National Nest Box Week was established and developed by the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) to provide a focus on nesting birds and to support their conservation and local biodiversity. It encourages the placement of nest boxes in your local area, at a time when small birds traditionally pair up ahead of the breeding season.

Natural nest sites such as holes in trees or old buildings are disappearing fast, so our native birds need all the help they can get to find a safe spot to breed. Birds may even use the nest box year-round, roosting cosily in it during the winter months.

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Swallows are an interesting species of bird. These birds tend to return to their previous nests after their long and tiring migration journeys from their winter locations. At the onset of the spring you generally start receiving these tiny feathered friends around the roof tops looking for a nest to prepare for their next brood.

The swallows are not usually very picky and can even settle in cavities that exist here and there or might even make use of some other existing nests. There are of course those swallows who like to create new nests using soft mud. These birds tend to build their nests in places that are well hidden from the bigger predators as also safe from the harsh weather.

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