Newnham Swifts

A live window into a swift nest box

First egg may hatch around
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days
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minutes
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Species

Common Swift (Apus apus) — summer migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

Season

Swifts return to UK nest sites in early May and depart by early August.

About the cam

Continuous live feed during nesting season. Audio is disabled.

From last year

A glimpse of what's to come — clips from the 2025 brood. Tap to play with sound.

Just hatched One or two days old. Newly emerged swift chicks are tiny, pink and almost entirely helpless.
Four days old Still naked but growing fast. Both parents take turns hunting insects to feed them.
Home alone Older chicks left in the box while both parents are out hunting — a sign the brood is well established.

Behind the scenes

A look at how the nest boxes are set up, from the outside of the house through to the camera rig in the attic.

The gable end of the house showing entrance holes drilled into the brickwork
The gable end Four entrance holes drilled discreetly into the brickwork, giving the swifts access to nest boxes inside the attic.
View looking out through a swift entrance hole towards trees and sky
The swift's-eye view Looking out through one of the entrance tunnels — the first thing a returning swift sees as it dives in.
The inside of the attic wall showing four entrance holes and a ventilation slot
Inside the attic wall The same entrance holes seen from inside the loft. Each opens into its own nest box.
Four wooden nest boxes labelled TL, TR, BL, BR mounted to the attic wall with cameras and cabling
The nest boxes Four wooden boxes (top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right), each fitted with its own camera. The live feed is from one of these.

About this nest box

Swifts are one of Britain's most remarkable birds — they spend almost their entire lives airborne, eating, sleeping, and mating on the wing. They only land to nest.

This camera looks inside a nest box installed to support local breeding pairs. Swift populations have declined sharply in the UK, largely due to loss of nest sites as old buildings are renovated. Putting up a box is one of the simplest ways to help.

If you'd like to install your own nest box, Swift Conservation and Action for Swifts have excellent guidance.