It was delightful to see so many people interested in swifts at my Horti talk on 10th April. Several folk have since asked me about putting up nest boxes for them. By the time you read this some swifts may already have returned from Africa to breed here in nesting places that they have used before or discovered last year. But it’s not too late to put up boxes or install bricks for the prospecting swifts that are looking for new nesting sites to breed in next year; young swifts will be “knocking” on boxes to check them out until at least the end of June. You’ll need to play swift calls to help them find new boxes; the best times to do this are early in the morning and in the evening. Please email me at swifts@thesibfords.uk if you have any queries about boxes, calls, or indeed anything swiftian and I’ll do my best to help. As in previous years, I’ll be logging and illustrating the progress of my small colony on the village website at thesibfords.uk/swifts, where you will also find links to other sources of swift information.

Tim Huckvale