Friday 1 March 2013

Product Review - Bird Brick Houses Swift box

Written by Dick

We have been sent a sample of a new style of Swift box by Bird Brick Houses Ltd in Sussex. There are two approaches to providing nest boxes for Swifts, either add nest-boxes outside or build them into the fabric of the building. Either way, they need to be an attractive feature or well hidden.  The Bird Brick House product is effectively a bespoke solution that provides a built in nestbox that matches both the existing brickwork and the space available in the wall.


Assembled box
The BBH Swift box comes in 3 sections. The body of the box, occupied by Swifts, is made in 2 halves so that the width can be adjusted to fit the space available in the brickwork and cavity. This can be anything between 100mm, in which Swifts can breed successfully, and 150mm, which gives them plenty of space. The front section holds slices of brick, ~20mm thick, matching the brickwork of the wall.

Removable front
The removable front section is secured with 4 stainless steel bolts so, it is easily removed for clearing out the occasional House Sparrow or Great Tit nest outside the breeding season.

It is easy to incorporate this box in the top courses of brick in a newly built building, but also, it can be retrofitted into an already built wall.  There is no need to cut bricks, so the wall can be restored to its original appearance.

Body of box with front removed
The box material is extruded recycled plastic 3mm thick. The raised central section has a concave indentation and is roughened.

We think this is a well thought out product, providing good accommodation for Swifts which is easy for builders to incorporate.

The price quoted is £75 + vat + p&p.

For further details see:
http://birdbrickhouses.co.uk/

Example of 4 nest boxes retrofitted into a wall

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