How to report House Martin nest sites

We’re keen to know where House Martins are nesting in Cornwall (not other counties, please). Firstly, make sure that it is House Martins you are reporting. They may occasionally be confused with Swallows and Swifts so if you are unsure check out identifying features.

    

The video link here is also instructive.

House Martin nest © Vic BoothHouse Martin nests are quite distinctive, built of mud under the eaves of buildings or occasionally on cliffs or in caves. (If the nest is in a barn, garage or outbuilding, perhaps on a rafter it is most likely to be a Swallow’s nest)

Once you’re sure you’ve found House Martins nesting, check the map of nest sites already reported to avoid double counting.

Then, on the map below, zoom, scroll and click where you have seen occupied House Martin nests in Cornwall this year. It might be a single nest or several making up a colony. Please try to pinpoint the nest site accurately and give it a meaningful name, e.g. Village Square, Cawsand. House numbers / names are useful but not essential.

Before submitting your observation, we ask that you give us a bit more information to enable us to find out the preferred type of nest site and the timing of breeding cycle events.

e.g. are the nests easily seen from the roadside, are any of the nests artificial, how many nests seem to be occupied.