Lack of summer visitors
Last week we were still receiving queries about the apparent lack of house martins, swallows and swift. Some of these birds might have been delayed by the cold northerly winds that made early May a chilly one. Swallow and House Martin (hirundines) populations fluctuate from year to year and are greatly affected by weather. They require rain for wet mud for nest building and for encouraging the abundance…

Now the swifts are here we almost have a full complement of our summer migrants. However keep an eye out for spotted flycatchers and house martins as we have not heard of many sightings so far this year. Please remember to record your sightings on the Birdtrack website. Its also a great time to look for insects as butterflies, bees and dragonflies are on the wing.

 Now that the temperature is warming up it is a great time…

We’ve started to receive calls and emails from happy and relieved people reporting the return of swifts to British shores. Now we can start summer, right? Swifts faithfully return to nest sites year after year (if they are still there), in roof spaces, under soffits and behind fascias.

• Leave existing nest sites undisturbed
• If improvements are needed to masonry, fascias…