Housemartins - First Brood Hatches 1st June

[Polecat]

I've found the first eggshell from the Housemartins today. .....

[Chalk Downlanders]

Round this egg shell today. I do not know what it is from.

Kev

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Although i can't tell the size, it looks the right colour to be a Blackbird

[Tornado]

Originally Posted by Polecat

I've found the first eggshell from the Housemartins today. .....

Excellent news re housemartins Polecat lets hope there are enough insects about to feed the chicks. The colony who regularly nested around our house sadly did not return this year. Can't figure out whether its because most of their brood last year died or if it has something to do with the swift, who, this season have taken up residence where the martins previously nested. Surely the Housemartins are not territorial as they live in close proximity with other Martins, or are they? Does anyone know?

[Polecat]

Hi Tornado, theres always plenty of insect fodder up here for them to eat.....the winds of the latter half of may wasn't good , but they all pulled through that spell.
........ There was a decline here in the numbers of Housemartins returning at first......but they are still arriving, another 6-12 arrived this week.
However, from my obs, they do re-locate. over 140 have left here each year over the past 6, yet, only the original breeding pairs seem to return ( though this must evolve somewhat with life expectancy ) . Where do the young go too.....they can't all perish. The average pair here raise around 8 chicks a year ( 2-3 broods ) .
As far as Swifts scaring them off.....It may be but I doubt it. Here Swifts Swallows and HM's live in harmony ...and in contact with each other. ( feeding, warning )...thought the companionship between swallows and Housemartins is greater.
You may ask how I know its the adults returning.....its because they all have their individual nestbuilding eccentricities.
Over this weekend I am going to make some nests with the builders foam which was suggested in an earlier thread here and advised by the rspb......I'm interested to see if the birds are as lazy as I think they are!!!

[May]

I've never seen a housemartin, it's a bird I would love to see.

[Tornado]

Originally Posted by May

I've never seen a housemartin, it's a bird I would love to see.

Such a shame you haven't seen House martins, lovely little birds I'm really missing them this season. They have nested in the same site since I was a child and as far as I can remember this is the only time I have not seen or heard them.
I hpoe that this is just a one off and they will return as usual nest season.

Thanks Polecat, glad all is well with your nesting Martins, and heres hoping they have plenty of chicks seeing as the insect population down there is so good!!

[May]

I would dearly love to see them .. we have lots of swifts and swallows around here but I've never seen the house martin.

[May]

Would house martins be nest building right about now? I know they're double brooded but that's all I do know.

I was pegging the washing out to dry just a moment ago and heard a wonderful birdcall (which I had heard first thing this morning .. it was so sweet I got up to have a look for the bird but saw nothing) then as I looked up, I was skimmed quite literally by a black bird with pure white underbelly and forked tail. It headed for the eaves of our neighbours house. Looking up, they were everywhere and many of them headed for the eaves of the houses. I looked along the houses of which we're the centre to see much evidence of nest building .. in fact out of the four available spots here, three are taken by pairs of birds (typically ours is the one without ) I was lucky enough to glimpse three pairs clinging to the tiles and small patches of mud they were arranging.

So .. would these indeed be house martins?

[henrya]

Sounds like House Martins to me, May. They have a wonderful bubbling call.

henrya

[Tornado]

Hi May, it certainly looks like you have Martins nesting nearby. Hope you see lots more of the when they have bred and their young have fledged.

[May]

Well they're nesting on either side of our house in the eaves and on the sidings to one of the houses too. I feel a bit paranoid looking at up them in case the neighbours think I'm spying on them! We just got home a short while ago and they're there making that wonderful call! It almost sounds like a laugh!

So the sky is littered with swallows, swifts and house martins at present .. it's rather noisey but wonderful to see!

Just think, I'd never seen a house martin until today and now they're nesting feet away!