The Boys are Back in Town

[Rogerdodge]

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

[ChrisC]

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

[Rogerdodge]

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.

[Susie]

Which direction should the nest boxes face, Roger?

[Rogerdodge]

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.

[Susie]

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

[59 SPECIES]

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!

[Zonda]

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.