www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

"Our" House Martins are back and examining last years nest.
Oh joy.

with envy. i even considered putting up a fake alarm box to try an get them to nest. but last year locally they were few and far between. even half the local nesters weern't around I just love their little chattering.

Chris

Chris
Ours are using artificial nests.
No House Martins had nested within half a mile of our house before we put them up.
We put up a pair of nests about 8 years ago (above the bathroom window) and they adopted it after a couple of years.
Now we have a third, and they are all used. Last year we counted approx 15 adults attending the nests which produced about 8 fledged youngsters.
My wife stands outside underr the nests and talks to them - they peer out of the nests and talk back.
Yesterday, as well as "the boys" I saw my first male Orange tip of the year.
There are no two sights more assured to lift the spirits.
Yesterday was a GOOD day.

Incidentally - House Martins now nest on both our neighbours houses, both using the alarm box method. I like to think we are responsible.

Which direction should the nest boxes face, Roger?

Susie
I am not sure there is a "best" directions.
Mine are on the east facing wall of my house, but the birds have nested on both the west and north sides of other properties.
I guess they should be placed where you will have a good view!
Above a window is good, as you can get close views of them flying up and in (in our case, whilst sat on the loo!).
Along from a window is best if you want photos - you can hang out and photograph them as they perch on the outside.
There is a word of caution - they produce a huge amount of poo. Make sure the area below is suitable for hosing down fairly regularly.
They are also fairly noisy - above your bedroom window may not be the best spot!
Be patient. They may not adopt your boxes for a long time.
We have become strangely mat/paternal towards our boys (they are "our boys" regardless of actual sex). Seeing them re-arrive each spring is oddly emotional.
Good luck.

Thanks Roger. Birds do seem to be quite particular about which direction their nests face. Many thanks for the help.

Susie,

Absolutely, Swifts can be quite particular. We are putting a Swift nesting box on an east-facing wall in the next few days. We took advice and I think anything facing full south or even south-west will have problems and get baked!

59 SPECIES is right, what you do not want is for fledglings to be baked in afternoon sun. If you are attaching a tit box to the trunk of a tree, think ahead a bit and try to provide shade for the fledglings, a north east aspect is usually good, as it only incurs the warmth of the morning sun, and it's the afternoon sun that is usually the hottest. Personally, i don't like wall sites, although they can be fine, as has been said, a south, or west facing wall will cook your tits, in a warm spell.
Our House Martins are in decline, we used to get 6 or 7 nests on North, East, and South sides of the house, this has gradually decreased, and last year we had just 2.