Housemartin Behaviour

[May]

As I mentioned in another thread the houses either side of us have housemartins building nests. I hear them often and see them a lot as they swoop up to the eaves and around the field and gardens.

When I first saw them I stood watching for a while and one of them skimmed past me and I had noticed that they circled me once or twice. I thought they may have been curious.

Yesterday I was paying them no heed and bringing in the dry laundry from the garden and glanced up as I saw one of the birds go back next door to its nest building. Just as I reached our back door, one of divebombed down and headed straight for my head! If I hadn't of ducked I would have been treated to a housemartin in my face

Now what I want to know is, was this bird attacking me? Was it just curious? Was it coincedence? It wasn't a skim down and past encounter, this was a sheer divebomb from above with me having to duck a foot or two to avoid being hit. I could understand if I was near their nest, but I was in my own garden and just walking along.

[Tornado]

Hi May,
in my past experiences with House Martins they sometimes do seem to skim quite low, but in 7 years of living in close proximity with them never have I seen any fly directly at a human. I think this is just a coincidence, sorry if the verdict is disappointing!!!

Tornado

[Mark43]

I tend to agree with Tornado.............they were just playing with you May.

[Walwyn]

They can skim quite low over the garden before heading vertically up to the nests. Some evenings we get 20 or so circling low over the garden or almost coliding into the walls/windows, they never do though. Sometime the adults will make two or three approaches before entering the nest.

[May]

Heh .. I was starting to get paranoid about going out there! The one that came at me was leaving the nest-building and swooped down to its right and straight at my head .. a day or so before they had been circling me as I put the washing out. I rather like to think they're merely curious!