I bought the swift nest box rather than make one, a bit of a cop out I’m afraid. There are many out there available to buy all of a fairly similar design but I went for the one below, mainly because I liked the look.
The Box in installed on the back wall of the house, I would say around 5m from the ground.
These are quite specialised boxes with specific entrance holes. They must be installed high up, at least 4-5m from the ground and offer a clear line of sight, or flight, into the entrance.
I also decided to paint the inside of the box black as apparently swifts favour a dark nesting cavity.
The Box was first installed during the winter of 2020-2021 and unfortunately is has not yet been used by nesting swifts. However the box has been used as a night time roost by a little Great Tit. It seems to have used it throughout the winter of 2021-2022, undoubtedly attracted by it’s safe location.
Chatou Nature Blog 