Whoever knows me well, knows that I spend most of the spring and summer months with my eyes up in the sky; from March until October, a yearly miracle happens in front of our very eyes, a miracle not everyone is aware of but which has been fascinating me since I was a child. 

I have been in love with house martins for as long as I can remember; my very first memory of these sweet birds is back at my home mountain village near the Italian Alps. 

I remember them building their mud nests right on top of my bedroom window; 3,000 perfectly formed mud pellets, cleverly stacked upon each other and engineered in what is a perfect cup form, ready to host 4-5 tiny chicks for up to 4 weeks. 

As I came to know many years later, these chicks would then fledge and embark on an extremely perilous journey that would see them fly all the way to sub–Saharan Africa to reach their overwintering grounds. 

A mere 19 gram, perfectly engineered, furry legged black and white miracle of nature, a tiny wonder of the skies able to eat over 2,000 flying insects a day, including midges and mosquitoes. 

As a young child of about 10 or 11, I used to watch them in awe, wondering where they would disappear in the winter months.

Unfortunately, my mother was not as keen on them; house martins might be tiny, but they do poo, and this is, unfortunately, often seen as a nuisance. 

One day she came with a broom and, without further ado, she proceeded to take down the nests and the chicks within; unfortunately, in 1980s Italy this was the norm, and people didn’t understand or know much about wildlife and nature, and its importance. 

My screams of horror had no effect and, while finding myself giving a funeral to two tiny chicks, I promised them and myself that I would do something to help them out in my future years. 

Then life happened. Kids, family, work, moving to the UK, however, I never forgot my promise. 

Fast forward almost 40 years, and I found myself one day in 2020 looking at a post on Facebook, where someone had been trying to help their local house martin colony by installing some artificial nest cups. 

The post received many positive comments, and I got in touch with some of the people in the group, led by Ian Donovan. We first grouped up as enthusiasts but soon got organised and House Martin Conservation UK & Ireland was founded in 2021, the only UK charity solely dedicated to the preservation and protection of these magic birds. 

House martins were put on the BTO red list of birds at risk of extinction in 2021 – together with swifts – so our decision had been very timely. 

House martins are part of the Hirundine family – closely related to the house sparrow - together with swallows and sand martins; they have seen a 70% decline in the last 30 years, and the reasons are multiple. 

Insect decline, climate change affecting migration and moulting, but also dry summers which means less mud available, and a tendency to build fascias and soffits out of UPVC, which means the mud doesn’t stick well. House martins are colony birds and nest under deep eaves on urban buildings exclusively, making them our friends and an effective form of pest control. 

Lots of people also wonder if they get along with swifts, another incredibly fascinating red listed wonder of the skies; the answer is yes! 

There are many examples of combination swift/house martin nesting provisions being used with great success, and the birds don’t show competitive behaviour against each other, unlike other species such as house sparrows.

Their struggle is very real, but not all hope is lost! 

At the charity, we have been researching ways to help reverse their decline; artificial nest cups (ANCs) really help as they provide a sturdy, predator and collapse proof nest which will last for decades. 

Installation of ANCs in existing colonies is proven to help support these birds, as well as planting for insects and pollinators, and providing a wildlife pond to boost insect population. 

Additionally, people can offer a builders’ tray full of clay-based mud, carefully placed away from predators; this is usually welcome by the birds, who can use it for building and nest repairs during drier months. 

There is also evidence showing that, by playing the right type of call, house martins can be attracted to ANCs, providing there is a mud source at a reasonable distance and a healthy insect population in the area. 

Worried about poo? Fear no more, you can find some clever solutions on the House Martin Conservation UK & Ireland website; from dropping boards to placing a plant pot right under the nest, there are many both bird and home-friendly mitigations that can be implemented. 

By the way, Hydrangea does really well thanks to the poo’s PH and reaches a very vibrant blue hue! 

Worried about chicks jumping off nests because of the heat, or falling on the ground if mud gets too dry? You can place a thick layer of cardboard and an additional folded old sheet under the nests to soften the fall. If you find a grounded house martin, please place the bird in a ventilated box and keep in a quiet area indoors, and follow the advice given on our website. 

And finally, map, map, map! The charity has teamed up with Coreo and created a useful nest mapping app which really helps in painting a wider picture of our house martin colonies across the UK and Ireland – all the info on the website.

Ultimately, if you do have house martins nesting on your property, consider yourself privileged that these little wonders have chosen your home as their safe place to bring up their brood. 

They will keep your home free from flying pests, but most importantly, they will give you hours of fun and entertainment with their acrobatic antics and cheerful chirrups, while you watch them swirl in the summer skies, happily chattering away. Until one day, in early autumn, they will congregate for their epic journey back to Africa, hopefully to return to the very same nest the following spring and cheer you up once again, a sudden, tiny flash of white, black and cobalt against the blue sky.