The HOS House Martin Survey

A.D. 2000 will be the sixth year of the Society's House Martin Survey. We are making some progress in attracting new recorders but it would still be very worthwhile to have as many more as possible, to contribute to this HOS survey. To give some idea of the coverage of the County:- in 1999 we had records from the following, Andover Down, Bramshill, Buriton, Butlocks Heath*, Chandlers Ford, Colden Common, East Wellow, Fareham, Farnborough, Flowerdown, Gosport, Hamble*, Hambledon, Hayling Island, Heckfield, Hook*, Hythe, Itchen Abbas, Kingsworthy, Leckford, Long Parish, Lymington*, Newnham, North End (Portsmouth), North Poulner*, Odiham*, Petersfield, Ringwood*, Riseley, Southampton, Stockbridge*, Stratfield Turgis, Swanmore, Sway, Wickham, Wood Green. Note, Records for the communities marked with an asterisk (*) were new in 1999. If your village, town, locality is not listed do join in the study: we need you. Please give it a serious 'think'.

For the five year period, 1995-1999, for which we have consistent data from the same 26 recorders, the nest count figures are:

*The three site size ranges are arbitrary: sites which fall into the two higher categories have had at least one year out of the five with either 50 nests or 15 nests.

These figures give some idea of the overall position in Hampshire, and they suggest that during the last five years there has neither been a 'crash' nor a consistent increase in House Martin nest numbers. Clearly the three larger sites are making a major contribution to the statistics; but equally clearly, the medium sized and smaller colonies are also significant. Because the overall coverage of the County is relatively modest, and because we have only had three larger sites in the survey for the full five years, it is unrealistic to try to draw any general conclusions from the foregoing data. There are, however, two other larger sites for which we have 4-year figures, neither is near the other 3 sites: at Site 4 the numbers fluctuate between 93 and 81 nests, but at Site 5 they have been rising from 48 to 85. The inconsistency within all the figures makes it impossible to claim any evident trend for the larger colonies.

In the case of the medium sized colonies, there has been no clear tendency. Some, such as the one being monitored in Newnham (scattered over 6 buildings), seem to have been more or less stable, some apparently growing and some declining. Again the sample is too small for valid conclusions to be drawn. And the pattern is much the same for the smaller colonies, except that the numbers in three have fallen to nil for the past two years. This need not mean they will not recover, because there is one instance of a zero return in 1998 followed by a 10-nest count in 1999. It is worth re-stating that nil returns, from sites which have been occupied in former years, continue to be valuable for this study, please continue to send them in.

The Survey, besides giving a great deal of valuable data about the County's House Martin nest numbers, has thrown up some other interesting observations. For example, a nestling predator which has been reported (from Andover Down and Kilmeston) is the Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Such activity is recorded in The Handbook of British Birds, and these birds' habit of attacking nest boxes is also well attested. And in 1998 there was a case of Magpies stretching down from a gutter above an artificial House Martin nesting box and extracting the young birds. The householder countered this by fixing a board above the nesting box and beyond the eaves so that the Magpies cannot now reach their prey.

One observer knows of a House Martin nest positioned so far under the eaves that it might be mistaken for a Swift's nest, (but the parent and later the young were ringed and their identity cannot be doubted).

Another recorder has found that when there is choice, House Martins tend to build on white rendered or painted walls rather then other surfaces. It would be instructive to know if other respondents confirm this observation. A fairly general observation is that House Martins seem to be returning to their nest sites later than in former years, and one observer wondered whether the birds had perhaps already raised one brood elsewhere, en route. A householder with several nests noted, in 1998, that a great many young birds seemed to have left their nests too soon (before they could fly) and were found to be heavily parasitized by ticks. They did not survive. Another observation, is that in late summer, parties of House Martins apparently 'visit' existing nests or uncolonised, potential nest sites in a neighbourhood: are they young birds becoming familiar with the area and seeking somewhere to nest when they return in spring? All these additional points, submitted by recorders, add to our stock of knowledge about House Martins in Hampshire; they are included here because of their intrinsic interest and in the hope they may prompt other participants in this HOS Survey to add their own experiences.

House Martin Survey 2000

(A guide for new recorders and an aide memoire for established reporters)

1. Observers are asked to visit every site within their chosen area where House Martins nest, or may be nesting, between mid-July and end-August.

2. Only nests that have been active during the year should be recorded; just note those nests which have a good volume of the current year's droppings below them, or nests which are obviously occupied (it is often possible to check the occupied nests by 'calling' the occupants - adults or nestlings - by making a squeaking sound from below the nests).

3. Please omit incomplete nests, broken nests or nests which have been used by other birds, such as house sparrows or wrens (these can often be identified by pieces of grass, feathers, moss, protruding from the entrance hole).

4. Finally send the data to me using the form below. It is important to give a 6-figure grid reference or in some other way to pin-point the location of the nests or colonies.

5. If you have a problem defining what a colony consists of, or any other query about this House Martin Survey, please write to Nigel Bell at the address below. I am sure the difficulty can be ironed out.

Please send your observations, before 1st October 2000, to: Nigel Bell, Ashmead, Newnham, Hook, Hants. RG27 9AF. (01256 762 104)

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