I wonder if one of the swift conservation groups has a longer better quality sound file that you could use?
I think swifts can swoop down, but it's an interesting question.
I did ask a guy at AfS but the was only selling one swift file. No doubt I could create another file from another sourcing, but the volume needed was a problem for me, in my situ.
John Stimpson at AfS builds swift boxes of wood for £15. No protection offered against woodpeckers but in a fairly urban area, you might be ok. He's a very helpful guy. We did a community purchase and bought 20 to put up locally (north facing building, clear sweep ahead etc) but I didn't realise then how much calls are needed to entice the birds down to a new site. The upside is that once the nest in a spot they nest for life.
In all situations, attraction calls are essential
to accelerate the process. As a sample of success, by 2014, 25 of 40
projects (62.5%) playing attraction calls had at least 1 pair of Swifts.
However, nest boxes installed as a replacement for lost nest sites can
be very successful, even without playing attraction calls.
(their emphasis). They say the loud the call the better.
We put some boxes (supplied by the RSPB) on our local pub last year. They've been nesting here for as long as we've been in the village (40+ years) but essential maintenance on the pub blocked up the main hole they were using to get under the roof. Having said that some birds were still getting in somewhere and we had about 20 birds screaming around us whilst we did the work. We'll see next year whether the new abodes meet with approval (or get taken by the sparrows). The wall is north-facing.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
From: Eddy Bayton ([email protected]) Search Result 7 Subject: 'woodcrete receipe update' Newsgroups: uk.rec.birdwatching This is the only article in this thread Date: 2002-03-14 03:40:06 PST View: Original Format
If anyone is interested, my successful mix was a 1:4 ratio of cement to builders sand followed by 6 times that combined volume of wetted sawdust and shavings. The water was plasticised with washing up liquid and contained 5% pva and the wood had to be left to soak up the water for an hour so as to leave excess for the mortar mix to work.
I smeared the mix over an old hemispherical car spotlamp wrapped in a carrier bag and left it to dry slowly outdoors for a week before unpeeling and sawing in half to make two martin nests. Amazingly strong and warm to the touch. Lets see how it weathers.
Posts
https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/sites/default/files/2018-07/sos_swifts_information_sheet_9.pdf
http://www.saveourswifts.co.uk/attractswifts.htm
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
So important and cheap to do.
I was hoping someone had posted a link to this! I reckon this deserves its own post, though, to give this lovely article more prominence!
Source: https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/making-house-martin-nests.39227/
From: Eddy Bayton ([email protected]) Search Result 7
Subject: 'woodcrete receipe update'
Newsgroups: uk.rec.birdwatching This is the only article in this thread
Date: 2002-03-14 03:40:06 PST View: Original Format
If anyone is interested, my successful mix was a 1:4 ratio of cement to
builders sand followed by 6 times that combined volume of wetted sawdust and
shavings. The water was plasticised with washing up liquid and contained 5%
pva and the wood had to be left to soak up the water for an hour so as to
leave excess for the mortar mix to work.
I smeared the mix over an old hemispherical car spotlamp wrapped in a
carrier bag and left it to dry slowly outdoors for a week before unpeeling
and sawing in half to make two martin nests. Amazingly strong and warm to
the touch. Lets see how it weathers.
Eddy"
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.