Hole underneath swift nest box or hole in front?

[Llanidloes Swifts]

Hi Swifties

I am buying two swift nest boxes and have a choice of buying with the hole underneath the swift nest box or hole in front. I can't remember if you experts have come to a conclusion on whether one is preferable over the other. I recall that one theory was the chicks could drop out of the hole underneath.

Advice welcome. Thank you.

Cofion cynnes/ Kind regards

Kate

Gwenoliaid Duon Llanidloes Swifts

(GDLIS)

On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 6:58 AM <swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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La Babi <barbara...@gmail.com>: Feb 10 08:46AM Hi all     In need of some advice please. Our HQ, an old Victorian house in need of repair, was sold to a private company last year and we are in the process of moving out. There are 10 model 30s on the wall, mostly occupied. I sent some info material to the company a while ago via our facilities manager, and they were positive and promised they would look after the swifts during renovation.     Roof renovation will start in April and will last for 9 months. I had a call from the head of facilities yesterday and the company wants to take down the old boxes in February so that work doesn’t get delayed, and they don’t seem to have thought much about mitigation for this breeding season at all. Their ecologists apparently thought swifts come back in March and they had no idea that the swifts will literally bang their heads on the wall trying to find the boxes!     Also from what I understand they were planning to add swift bricks at the back of the building in a ‘more suitable location’ to substitute the boxes at the front once the roof work was completed, which means of course the the swifts will not be able to breed at all as the location is too low, so I suggested to also add nesting solutions at the front, where the current boxes are. This however will still mean that the swifts will not be able to breed this year.   Our facilities manager proposed to temporarily hang the boxes on the scaffolding: I don’t understand why the company cannot work around the swifts breeding times and allow them to nest while the work in the roof is being carried out…       My questions are; would swifts nest in the boxes if they were attached to scaffolding? And is working around the swifts an achievable thing?       Thanks so much for the support with this 🙏🏼     Barbara       Il giorno sab 7 feb 2026 alle 08:18 La Babi <barbara...@gmail.com> ha scritto:

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[Mike Priaulx]

Hi Kate,

Peak Boxes state on their website:

"Front Opening or Bottom Opening?

Swifts tend to have different patterns of behaviour depending on the local architecture so the best thing to do is look where swifts are already nesting and see if they fly up into eaves and behind barge board or into holes in walls or under tiles. If it’s the former (eaves or barge boards) get the bottom openers and for the latter (into holes and under tiles), choose the front openers.

If you are unsure, we suggest the bottom openers as this fits with more behaviour patterns."

https://peakboxes.co.uk/shop-swift-boxes

There are some other useful tips on this page like placing the entrance near a drainpipe when possible. Incidentally they have some nice Gen#2 boxes made of 85% organic material and constructed by 3D printers:

https://peakboxes.co.uk/gen2range

Personally I think the bottom opening boxes are good for replacement boxes when a colony has been lost as they are more quickly occupied, and perhaps also have better protection against predators,

but the front opening boxes are slightly preferable in the long term as lower chance of eggs or chicks falling out, and also if the hole is low enough then the chicks can get a more interesting view!

But I don't have much scientific basis for this reasoning though... both types do get used.

All the best,

Mike

Islington and Hackney Swifts Groups

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Hole underneath swift nest box or hole in front?

Llanidloes Swifts <llanidlo...@gmail.com>: Feb 11 09:29AM

[Machynlleth & District Swift Group]

Hi Kate,

I'm reckoning Tim Collins is the man to answer this. Locally I have installed a few 'experimental' swift boxes with the entrances underneath the box and that includes some of the well known 'Peak Boxes' double and single chamber model. I think the answer might be that it might be dependent on where you are and where the majority of your local birds are nesting ie- under the soffits. 

There are many 'detractors' in the swift community who are against the idea of utilising boxes with the entrance underneath but to rule it out entirely I think is a 'mistake'. 'I personally think' that if the entrance underneath is right at the back of the box where the birds can 'grip' to a hard surface like course brickwork then this would undoubtedly help the adults to enter the box. Tim might correct me on this but I think he said that in the decade he has had a swift colony at his place and the hundreds of birds raised only I chick ever fell out of the entrance underneath. Tim over to you!

Elfyn

Machynlleth & District Swift Group

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[Sally Pereira]

Hi Kate

I have 4 of the Peak Boxes under eaves design and call system. Ours are positioned within an inch or two of the gutter, have a clear flight path in and are positioned about 5 metres high. They were quickly occupied and our colony currently stands at 5 pairs, from never having had them at our house before. There have been no issues with any youngsters fledging. I find the Peak Boxes have been well designed and are made out of durable materials. I like the fact that unlike many Swift box designs, you can actually inspect inside the box in the close season and clear out any unwanted material such as if a Sparrow has used them.

Sally Pereira 

Bradwell Swift Project

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[Dick Newell]

I think the risk of Swifts falling out of bottom-facing holes is overstated. However, adult birds exiting will swoop lower so are more vulnerable to cats. There is a 3rd option with the entrance facing obliquely down as in the Zeist and Model 30 boxes. Such entrances are aligned with the direction that Swifts naturally enter and exit, so may be preferable. 

As with so many things, the science has not been done to answer this question 

Dick

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