12 January 2025
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Martins make a welcome return after their African winter
The clocks have run forwards , days are lengthening and our garden are coming back to life , which mean a innkeeper of chore to do . But if April finger like a busy calendar month for us , it ’s positively frantic for our birds !
Breeding season is upon them and the focus is very much on finding a mate and the good nesting patch .
It ’s also the calendar month we welcome back most of our spring migrant such as home martins . Like many other birdie , they ’ve completed flight of steps of yard of geographical mile and now need to get into the best condition to start breed .
House Martin will often pass their first few days back in the UK in wetland and other sites copious in insects , busily feeding before heading to their favour nesting sites in urban and rural areas .
They construct amazing cup - shape nest on the outer wall of buildings , gather under the eaves . These intricate structure seem like they ’d take some sentence to make when you have hands – but imagine only having a beak !
It ’s estimated it takes around 1,000 beakfuls of clay to make them , an unbelievable amount of effort for these small skirt .
The birds create intricate nests on outer walls, under the eaves of buildings – Credit John Markham RSPB images
They do reuse old nest cups where possible , and will make track fixing if necessary so if you have existing nests in your garden , please do leave them inviolate .
star sign martin are settlement nesters , often exist alongside four or five other pairs , and can have up to three brood in a time of year , make this an incredibly acute time for them .
It is awesome for anyone lucky enough to have them snuggle nearby to see them in such good numbers .
We can save house martins a great deal of time and effort by putting up manmade nest cups – Credit Oliver Smart RSPB images
How to help martin colonies
However , house Martin were added to the red lean of most endangered birds in 2022 due to a decline in their number . luckily there are some things you could do to aid them .
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House Martins will congregate at puddles and use the mud to build or repair nest cups – Credit Ben Andrew RSPB Images
Frequently asked question
Q. What ’s the best time to get up and listen to the dawn chorus ?
A. The dawn refrain builds over the next few week as birds sing in the early sunup to find a fellow . Sunrise is the best clock time to take heed , generally 30 minutes before and after the Lord’s Day come along .
Q. I really want to help swifts , but is it too belated to put up a swift nest loge on my sign ?
A. Swifts typically arrive back from late April ahead , so you still have time .
fleet populations have suffered terribly in recent years , in part due to want of worthy nesting sites , so the more we can do to assist them , the good . you could also help by downloading our Swiftmapper app and plotting the location of any swift nesting sites you ’re aware of .
For more entropy on helping house martins , or any wildlife in your garden , go towww.rspb.org.uk
