October’s Wildlife Challenge
Put up a nest box for house martins and swallows
Did you see many house martins and swallows up around Bridford this year? These migratory birds travel from Africa to breed in the UK every year, arriving around March/ April and staying until September/ October. British swallows spend their winter in South Africa, travelling up across the Sahara, through Morocco and then into Europe across the Pyrenees and up through France. Surprisingly it is not known for certain where house martins over winter, but it is thought that they might spend it flying over the equatorial forest canopy catching tropical insects. The journey that both species make to and from the UK is fraught with peril, where they are at threat from storms and starvation on the way.
Once in the UK, they need flying insects to feed on and a nest in which to bring up their young. Sadly, they are struggling with both of these requirements. Changes in land management over the last 60 years have negatively affected the number of insects in the UK dramatically, this including changes to farming practices, use of pesticides, unsympathetic development of land, pollution of rivers and trends in gardening. Nesting sites have been affected by the way in which houses are built and renovations made and also by a changing climate; the once predictable April showers that would produce muddy earth with which the birds could make their nests, are no longer so predictable. There are a number of ways of helping provide more insects which I have been suggesting in these updates, including not using pesticides and embracing a wilder kind of gardening. Another way of helping the birds though, is by providing a nest and that is this month’s challenge.
Swallows like outbuildings that they can easily access – have you got an open shed, or one that you could put a small hole in (50mm high and 200 mm wide) under the eaves? If so, you could make a platform from four flat pieces of wood and they will then use this as the basis of their nest. House martins make their nests under the eaves of buildings. North and east facing walls are ideal and they need to be high enough that they can fly in and out comfortably. You can buy a nest cup for both breeds that can be placed in the correct area or also there is advice on the RSPB website about how to make these.
Are you living somewhere where there used to be a lot of nests and you would like to recreate these? If so, please do let us know as we will be looking into funding for buying up some nest boxes.
We of course do not know if swallows and house martins will take up these boxes and it can take some years for the birds to come, however I think it is worth trying to help these vulnerable and hard working birds. We have also heard of a good number of nest boxes being taken up by house martins near to Bridford so we know it has been effective nearby. If the nest boxes are not taken up by these birds, there is also a good chance they make be taken up by sparrows, so helping another species that is currently listed as being in critical decline.
wildlifewarden@bridfordvillage.co.uk