BOXED SOFFITS AND FASCIA CONTINUE TO DECIMATE SWIFT COLONIES
Despised by conservationists, UPVC Boxed Soffits and Fascia have been the death nail for possibly thousands of colonies of swifts, and other cavity nesting species in the UK. It’s no coincidence that all the birds which traditionally nest in our eaves and crevices, are now on the Red List – namely starlings, house sparrows, house martins and of course, swifts. Huge swathes of open eaved homes are refurbished by councils and homeowners, and exhausted swifts returning from their treacherous migration find the nests they had used for 50 – 70 years are blocked….forever.
We filmed this in Sheffield in May 2023:
There had been two nests on this home which was fitted with UPVC soffits whilst the swifts were overwintering in Africa. Swifts are site faithful, and these nests had been used for generations. Witnessing 2 pairs repeatedly try to enter their nest for 12 weeks was heartbreaking. Many break their wings and die. We don’t know what happened to these particular swifts. Sadly we also recently discovered just around the corner another 5 nests had been blocked by newly fitted soffits too. That’s 7 precious nests, on just 2 houses, in one street in Sheffield, lost forever. The industrial scale nest loss is terrifying.
BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY
Fitting and replacing UPVC Boxed Soffits & Fascia no longer has to mean the destruction of precious colonies. Consider any of these 3, super affordable, proven solutions, and help rescue our swift colonies from the brink of extinction.
Councils, housing associations, roofers, builders and developers: with your help we can restore our precious colonies. Please get in touch here. We’d love to hear from you. We can meet and advise you on the best solution for your property or development.
We can’t save our precious red listed birds from extinction without you.
1. DRILL HOLES IN EXISTING SOFFITS AND FASCIA
A super simple solution, particularly useful if you aren’t replacing your soffits, is to drill holes!
If you have soffits blocking your eaves, (observing all relevant safety precautions), using a 28mm drill bit and a hacksaw, drill a 28mm x 65mm hole in the soffit, every 2 metres (or between every rafter). View and download the instruction leaflet below.
Amazingly such a simple fix really works! 20 years ago, conservationists in Bedford quickly intervened when they realised their council had fitted an estate with UPVC soffits and they rushed to drill holes. It has now grown into a fantastic super colony! A similar intervention in Cambridge has yielded similar positive results described here.
Contact our friends at NestWorks for a quote if you’d prefer not to go up ladders armed with a drill.
2. IF REPLACING SOFFITS & FASCIA – ASK YOUR FITTER TO FIT SOFFIT BOXES
Brand new to the market are these wonderful soffit boxes manufactured in the UK by Action for Swifts. No wildlife can get beyond the nest chamber. It’s a simple and effective solution and super affordable at only £25 each (plus VAT & del).
Your fitter will possibly have never heard of them, so enlighten them. We’d love these boxes to be suggested to their future customers.
Fitting instructions, tech details and ordering info are all here. The boxes are made from extremely lightweight grey palight, (also available in white PVC), and are glued to the inside of the boxed soffit. Fit as many as you can, ideally in between rafters, but not essential. Install one box per metre if they aren’t positioned between rafters.
If you’d like any help or advice, do email us, we’re here to help.
3. IF REPLACING SOFFITS – ASK YOUR FITTER TO DRILL HOLES & FIT NEST CUPS
An even cheaper solution to soffit boxes is to simply drill a 28mm x 65mm hole between struts and glue down a nest cup. Available from NHBS here or Ebay here and here (if the link is broken, search ‘swift nesting concaves or swift cups’. They are made to order.)
Our ingenious friends at Wakefield Swifts collaborated with Wakefield District Housing in 2022 and did just that and have now created an incredible 600 new nests. COUNCILS TAKE NOTE, AN EASY WIN FOR BIODIVERSITY.
If you’d like any help or advice, do email us, we’re here to help.
FITTING SOFFIT BOXES / NEST CUPS OR DRILLING HOLES YOURSELF?
We’d love to hear from you, or film you completing your latest swift project, just email us at Sheffield Swift Network.
DON’T FORGET TO PLAY THOSE SWIFT CALLS!
Playing swift calls will help swifts find new nest spaces. Visit here to find out more.
Contact our friends at NestWorks for a quote if you’d prefer not to go up ladders armed with a drill.