses and along the terrace, then fly up to the box, getting closer with each pass. Eventually one inexpertly landed and wriggled in. That bird sat in the box screaming for company. At least two birds were keen, wheeling by, no doubt trying to work out how to stop flying and squeeze into a small slot. Finally one was brave enough to enter and seemingly was accepted by the occupant. This pantomime was repeated many times throughout May and June while I watched for clues that they had nested - nesting material, fecal pellets, discarded egg shells, cheeping. There were no clues; just beautiful flying machines looking pretty clumsy entering that tricky slot. However, the swifts were really persistent so I was hopeful that they were sitting on eggs and raising chicks. There was always room for doubt it seems as, in their first year of nesting, swifts do extensive practising before committing to such alien behaviour. It must be quite an adjustment for young swifts to transition from a completely self-directed airy life to the shared purpose of nesting in a small box.

I didn’t see much of the swifts during July as I headed south on holiday, but several of my neighbours kept an eye out for them and sent me updates. By the time I returned at the end of the month, the swifts were entering the box like old pros, swooshing up at high speed and disappearing inside in a blink. Occasional chatter could be heard from the box but mostly they were silent and efficient. On 14 August we finally had confirmation of breeding success as the reptilian head of a swiftlet peeped out of the slot. Adults never do this, and chicks only when they are nearly fully grown. The chick has a grey chequered face with a pale chin, quite different from the brown adults. It looked out, swivelling its head, trying to see in all directions without poking too far out of the box. I think this is quite late for a chick to still be in the nest, but I can imagine that these newbie parent birds took their time to get around to the business of egg laying. I would have liked to see Swifty fledge and be able to wave good luck on its long migration to Africa, however all I can say is that on 22 August I saw an adult go in at 1930 and out again at 1933 and that was my last sighting. It’s probable that the swiftlet fledged early on the 23rd. I was left feeling somewhat bereft but I am keeping my fingers crossed that the diligent parents come back next year to the same box. Good luck little swift on your incredible journey...

Derbyshire Dales Swift Project is installing boxes and bricks in 5 Swift hotspots: Bradwell, Darley Dale, Tideswell, Wirksworth and Youlgreave in 2026. The project is made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Breedon Group. If you live in one of these villages and would like to find out more, please complete our expression of interest form: https://derbyshireswiftconservation.org/nest-box