There’s a variety of more specialist nestboxes available for species of farmland and river habitats, many of which are available here on the BirdWatch Ireland shop.

Treecreepers will use a special sloped nestbox design that mimics a crevice along the trunk of a tree where they would naturally nest. Swallows will use artificial nest cups when placed under the eaves of a house or inside a shed or porch, and there’s a slightly different design for House Martins for the outside of buildings too. If you have a river with Dippers or Grey Wagtails, there’s a custom nestbox that can be attached to bridges to give them somewhere to nest.

Swifts are a species declining in large part due to loss of nest sites in buildings, but by installing and incorporating nestboxes into buildings in towns and cities we can halt their decline. We’ve produced a comprehensive guide to saving swifts which can be downloaded here. 

If you have Barn Owls or Kestrels in your area, there are specially designed nestboxes you can provide for these species, further information for which is freely available online.