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Swallow/House Martin nests

Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
in Wildlife gardening
Has anyone bought the artificial swallow nests that can be attached to walls? If so, were they used by the birds? It has been recommended that we put a few on the house wall where we once had swallows building their nests.  A few birds arrived on Bank Holiday Monday to build nests, after a lapse of 15 - 20 years.  As there is very little mud around because the weather has been so dry, we supplied an upturned lid of it below the house wall but they were reluctant to use it. We are still hoping that they will return and make their homes here just as they used to. 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I loved the house martin nests that were under the eaves of the farmhouse where I grew up ... we could stretch out of the upstairs windows and into the nests (if Ma wasn't watching us).  We had lots of mud on the farm as we had a moat and a very large pond with muddy banks ... I loved watching them gathering the muddy Suffolk clay to build their nests.

    If you don't have much mud around I'd certainly try the artificial ones ... our house martins seemed to choose the shadier sides of the house for their nest sites. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I've got 5 or 6 of them in the garage but still haven't found anywhere to put them sadly. They're the type that go inside buildings rather than up under the eaves. They came with a job lot of water damaged schwegler wildlife equipment that I bought on ebay.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    You paint a wonderful picture of an idyllic childhood Dove, happy memories.  My parents had an old farmhouse with semi derelict barns and stables in the yard and the swallows would swoop into in and out of, building nests on the ceiling beams. We just took them for granted that they would always come back, but like a lot of birds their numbers have dropped right down and the new owners want to turn the outbuildings into holiday cottages. We will give these artificial nests some serious thought, although today the birds (have been told they are house martins not swallows) have successfully completely built one nest. 
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