A project to help one of Britain’s most threatened bird species is taking flight in Sheffield, with dozens of new nesting bricks installed on homes across the Shire Brook Valley. The initiative, funded by Sheffield City Council through the Species Survival Community Fund, has seen 61 specially designed “swift bricks: fitted on properties in Hackenthorpe and Woodhouse to provide safe nesting spaces for birds whose UK population has fallen by 66% over the past 30 years.

Councillor Kurtis Crossthorn, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee, said: “This is a brilliant example of how communities can make a real difference – not just for wildlife, but for the future of our planet.”

Delivered by the Sheffield Swift Network, the project forms part of the wider Shire Brook Valley Species Survival Project, which aims to restore habitats and support local wildlife across south-east Sheffield.

Swifts, which migrate from sub-Saharan Africa each spring, spend most of their lives in flight and traditionally nest in gaps within older buildings.

However, modern construction and insulation methods have sealed many of these crevices, leaving the birds struggling to find places to breed.

61 new swift bricks are built directly into walls and mimic natural cavities, giving the birds a durable, maintenance-free place to return to year after year.

Ann Ellis from the Sheffield Swift Network said: “These permanent nesting sites offer swifts a chance to return and breed, helping to secure a future for the species locally.”