Watch Woody’s story on our YouTube channel here [like and subscribe for swift updates!] :

It’s always inspiring to hear from local residents helping Sheffield’s swift population grow. One great example from 2025 came from John in Woodseats, whose enthusiasm for his swifts has been infectious.

John first contacted us with questions about the activity he’d noticed around his nest boxes – indeed his queries helped inspire our Residents’ Guide – Swifts: Part Bird, Part Sky, which explains what signs to look for and what might be happening inside a swift nest.

Late in the season, John was delighted to see a pair of swifts enter his Peak Boxes nest box, lured by his new swift caller. We guessed they were first-time breeders – and soon their frequent visits suggested they were feeding at least one chick. Excited peeping confirmed the happy news!

As August approached and migration instincts strengthened, John noticed that the adults had stopped returning. When he discovered an abandoned chick, he quickly got in touch with us, and within two hours the young bird – soon named Woody – was safely in the care of swift specialists. Four weeks later, on September 15th, 2025, Woody was fit, strong, and ready to be released back into the wild, setting off on his first journey to Africa.

Inspired by the experience, John has had two Action for Swifts’ swift bricks expertly fitted by Jan of Nestworks to expand his colony and offer returning birds safe permanent nesting sites which will exist long into the future and serve many generations of swifts. 

With swifts due back in May, we’ll be eagerly awaiting John’s updates.

Swifts rely almost entirely on our buildings for safe nesting places. If you could offer a home for Sheffield’s next generation of swifts, please download our Homeowners Leaflet below and get in touch with photos of your house for free, no-obligation advice:

Together, we can keep Sheffield’s skies alive with the sound of swifts!

Get in touch.

Sheffield Swift Network
📧 sheffieldswiftnetwork@gmail.com
🌐 sheffieldswiftnetwork.org
📞 07850 799 891

Nether Edge is the latest Sheffield neighbourhood to join the growing Swift Street movement!

Watch this short film on our YouTube channel:

A huge congratulations and heartfelt thank you to the wonderful Judith Stovell, who was inspired by this brilliant film about our friends Leeds Swifts from Hamza Yassin’s Wild Isles series on BBC One. She brought neighbours together through a Nether Edge Street WhatsApp group to make it happen!

Thanks to her enthusiasm and coordination, 15 residents took part, and an impressive 19 swift boxes and callers are now installed, ready to welcome returning swifts this spring.

Special thanks to Habitat Hero Jan from Nestworks, who built every box, prepared each caller, and carried out the installations – ably assisted by Mr Bojangles the dog. 

A Sheffield Swift Network talk for local residents is planned ahead of the swifts’ arrival, sharing how these wonderful neighbourhood actions can make a big difference for these remarkable birds.

Are you part of a street or neighbourhood WhatsApp group? Why not make yours the next Swift Street? Get in touch.

Sheffield Swift Network:

📧 sheffieldswiftnetwork@gmail.com
🌐 sheffieldswiftnetwork.org
📞 07850 799 891

Watch this short installation reel on our YouTube channel:

We were thrilled to hear from a wonderful Sheffield resident who reached out well in advance of his planned roof replacement, asking for our advice on how to protect and accommodate swifts.

Following our guidance, he monitored his property for swift activity during the May-August breeding season and confirmed no nesting birds were present. With scaffolding due to go up for the roof work, it presented the ideal opportunity to create future nest spaces for our vulnerable summer visitors.

After discussing the options – including in-soffit and in-eaves nest boxes – he chose a secure and long term solution: three Action for Swifts swift bricks, retrofitted directly into the walls. This permanent option offers swifts safe, weatherproof nesting spaces for generations to come, all while keeping the house looking great.

With expert fitting by Nick at TNT Roofing Specialists Ltd, the installation went perfectly – a fantastic example of how homeowners and roofers can work together for wildlife. He also added a Peak Boxes swift caller to help attract birds to their new nesting homes.

If you’re planning roof repairs, a two storey extension, or have scaffolding going up soon – get in touch. It’s the perfect time to make space for swifts!

Roofers: get in touch for free, friendly advice and help us replace the thousands of nest sites lost to repairs.

Sheffield Residents – Download our Homeowners leaflet below. Together, we can keep Sheffield’s skies alive with swifts every summer.

Watch this short installation video on our YouTube channel below:

Sheffield Swift Network were delighted to be invited to meet the Estates and Environmental Sustainability Team at The Sheffield College’s Peak Campus to discuss the decline of Sheffield’s swift populations.

As the modern campus building isn’t suited to retrofitting integrated swift nesting bricks, we took along sample nest boxes to show how durable, purpose-built designs can help support these much loved summer visitors for generations to come.

With essential maintenance work already requiring scaffolding, the Estates Team recognised the perfect opportunity to create new nesting spaces. An Impeckable 4chamber nest box, colour-matched to the campus exterior, was installed alongside a solar powered Peak Boxes caller to help attract returning swifts in spring.

The installation was expertly completed by local contractors I&G Ltd, who ensured the new box was fitted safely and sympathetically into the building. This collaboration demonstrates how even modern urban sites can make space for wildlife with a little creativity and planning.

We’re hugely grateful to the Environmental Sustainability Team for funding the boxes at The Sheffield College. Also to the Peak Campus staff and I&G Ltd for helping safeguard Sheffield’s swifts and inspiring others to take action for nature.

Get in touch if you’d like us to visit your organisation to explore creating new homes for these incredible birds. Download our PDF for more information here:

Watch this short installation reel on our YouTube channel:

Following our talk with Sheffield’s Bird Study Group, which highlighted the urgent need for artificial nests to support swift populations, inspiration quickly translated into action, as member Wesley Booth, took the initiative to make a real difference for swifts in Manor Park.

Wesley kindly invited us to the Temple Park Centre – where he works as Outdoor Lead for MASKK – to assess the site for suitable nest locations. The building’s specially engineered bricks were too narrow to retrofit standard integrated nest bricks, and although bespoke bricks could have been manufactured to match perfectly, Wesley opted for two Impeckable four-chamber nest boxes, chosen to blend seamlessly with the building’s exterior, along with a Peak Boxes swift caller designed to attract young swifts to their new home.

Thanks to the generosity of an incredible donor, these two new nest boxes and the caller have now been installed at Temple Park Centre, giving Manor Park’s swifts a genuine fighting chance for the future.

A huge thank you goes out to Wesley, MCCP, MASKK, and the wonderful donor, for their dedication to swift conservation, and also to Jan from Nestworks for courageously braving storm Goretti to get the boxes up.
If you would like advice on how to support swifts at your place of work, we offer free, no-obligation site visits. Get in touch.

…with huge thanks to Rize Construction Ltd  and CITU.

Watch this short film on our YouTube channel:

After a call from Sheffield swift fan Gillian Coe, we headed over to Spartan Works – part of the Attercliffe Waterside regeneration development in Sheffield, with sample nest bricks and boxes to advise her husband Gary from Rize Construction Ltd on swift-friendly nesting options for the site.

With scaffolding already up and the roof and guttering newly finished, it was too late to retrofit swift bricks into the fabric of the building. Instead, two Impeckable four-chamber swift nest boxes, colour-matched in anthracite to blend with the gutters and downpipes, plus a Peak Boxes solar-powered swift caller were chosen.

Funded thanks to the generosity of Rize Construction Ltd – whose dedicated team have previously fitted swift boxes at other sites at their own expense – and CITU, the developers behind Attercliffe Waterside – the boxes were installed by two volunteers from Rize who gave up their lunch break.

We’re delighted to have played a small part in this project and would like to thank Gillian and Gary Coe, Rize Construction Ltd, and CITU for their commitment to building for biodiversity. 

These new nest sites will offer swifts a safe place to return and raise their young for many summers to come – a great example of development and wildlife working hand in hand.

If you’d like no-obligation advice on swift-friendly solutions for your building or development, please get in touch.

Watch this reel below from our YouTube channel:

Following our swift talk, pupils were thrilled to learn that their school would soon be welcoming new feathered neighbours. Thanks to generous funding from the Sheffield United Community Foundation, two Impeckable nest boxes and a solar-powered Peak Boxes caller have now been installed – creating perfect future homes for these remarkable yet vulnerable summer visitors.

Adding to the festive spirit, the brilliant team from MITIE stepped in to fit the boxes free of charge while already on site for essential maintenance work. Their efforts turned a routine job into a wonderful, cost-effective and wildlife-friendly building upgrade – a perfect example of sustainability in action!

We’re enormously grateful to King Ecgbert School, the Sheffield United Community Foundation, and MITIE for their teamwork, generosity and enthusiasm. Together, they’ve created a lasting gift for swifts and an inspiring opportunity for pupils to experience conservation at their own school. With luck, future summers will bring the thrilling sight and sound of swifts nesting right above the classrooms.

If your school is interested in learning more about these extraordinary birds, or in installing swift boxes of your own, the Sheffield Swift Network offers swift talks, complimentary site assessments and tailored advice. We’d love to hear from you!

The new double-chamber nest brick from Action for Swifts – designed to make it easier than ever to provide nesting spaces for swifts, starlings, and house sparrows in new developments. 

You can download the PDF here:

This brief PDF update highlights the AfS Universal Double Terrace Nest Brick – a compact, cost-effective unit that fits standard cavities and helps projects meet growing demands for integrated biodiversity features onsite. 

Priced at just £50 plus VAT and shipping, this double-chamber brick creates two nesting areas within a single unit, increasing functionality without doubling the price.

If you’re a developer, builder, ecologist or architect seeking practical, ready-to-use solutions, click on the PDF link to learn more.

For free no-obligation advice about where to position bricks, or how to make your development swift-friendly, get in touch.

You can download the Action for Swifts PDF Brochure here:

Artificial Nests Boost Threatened Swift Populations!

Take advantage of this Swift Nest Box Offer from our friends at Nestworks and give these precious, fast-declining birds a safe place to have their chicks.

Special Offer includes:

• A durable swift nest box (white or anthracite)
• Attraction caller
• Fitting – for just £99

This special offer is available during spring 2026, don’t miss your chance to help swifts this year.

To find out more contact Nestworks:

• Email
• WhatsApp 07988 755693

All you need to know about swifts and why nest sites matter is here.