How to feed birds in your garden
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Find out how to attract and feed birds in your garden - safely and seasonally.
Top tips for building a swift box
- Swifts migrate, feed and nest together so, if you have the space, multiple nesting boxes would be ideal. You could also encourage neighbours to put up boxes too.
- If you're not placing your swift box directly under the eaves, the box needs to be designed with a sloping roof to prevent predators from perching.
- Increase your chances of swifts finding your box by playing swift calls May-July in the morning and evening.
- If you are planning an extension you can buy special 'swift bricks' that are built into the walls.
You will need
- A plank of untreated plywood (1.8m long, 150mm wide and 12mm thick
- Pencil
- Tape measure
- Saw
- Glue or nails
- hammer
- Drill
- 4 wall plugs and screws
- A suitable location (the eaves of a building)
Follow these steps
Position your swift box under the eaves of your building on a north/north-east facing wall.
Assemble your swift box using glue or nails.
Saw your plywood to these dimensions:
Nick Upton
Swifts
Swifts spend most of their lives flying – even sleeping, eating and drinking – only ever landing to nest.
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