Taking Wing

I registered to join the BTO survey of House Martin nests yesterday, which means recording what is going on every week on-line. The nest sits under the eaves on our east facing gable.

To my surprise, the House Martins obliged and returned yesterday. I wasn't sure if they would hang around - J had seen one the week before last, the pattern seems to be that they do an early reconnoitre and then disappear for weeks.

I thought I would photograph the nest for today's blip, but when I went to have a look I heard Martins chattering, and one of them flew in to the nest. So they really are back. I waited for it to fly out - and to my surprise I caught it, so it has to be today's blip.

House Martin's have declined by almost 70% since the early 1980's, and no one knows why. It is now amber listed as a species of conservation concern. No one knows where the millions of European birds winter, as very few have been found in Africa, and it will be 2-3 years until battery life on tiny geo locators is sufficient to make tagging them worthwhile. Until then this attractive little bird, familiar to most, hangs on to one of its key secrets. Unlike our barn swallows, which hawk insects over the grasslands of South Africa whilst we are shivering up here !