Worried about House Martins

[Amoeba]

I know I've made a thread on this before, but I didn't want to necro an old thread.

I am really, really worried about the house martins this year. I still haven't seen any. Not a single old nest round my parts seems to be in use, and no new ones are being built. Last year, by this time the couple nesting near the living room window had fully-feathered chicks.

I've been all over the place in search of them. I've visited several housing estates and parks.

I hope for some reassurance that I haven't been looking hard enough. It's strangely eeire with all this nice warm weather that there's no martins swooping overhead and chirping. Like something just doesn't seem right.

I'm in Edinburgh by the way. If anyone else from here has seen them, please let me know.

[aeshna5]

I live around London + I've not seen many yet; a few up the Lea Valley yesterday as well as a couple of Swallows + many Swifts.

[FUDGEY]

There are plenty around me SW Scotland. Are you sure you have your dates right? Fully feathered chicks May 17th last year? From lining the nest, mating, laying then incubating the eggs to bringing the young to this stage would I would think take 7 weeks. That would mean them starting at the end of march. Pretty early for Scotland I would have thought. If you are sure I would not call you a liar though :-)

[Jenny W]

I have to say I've not seen as many as usual - and a distinct lack of Sand Martins too. Swallows and Swifts are far more numerous at the moment.

[Amoeba]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

There are plenty around me SW Scotland. Are you sure you have your dates right? Fully feathered chicks May 17th last year? From lining the nest, mating, laying then incubating the eggs to bringing the young to this stage would I would think take 7 weeks. That would mean them starting at the end of march. Pretty early for Scotland I would have thought. If you are sure I would not call you a liar though :-)

Yeah I remember. Because last year in the middle of May (I think it was closer to the 19th) the neighbours put up a for sale sign which scared the parents away from the nest. There had been fully feathered chicks in there before the parents fled, and the nest was empty (from what I could tell) after the sign went up. Most of the summer the nest was empty.

Maybe they were earlier than usual last year, and this year is just normal and I'm just getting worried because I'm comparing too much?

[Tringa]

House martins are one of the birds that have really declined around my way (East London). I haven't seen one for at least three years. Don't know why as there does not seem to be anything different about the area - same houses, no loss of habitat as far as I can tell. Swifts are back in the usual numbers, but not a HM in sight.

[Dogghound]

Plenty here. Also plenty of sand martins.

[Birdman1976]

I've seen very few House Martins around here in South Oxfordshire this year. It really has been very noticeable. Plenty of swallows, a decent number of swifts but House Martins have only really been noticeable by their absence. Last year there were plenty of them over the village and nest-building by this time in May

[Amoeba]

They're still around I guess, but I still haven't seen a single one. They were everywhere last year.

I'm seeing lots of swifts though, and they don't usually come this way.

[kiltoncomp]

Originally Posted by Amoeba

They're still around I guess, but I still haven't seen a single one. They were everywhere last year.

I'm seeing lots of swifts though, and they don't usually come this way.

not many swifts here yet,
last year we had approx 10 pair of swifts nesting under the eaves, but this year only five individuals have returned so far, and two of those are from a couple of doors doen the street, where, after having been made homeless by the people having had plastic facia and soffits fitted a few weeks ago, leaving the swifts no access to their usual nesting site, they tried for nearly a week to get into the eaves without success , before finally moving in with us

i had a few strong words with a plastic facia salesman trying to talk me into having them fitted to our house, when he described the swifts as "vermin"
i asked for gaps to be left in the soffits to allow the birds access, to which he was adamant that it would negate their guarantees and no way could he do that, so we still have the old facias, but we do have swifts

if they can go all the way to Africa and back to nest under my roof then they will always be welcome (the salesman isn't)

Brian.