Sand Martin new build homes

This is the new tower block for Sand Martins at Lea Farm Lake, Winnersh. No occupants yet, but hopefully the new residents should arrive shortly.:)

Sounds exciting . Hope it goes well :)

This is excellent for the Sand Martin here Rolf, not seen anything like it anywhere before. Can I 'nick' a copy of the pic please and where is Whinnersh?


Pete.

No problem Pete help yourself, Winnersh is Berkshire.:)

this was well used last year, although the lower levels were flooded and several young were drowned.
joe

Well I was hoping this tower block would have overcome the drowning problem for the Sand Martin as this is precisely what happens with natural nest holes in river banks, that when the river floods in the summer months lots of this species perish. The obvious question here then is......why wasn't the construction placed further up the bank to prevent this happening.


Pete.

Can't answer that Pete, but if the bottom holes are prone to flooding, then perhaps they need to be blocked.

Perhaps the summer floods were exceptional.

What a great idea, Rolf!

That's really sad though, Pete. They should fill in lower level at least when has happened.

These two pics were taken at Milford-on-Sea last June. The Sand Martins' tunnels at the clifftop were quite amazing. In the second pic you can see a young bird waiting to be fed at the entrance to its home.

Nice photos Catherine, must get down there and take some photos.:)

This is the Sand Martin block on Lavell's Lake.

Like I said earlier Rolf I've not seen one of these before but hard to believe this one is unique. The Sand Martin could be greatly helped by the erecting of more up and down the country as I'm quite convinced they suffer at the hands of flooding rivers after heavy summer rain's, they certainly do on the River Lune up here where I am as some of the nest holes are only a few metres above the normal water level.


Pete.

Here's the block from Hosehill Lake at Theale in Berkshire, no occupants as yet, although I did spot a Martin of some sort high in the Sky over the lake.

Here are few shots of the sand martins at Lavell's lake.As you can see they are in residence.
I took a few hours off from unpacking after holiday in Guernsey
Joe

Well done Joe, looks like the action has started.:)

Good for you Joe. Looks exciting :)