Hello. I have joined the community again after a gap of about 8 years. I used to be known as JEF then Goldcrest but had to log in with new name to access my old profile. Anyway, I am now known as Firecrest.
We have had House Martins visit our house for the last 20+ years. We did have a gap of four years but now realise a young Beech tree blew down which left a clear path to the nests again, so they returned, much to my joy!
Numbers have been pretty consistent since the first pair returned and they are the highlight of my spring and summer. I am very concerned because so far only one pair have returned this year. We first saw them about 12 days ago but no sign of any more.
There is no sign of any swallows or house martins when I walk the dog around our usual haunts, where usually we see loads. Please can anyone tell us if they are late this year?
Thank you.
My Flickr photos
Hopefully, the low numbers are purely because you're some way north and it's still only April. Having said that, numbers here are low. Had 6 fledged nests last year, and the max number of house martins I've seen here at any one time so far this year is 4. Our nests don't really get going until May (one often starts a couple of weeks before the others). Ours that have made it so far arrived during the hot spell about 10 days ago. Do you have house sparrows there by any chance?
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Cheers,
Bob
My Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobs_retired_now/