Prior to 2013 there were no records of house martins breeding on Ramsey when suddenly one lone pair started building a nest on the south side of the farmhouse. The nest kept falling down so we quickly put up an artificial box and they got two broods away that year.
In 2014 the same, or possibly a different pair, returned and once again raised two broods. In August of last year we were treated to the sight of up to 60 birds swooping around the house and clinging to the walls. House martins were passing south on migration by this stage and we assume these possible non-breeders were attracted by the sights and sounds of that years fledged young.
Things are going from strength to strength and this year we have an incredible 8 pairs nesting! 3 of the 5 boxes on the south side of the house are occupied and all 5 of the new boxes we put up on the east side. Many of these birds had attempted to build naturally but for whatever reason (wrong paint on the house?, wrong mud?!) they kept falling down. One nest fell down just as the pair were about to lay but disaster was averted when our delivery contractor Derek hurriedly took down one his empty boxes, jumped in his boat and whizzed across Ramsey Sound with it! I put it straight up and by that evening the pair were settled in as if nothing had happened!
As write this all 8 boxes contain chicks, some of which will be fledging any day now. First broods usually hang around while the adults get on with second broods so the skies around the farmhouse are going to be even noisier soon!
Nationally house martins are in trouble. The recent BTO atlas for 2007-11 shows sharp declines in parts of England and Wales. The exact cause is unclear at present, the lack of insect rich feeding grounds close to urban areas and the switch to modern PVC fascia boards are both implicated. If you have nests or nest boxes on your house then the BTO are running a monitoring scheme in 2016 - see here for details
Most pairs attempted to build naturally but none were successful
Before long they had taken up our offer of house martin des-res!
It wasn't long before there were signs of hatching success littering the lawn
All 8 pairs are busy feeding young and it won't be long before they are out of the nest and, if weather and feeding conditions allow, the adults should fit in a second brood this year