In 2012, 4 triple entrance Schwegler 17A Swift nest boxes were installed at the ATU Mayo Campus in Castlebar (prior to 2022 known as GMIT Mayo Campus) providing 12 nest compartments. In 2019, an additional 2 triple boxes were installed providing another 6 nest boxes and giving a total of 18 nest compartments.
30 July 2022: Update from the ATU (ex GMIT) Mayo campus swift nest box project. Going to left to bottom right: Chicks have fledged from boxes 1 and 2, in Box 4 there is one chick that’s about 5 weeks old so should fledge in a week, Box 5 the chicks have fledged, Box 6 didn’t breed, Box 7 and 8 the chicks are about 5 weeks old, Box 9 the two chicks fledged in the last couple of days – this was an interesting story because one adult went missing and the remaining adult reared both chicks on its own for 3 weeks which was a huge effort, Box 10 and 11 chicks are about 4 weeks old, finally box 12 the chicks are only about 1 week old so will be fledging in 5 weeks time – early September.
It’s interesting to note that the parents from the boxes where chicks have fledged will return to the nest box each evening to roost often for a week or more.
