Harbury Swift Village Project
Introduction
In the UK, swifts have declined in number by 60% over the last twenty-five years.
Swifts were once very common in Harbury. They visit from Africa (a journey of 6000 miles each way) for just three months of the spring and summer. They arrive here in May to nest and breed, migrating back to Africa at the end of July or early August. Swifts are very faithful to their nest sites, returning to the same place year after year, to nest alongside other swifts, in colonies. With shrill calls, swooping flight and scythe-shaped silhouettes, swifts are familiar to many Harbury residents.
Harbury Swift Village Project was initiated in 2022 to help the long-term recovery of the swift population in Harbury. With financial and practical support from Harbury Parish Council, over forty bespoke swift nesting boxes were installed in March 2023 on a variety of properties in the village Some residents also purchased their own boxes, bringing the total number of boxes in the village to over sixty.
The project has the long-term vision of increasing the number of swifts breeding in Harbury.
Why swifts need artificial nest sites
For decades, each year, swifts have faithfully returned to nest under the eaves of many properties in Harbury; with several pairs nesting at the Old New Inn and in buildings on Bush Heath Lane and Mill Street, among other places.
Swifts were once to be seen flying low in very large parties through the village, but as in the rest of the UK, there has been a massive decline in their numbers. One of the causes of this decline is the loss of their traditional nest sites, due to renovation or demolition of older buildings, while new buildings typically do not provide nesting opportunities for swifts.
Renovation work at the Old New Inn was the inspiration for this project to make Harbury one of a growing number Swift Villages in the UK.
How the Harbury Swift Village Project developed
A Swift Village is a community made up of several groups of neighbouring houses, all with swift boxes, with the shared goal of supporting swift colonies.
In 2022, Harbury Parish Council enthusiastically agreed to give practical aid for swift conservation through generous funding to provide and install nest boxes throughout the village. Initially, the parish clerk contacted the Bishop’s Itchington Men’s Shed, and in September, with a donation from the parish council, the members of this organisation presented Harbury with ten swift nest boxes.
Swifts are gregarious and live in colonies rather than as individual pairs, so it was important to provide groups of boxes, either on a single property, or on several adjacent properties. Harbury Parish Council agreed to fund a further 30 boxes, to be made and inscribed by local carpenter Craig Knowles, of Phoenix Craft Creations.
This community initiative captured the imagination of people throughout the village, with many offering their properties to give swifts a home, as well as purchasing additional boxes to help build a colony in their neighbourhood. Where a choice had to be made, data from the RSPB’s swift mapper website, and local knowledge of past swift nest sites, helped inform the best places to site the boxes.
The aim was to get the boxes up and ready for the arrival of the swifts in spring of 2023. Councillor Alex Potter co-ordinated the installations and Chris Beaton (and his ladders) installed the majority of the boxes by the end of March. The remainder were put up in April with the help of Richard Linforth using a ‘cherry picker’ machine.
Swift Call Attraction Systems
Swifts are not mature enough to breed until they are three or four years old. Breeding adult swifts will return to the same nest site, year after year. It will be the first-time breeders that will be looking for a home.
Although a nest box may attract a new pair of swifts to breed should they discover it, swifts can be slow to take up residence. The chances are greatly increased if swift calls are played, quietly in the early morning and late evening, at or near the nest box, mimicking the sound of a colony. Some generous donations provided sufficient funds to initially purchase five swift call attraction systems plus timer switches. In summer 2025, these were strategically sited alongside some of the Harbury Parish Council swift nest boxes around the village, with the aim of encouraging newly mature birds to come and investigate the boxes and make their nests here. A further generous donation from Harbury WI will enable the purchase of more swift attraction callers for the 2026 breeding season.
Harbury Swift Survey
A team of volunteers set out to survey Harbury’s swifts during the 2025 breeding season. At least eighteen natural swift nests were located in crevices and holes in buildings around Harbury. Where swift callers have been installed alongside the swift nest boxes, juvenile swifts were observed on a number of occasions, investigating those particular boxes. We hope that these individuals will return to take up residence in the summer of 2026.
By installing further swift call attraction systems next to additional Harbury Parish Council nest boxes, it is hoped that the level of ‘swift interest’ in the boxes will further increase next year.
#Team Wilder
According to the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, Team Wilder is ‘a growing movement of people who notice and celebrate nature in their day-to-day lives, taking the global problem of biodiversity loss down to a super-local level, helping to bring about nature’s recovery in their local area.’ Supported by local Wildlife Trusts, collectively, these small actions make a big difference.
Harbury’s Swift Village Project has inspired people in other nearby villages in Warwickshire, including Lighthorne, Moreton Morrell, Napton and Leek Wootton to start their own swift initiatives.
How you can help
You can help swell the Harbury swift colonies by putting up swift nest boxes, or by installing soffit boxes or swift bricks. There are many different types of swift nest boxes available, but the most important thing to remember is that a pair of swifts will use the same box for their entire breeding lives, so the box needs to be made from durable materials.
If you are replacing your soffits, consider including some soffit swift boxes (see information on the Action for Swifts website, link below). These are an ideal solution for swifts and very discreet. Swifts will readily nest in soffit boxes as it’s their natural instinct to fly up into the entrance hole at that angle.
Swift bricks are an even better option for swifts as the birds can live up to 20 years and are faithful to the same nest site. Swift bricks will last longer than wooden boxes, and can be retro-fitted. They are also more natural for swifts as they mimic the type of hole that swifts would have used in the past.
A swift nest itself is very modest, just a few feathers, and the birds don’t cause any damage to property and leave minimal mess. Nest boxes should included a nest cup to keep the eggs contained and stop them falling out of the nest.
You can also garden for swifts: swifts only eat insects and need plenty of insect food to raise their chicks and to help them fatten up before they migrate back to Africa later in the summer. Grow insect attracting plants and install a pond. Swifts love to eat mosquitoes!
Finally, you can help swifts locally by joining the Harbury swift survey team!
The Future
This is a long-term project for Harbury: we very much hope that over the next few years, newly adult swifts will select some of our boxes to nest in. Our aim is to ensure that the joyful calls of swifts are heard by future generations over our Warwickshire villages.
With Thanks To
- Harbury Parish Councillors
- Alison Biddle
- Craig Knowles
- Chris Beaton
- Richard Linforth
- Harbury Carnival Committee
- Mrs S Jackson
- Harbury Society
- Warwick U3A
- Harbury Knitwits
- Deb Marshall
- Rob Darlison
A Final Word
If you are interested in joining the Harbury Swift survey team, or have any questions about Harbury swifts or providing homes for them, please email Amanda Randall: swifts.harbury@gmail.com
Useful Links
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