HOEKSTRA J, VAN DER LELIE F & SCHRÖDER J (2023) Temperature in wall-mounted nestboxes for Swifts Apus apus. LIMOSA 96 (2): 72-80.

During warm summer days, unshaded wall-mounted nest boxes for Swifts oriented to the south can reach high temperatures which may have negative effects on reproduction. Here we studied temperatures in within wall-mounted nest boxes at eastern, western and north-western side of buildings in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, in the summer of 2020, to investigate whether high temperatures were also reached in nest boxes at these orientations. Temperatures in nest boxes with an eastern and western orientation exceeded values of 40 oC on three and ten days, respectively, for a duration of on average two to three hours. This also happened during one day in a nest box with a northwestern orientation. Maximum temperatures recorded were 45^oC (nest boxes with a western orientation - one hour on two days). We conclude that heat stress is most likely to occur in nest boxes oriented east, south, west and northwest, and least likely to occur in nest boxes oriented north-northwest, north and northeast. This should be considered when planning these facilities for Swifts.

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