Swift Boxes

The Louth Swift Group is a voluntary organisation dedicated to the preservation of the Common Swift (Apus apus) bird in county Louth. Their aim was to identify existing nesting locations and were possible build and erect Swift nest boxes at designated sites. A survey was carried out in the summer of 2022 to identify existing nest sites.

Drogheda Tidy Towns are delighted to help fund this project and create a sustainable climate of nesting sites / boxes for this endangered migratory species of bird, which arrives in Ireland from southern Africa in May and departs by mid-August.

It would be an absolute disaster if Drogheda were to lose its Swift population. Its iconic screaming call is a sound of Summer. They eat up to 1500 insects a day especially mosquitoes. 

In relation to Drogheda the nest sites they are very spread out around the town with many single nest sites. Currently in Yellowbatter housing estate there is a small colony nesting in the roof spaces of a couple of houses. It is hoped to erect nest boxes in this area to pre-empt the roof spaces being blocked up.

Other locations identified for nest boxes are:

Barlow house, Drogheda United, Sluagh Hall, The Community Center Yellowbatter, Millmount, Church Street/Bothar Brugha, Louth Council Offices in Fair St which are being refurbished after fire damage, Back of Laurence’s centre, Eddies hardware and Augustinian church.

Other sites may be identified as we go forward

Swifts prefer to nest in colonies. A lot of the sites are vulnerable to being lost as they are nesting in the roof spaces of houses. With houses becoming better insulated Swifts are slowly losing their nest sites.