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.

Swift Bricks – they’re not just for swifts, and they’re not just for brick built houses!

As Christmas approaches why not consider gifting a future of swifts swooping over your rooftop for summers to come?
A swift brick is a fantastic gift for nature lovers and of course a priceless gift for Swifts, House Sparrows, House Martins, Starlings and even Blue and Great Tits, providing them all with a ‘forever nest’ for as long as your home stands.
At only £38 (plus VAT & delivery) you can fit them yourself or, our recommended fitter Jan from Nest Box Installations can fit them for you.
Everything you need to know about swift bricks and how they are installed is here .
Email us here for more information. We’re here to help.

We at the Sheffield Swift Network have learnt quite alot over the years about what’s working and what’s not for our swifts. The result is our new guidance that we hope you find invaluable if you’d like to join the growing number of people wanting to help these amazing birds. You will also be helping many other red-listed birds at the same time! Click on this post and this link here to get started!

We have provided information on our emergency contacts page for alternative contacts so please visit this page as soon as possible if you have found a swift, swallow or house martin you think is in trouble. Every second counts and it’s important you act fast, even if you’re not sure. Note: a swift on the ground for example is definitely in trouble.
Visit our emergency contacts page here.

This appeal has now closed. Thank you to each and every one of you who contacted us and to those who ultimately were able to have a swift brick installed.
Do you know that Swifts are rapidly declining in the UK, including here in Shire Brook Valley?
If you live in the Woodhouse or Hackenthorpe areas near to the valley and would like to have a special swift brick installed for FREE in a suitable wall on your house, please click on this post’s heading and then click here for more information.

Sheffield Hallam University will soon open a suite of new buildings running up Howard Street in the City Centre.
When plans for the buildings were first being developed, members of the Sheffield Swift Network – who also work for Hallam – saw an opportunity….

The new buildings are nice and tall and, on some sides, they have an unobstructed approach, so could be perfect for Swifts. 

Although it’s not common for Swifts to be seen over the City Centre, there are established colonies close by in the Norfolk Road area and the estates of south Sheffield (Wybourn, Arbourthorne etc). It therefore seemed possible that, with the right accommodation waiting for them, and the possibility of installing a swift caller, we might be able to attract them to nest at Hallam.

The architects finalising the details for the scheme were happy to indulge us, and we had a really productive chat about the best way to integrate nesting opportunities into the new scheme. Due to the construction style (using brick slips), the favoured approach of swift bricks wasn’t possible, so we plumped for Impeckable multi-chamber nest boxes fixed to the exterior.

We identified the best aspects for locating the boxes, where they wouldn’t get overheated and where the approach was unobstructed (so Swifts could swoop in). Due to the lack of shade in the area, we opted to add sun shields to the boxes.

34 nesting chambers have been installed in the new buildings, which are soon to be opened. Look up as you wander down Howard Street and you will see them. Hopefully the Swifts will approve of them too.

Download our leaflet below for commercial buildings and get in touch if you’d like a free site assessment: