Thursday 9 April 2015

Gable end Swift cabinet

Gable ends are often a good opportunity for Swift boxes because of their height. This gable end, in Reach, Cambs., faces north-west and is high, so very suitable.

[Update September 2017: 7 of the 9 boxes were occupied this year]

[Postscript July 2015: the pair nesting in the apex of the brickwork returned to use the new apex entrance. Another pair occupied the left box on the 2nd row and House Sparrows occupied 2 boxes on the right of the bottom row]



by Dick

Photo Dafila Scott
As the eaves were quite narrow (~150mm),the only option was a flat fronted box with holes in it. So, in order to make it a little more interesting we added battens above the entrances.

These were fashioned by slicing a '4 by 2' at 45°. The battens had the added advantage of providing some level of shade and defending the entrances from the rain.

The wood stain used is Rosewood.

The cabinet contains 9 nesting places, the top most entrance, in the apex, is in front of an entrance in the brickwork which has previously been used by Swifts.

The box is secured by screws through the side walls into the wooden soffits. The final erection required scaffolding supporting a ladder.

Photo Dafila Scott
The images below show how it was constructed:


#triangle

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