Swifts Quickly Adopt Nestboxes at Barrow Upon Soar Church

RSPB and idverde have been collaborating with The Ministry of Justice at HMP Humber – a Category C Prison- since 2020, ensuring a ready supply of swift boxes have been made by prisoners, from upcycled timber. The collaboration has the advantage of giving those prisoners new skills, work experience, and engagement with the natural world.

Manufacturing nesting boxes in the prison workshop helps to focus prisoners and build social skills which is important for their rehabilitation. They develop theoretical and practical skills in a sociable environment, whilst building confidence – setting them up for employment in the community and in local industries which can lead to the chain of reoffending being broken. The HMP Humber collaboration also significantly reduces the cost of the boxes, which has enabled many more churches to take part in the project.

As swifts nest in colonies, they need encouragement to find and imprint suitable sites, usually aided by hearing the calls from birds in established nests from previous seasons. This is where the next part of this elaborate jigsaw fits in – the swift caller. The RSPB’s Conservation Science Team has developed small solar-powered devices which mimic communal swift calls and can be timed to emit the sound in the early mornings and evenings when swifts are at lower altitudes.

Callers placed near nest sites have been found to encourage faster occupation. Armed with boxes and callers, all the partnership had to do was instal them in suitable spots. This is not as easy as it sounds as there are agreements to be reached with all parties involved and assurances that the buildings’ integrity is maintained.

At Barrow upon Soar, the louvres and windows of the church tower were perfect size and location so boxes could be fitted without being unsightly and yet still visible to swifts. The project team were delighted last year when Holy Trinity’s Bell Captain reported hearing calls in one of the boxes. Further investigation in January 2026 revealed three of the boxes had visible signs of use, including feathers lined around a nesting cup and droppings in the box.

The birds, which mate for life, will imprint the nest and should return this year, if they survive the arduous, six-week migration from Africa. Ross Bray, RSPB’s Community and Nature Engagement Adviser in the Midlands, said the partnership was delighted to have evidence that swifts had been attracted to the boxes at Holy Trinity and that three had been used.

“These are the first of 120 boxes we have installed over four years that have been used. The birds quick response to these boxes took us all by surprise – although it helped that there was already a colony of swifts in the village. We are looking forward to seeing them come back this year and hopefully raise young.

We are planning to install cameras in the three successful boxes to monitor their activity and highlight the plight of the declining swift. It may also be possible to ring the swiftlets to enable tracking, aid identification and support ongoing research into their decline. We are confident that the success of these boxes in Barrow upon Soar will encourage more churches in the Midlands region to take part.”