Please be nice to house (martin) guests

ORNITHOLGISTS have issued a nationwide plea to householders to be nice to some of their summer guests – even though they can be a bit on the messy side.

The visitors in question are house martins, one of the rarer members of the swallow family, which battle their way north from the jungles of Equatorial Africa to nest under the eaves of buildings here in Britain.

There, they can make a considerable mess with their droppings, admit scientists from the British Trust for Ornithology. But they ask for people to show tolerance by not destroying their nests, particularly when they contain eggs or even chicks.

This is not only illegal but it is putting the breed at risk for indidcations are that the numbers are falling for reasons as yet unknown.

A joint house martin survey has been set up by the BTO, the RSPB and BirdWatch Ireland to carry out a house martin census, which is being covered by the Radio Four’s World on the Move series, which tracks bird migrations.