Where do House martins go for winter? And what route do they take?

Where on earth do British House martins go?

June 2013. It is one of ornithology's greatest mysteries but also one that the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) hopes to answer using the very latest that technology has to offer.

Amber listed - UK breeding population down by 66%

The House Martin is well known to many people; from April to September it lives cheek by jowl with those lucky enough to have this energetic little bird nest under their eaves. In recent years, however, the number breeding here in the UK has fallen by two-thirds, leading to the species being amber listed as a bird of conservation concern and in need of some help.

Where in Africa?

Whilst we know a lot about the breeding ecology of the House Martin in the UK, once September comes and this enigmatic bird heads off for the winter it virtually disappears from our radar. It is not known where in Africa House Martins winter, or how precisely they get there. If we are to start to understand what is driving the decline of this wonderful species, then it is these questions that we will need to answer

Continued

House martin survey

Help BTO find Britain's House martins

May 2013. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is appealing for help in finding one of our closest summer neighbours, the House Martin.

The aptly named House Martin returns to the UK during April and early May to build its cup shaped nest under the eaves of our homes. However, all is not well with this engaging little bird. Over the last 25 years we have lost two-thirds of our breeding House Martins, with the losses being greatest in England and Wales.

Colonies disappearing

During the last year, the BTO has received several reports of long-established colonies being abandoned, possibly due to the cool, wet 2012 summer, and they want to know just where House Martins are building their nests this year.

Paul Stancliffe, from the BTO commented, "Despite House Martins sharing our homes with us during the summer months there are huge gaps in our knowledge of this wonderful little bird. Do they abandon colonies one year to reoccupy them at some stage in the future? Do they all arrive at the same time or is the arrival spread out over several weeks? Are there really more House Martins breeding in Scotland than in other parts of the UK? These are all questions that we would like to answer, and we can only begin to do this if people tell us about their martins."

Report nests

He added, "Once we have a better understanding of where House Martins are and how well they are doing, we can then begin to look at possible reasons for the recent drop in their breeding population. The beauty is that anyone with a House Martin nest can help."

The BTO are also hoping to solve one of ornithology's great mysteries, where House Martins go for the winter. Once this tiny bird crosses the Sahara Desert it disappears. In a bid to answer this mystery, the BTO hope to fit shirt-button sized geolocators to House Martins in the UK that will reveal their winter location.

For more information and to take part in the House Martin survey, click here.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/house-martin013.html