Swift Nest boxes on cliffs and rock faces?
Andrew Turney
Some places seem as if they would be ideal for nest boxes - but I'm unsure if the Swifts would agree & wondered if this has been attempted elsewhere ? “
Skelmorlie is in northern Ayrshire. I had to admit that I did not know but one interesting insight that I have picked up was from a wildlife enthusiast who had worked for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and we chatted swifts and he was saying that there are not swifts living in and around houses on Jersey and they all nest in and around cliffs / castle walls and similar. Yet on Guernsey they nest in and around houses ….
I offered to raise the question with the Swift Local Network and see what responses I get … any thoughts?
Many thanks
Andrew
B CAHALANE
Swifts will nest almost anywhere ,in pipes street lights, round towers, etc,a cliff face will look just the same as a house wall ,church wall or any other wall structure to a swift .Certainly i would put up boxes ,but make sure they have sloping roofs so that predators cannot perch on them.
Brian Cahalane .Crumlin Nr Ireland.
------ Original Message ------
From: andrew...@gmail.com
To: swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 24th 2026, 19:28
Subject: [SLN] Swift Nest boxes on cliffs and rock faces?
I have been asked an interesting question: “Are you aware of anyone installing Swift Nest Boxes on rock / cliff faces ? & If so has this proved successful ? Here in Skelmorlie there are rock faces all along the rear and very close to the Lower Skelmorlie houses on the Shore Road. Some places seem as if they would be ideal for nest boxes - but I'm unsure if the Swifts would agree & wondered if this has been attempted elsewhere ? “ Skelmorlie is in northern Ayrshire. I had to admit that I did not know but one interesting insight that I have picked up was from a wildlife enthusiast who had worked for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and we chatted swifts and he was saying that there are not swifts living in and around houses on Jersey and they all nest in and around cliffs / castle walls and similar. Yet on Guernsey they nest in and around houses …. I offered to raise the question with the Swift Local Network and see what responses I get … any thoughts? Many thanks Andrew -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "swiftslocalnetwork" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to swiftslocalnetw...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/swiftslocalnetwork/B3717D71-C785-4FBD-9274-9CDE7B6DFA51%40gmail.com.
Jean Stafford-Baker
Andy Bullen
B CAHALANE
Yes, we have a street light here ,you would think was designed for swifts,it has a hole at the back of it ,its an old type ,of course they are now replacing them with
the ones which direct the light straight down.
------ Original Message ------
From: swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com
To: swiftsloc...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 25th 2026, 09:46
Subject: Re: [SLN] Swift Nest boxes on cliffs and rock faces?
Hi Brian,We have them nesting in the cliffs at Hunstanton, here in Norfolk. Street lights though!
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