A house martin at Framilode church

I went back down to the river, the Severn that is. The tide was out, the sun shone, a gentle breeze wafted the reeds and the house martins twittered. I chose to visit Framilode church which was built on the bank of the Severn close to the point where the River Frome, that flows down the Golden Valley and through Stroud, enters the river. Eventually the Stroudwater canal was created parallel to the Frome with a lock basin close to the church in order to make safe entry to the river possible.

I've often stood looking at the house martins which nest under the eaves of the church tower's roof. I was surprised to see so many of them still flying in to feed their young which are still in the nest. I expect they are second broods of the season. You can just see the white head of one of them in the mud nest at the top of the picture. The parent flies in with insects they catch on the wing and they cling to the outside of the nest in order to shove the food down the throats of the young. They then turn round and drop down to fly away as you can see here.

An elderly woman stopped to chat as she went to walk her dog along the riverbank. She said that this has been a poor year for the martins. There were fewer returning from Africa this spring and she had no nests on her house, just thirty yards from the church, whereas normally she has about six families each in their own nests.

The house martin is a common summer visitor to the UK, arriving in April and leaving in October. It builds mud nests, sometimes in small colonies, under ledges, on cliffs and, as their name suggests, under the eaves of houses. Both males and females help to build the nest, collecting mud from streams and ponds and building up layers with bill-sized pellets. House martins are commonly found in towns and villages, as well as in agricultural areas. They feed on flying insects and aphids.