Watch Swifts live during the 2024 nesting season thanks to the support of Louise Bentley from Bolton and Bury Swifts, with technical support from Wildlife Windows.

2024 season:

May 8th, Mart is first to arrive back at the nest box
May 9th, Martha II arrives and the two begin pair bonding
May 16th, first egg laid
May 18th second egg laid
May 20th third egg laid
June 5th, first egg hatches
June 6th, second egg hatches
June 7th, third egg hatches

About this nest box:

Louise writes: “In 2016, a pair of swifts found my house when I started to play calls to attract them to our boxes. We named them Mart and Martha and they roosted that summer and returned to breed every year since. However, in 2023, after a fight, Martha was replaced by ‘Martha II’ and the new pairing raised 3 chicks.

“In the time the Swift box has been occupied, the pairs have raised 18 chicks, including one adoptee. They’ve endured wet weather, heatwaves, and takeover attempts from a male Swift, male House Sparrow and Honeybees. They’ve also had a visit from a Pipistrelle Bat.

“We’ve witnessed the colony grow too, with a second pair breeding in 2022 and 2023. A third young pair also joined us in 2023.

“This May 2024, we’re awaiting the possible return of five adult birds, and perhaps some of the young Swifts who we saw investigating our boxes at the end of last summer.”


For more information on Swift, visit: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birdsandwil...