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Extremely weird House Martin behaviour (1 Viewer)

david2004

Well-known member
On my estate there is a colony of House Martins, about 20 pairs. There are also a few pairs of Swifts around. They left at the very beginning of August. Earlier in the year (about three months ago) the House Martins were swooping low over the houses and gardens and flying upwards to the walls and apexes and sometimes staying there for a few seconds. I thought this was checking out nest sites, but I'm not sure.


Today, something very weird happened. About an hour ago, hundreds of House Martins appeared, wheeling and swooping all over the place. Particularly in one garden. They were swooping up to the apex, back down again over the garden and landing in a tree! Many birds perched in the tree for a while and then flew up again, swooping like mad all over the place again.

Some were in the fields (I live on the edge of the estate next to a copse and farmland) and over the trees, but mainly in this one garden. Then many moved off and were all over the estate, flying through the gardens and going up to the apexes again, like the time that I described at the beginning of this thread.

Then they were everywhere again, and particularly this one garden, and I even noticed some very high in the sky - they were everywhere! Far more than I have ever seen here before, there must be about 300 + around. Then, I saw two Swifts with them! This estate's Swifts left 11 days ago, but suddenly these birds appeared.


Surely they're not getting ready to leave this early (House Martins)? Are they getting ready for migration so soon? I know they have more than one brood, and last year they stayed until September. There are still youngsters in some of the nests.

Are they passage birds, which would explain the Swifts? Again, surely not this early? Or are they the earliest nesters that have finished and are just passing through, leaving the rest behind?


There are many flying ants around here at the moment, and lots of House Sparrows are catching them in the air. Could this explain the unusual behaviour?

I took lots of pictures, and will try to upload them tonight. Now the numbers have reduced to only about 40 birds, and the huge number have disappeared!

Please help! Thanks.
 
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Sounds like a combination of factors at work here David - possibly a local flock started mobbing a raptor (Sparrowhawk, probably, if it's in a garden), this flock attracted more distant birds (the migrants?), they may have 'thought' it could be a feeding flock as they would need to feed up while they can?

Andy.
 
Thanks Andrew. I don't think it was a local flock as there aren't that many around here, and this was a huge flock. I had a pretty good view of the garden and I'm almost positive there was no Sparrowhawk there. They were flying to the tree and perching on it often. Also, they were going round the house as well. Can anyone else help?
 
I would plumb for food, i.e. the flying ants at the moment and of course the jungledrum will bring every able bird in the vicinity, bit like a feeding frenzy. ( Seem to remember something on the box on that sort of thing a while back.)
This flying up and down walls, rooves etc. business could come under the same heading as same/ some/ other insects will be close to those for whatever reason, avoiding being eaten i.e.? Rather like a shoal of fish when the biggies move in . Be interested whatelse anybody is coming up with.
Bluetit
 
Flying ants is also my suggestion.
In Wiltshire where I live the ants came out two days ago when it was a bit thundery.
 
Phew, you are like a dog with a bone. Might the swifts not join what's going on? And the tree, well, maybe it was nicer to sit there than on a telephone line, more insects congregating under there as well.
Bluetit
P.S.: What about the garden? Keep us updated on your findings of your research, please. B.
 
Right...The local Swifts had left over a week ago, so no. And the House Martins weren't staying on the tree for long, and flying all over the place. When they were on the tree they were resting, not eating insects.
 
When I was taking Swallow pics a couple of days ago,I noticed one of the birds had a clump of mud in its mouth.One of the fisherman did ask if these birds were still nesting and producing new chicks.They all seem to be late with the chicks this year,and this guy asked,did they just keep on nesting,and then suddenly start the migration.I must admit I thought I had missed most of the youngsters,but now they are everywhere.
 
Thanks Christine. I suppose they could have youngsters, and the nests do seem to be edging closer to my house (YAY). Earlier in the year during the frenzied inspections(?) they investigated my house several times, including the House Martin nest cup! Here's hoping for next year!

I'm still confused about the perching on the tree though. It seemed to be the main activity, all taking turns on the tree!
 
Hi David, once maybe twice a year, there is a big mateing ritual with ants, they take to the air for a few hours, and produce a big feeding frenzy in the avian world, so the birds will make the most of these meals on wings. You will also see Gulls that are inland making
the most of these flying ants.
 
Thanks Paul. I heard about that, but these ants have been around a lot, and I'm very confused about the tree perching!

This happens early in the year when the adults are searching for nest sites, and again later in the year when either the first or second broods have fledged.
Its a kind of excited nest prospecting flight. They are communal birds that tend to nest very close together and this is the birds as a community checking for new nest areas.
This behaviour is common and can be seen at any colony during the early spring/late summer. I have witnessed it many times, it can sometimes happen when the adult birds have just fledged their brood and automatically start checking new areas to nest, instinct to nest must kick in i suppose? It has also happened when in a"house proud area" the owners knock the nests down. That is why they were flying around en masse and flying up to the eaves. The perching in the tree is often replaced in other circumstances by roof tops/cliff tops etc.
 
Much the same behaviour on our estate, 2 particular homes have swarms of housemartins flying up to the eaves,but just swooping, not perching. Our home is one of the two, we still have this years nest up there. Strange as we have never seen this behaviour before
 
Much the same behaviour on our estate, 2 particular homes have swarms of housemartins flying up to the eaves,but just swooping, not perching. Our home is one of the two, we still have this years nest up there. Strange as we have never seen this behaviour before

Same here in Lincolnshire. Our house has dormer windows and we were woken up by dozens of house martins flying up into the eaves of the dormer. Our bed head goes right up to the window and the birds are only inches away.
We looked carefully to see what they might be after but could see no insects of any kind.
In the end I decided that it was some kind of practice investigation of potential nest sites for the following season.
 
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