Emma Hawkes our education intern and biology student at The University of Surrey shares some of her work on Swifts. 

4 Swift nesting boxes have been constructed and installed in the shed at the top of Baker’s Hill. Putting spare cuts of wood to good use, the nesting boxes have all been lovingly hand-crafted and safely installed in the shed in the hope of providing swifts with a home and enticing more of Gilbert’s favourite species back to his garden. 

Each box has been carefully measured to the ideal Swift size with a shallow wooden bowl inserted into the rear end to hold the eggs. The boxes have then been securely fixed to the interior of the shed and holes drilled into the wall of the shed to create a door into the nest. Vegetation is being cleared from the entrances to create a direct flight path.

Tim Norris, from the Hampshire Swift Group, kindly donated an attraction call system that will play swift call noises through a speaker to alert swifts of the new boxes. 

Swifts, which are migratory birds, should be returning from their holidays in May. We look forward to seeing them again and are very hopeful they will take up nest here at Gilbert White’s.