I have a question about house martins. I always believed they didn't ever land but ate etc constantly in flight (except when nesting). This morning I couldn't believe it - there were two babies sitting on our fence. Is this normal behaviour or maybe someone knocked down a nest before it was empty.
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House Martins (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Susiesue
- Start date
Hi Susie
Martins and swallows do land, especially when soon out of the nest, they'll line up waiting to be fed. They will also roost in reed beds.
It's Swifts which don't come to ground. They catch all their food and nesting material in the air.
EDIT: Cross-posted with Chris.... glad we're not arguing LOL
Martins and swallows do land, especially when soon out of the nest, they'll line up waiting to be fed. They will also roost in reed beds.
It's Swifts which don't come to ground. They catch all their food and nesting material in the air.
EDIT: Cross-posted with Chris.... glad we're not arguing LOL
Thanks Delia. Another question - I'm full of them today! This year there seem to be far too many birds flying into windows. So far I've had 6 or 7 which have survived (mainly sparrows) but a large number which haven't. This morning was especially upsetting. Every morning I put out grapes, sultanas and strawberries for a particular blackbird who feeds its baby right outside my door. Today however, the baby flew straight into a back window and knocked itself out. I picked it up and put it in a special open/topped box and left it where the parent would normally feed it. But to watch the parent looking into the box and looking around before flying off was so sad - the baby had died. Some people think I'm barmy but can't I help how I feel.
Torchepot
Well-known member
Hi Susie
That's a lot of birds colliding with your windows! There are a number of things you can do to reduce or even eliminate the problem.
Often one or two windows are responsible for most strikes and there seem to be two opposite factors that cause many of them.
If birds can see another window (or door) through the glass they may think there's a route through.
We have a window in our kitchen which used to cause a lot of problems but it was the opposite effect - the room behind the glass is quite large and dark and birds (particularly youngsters) seemed to want to explore it, or more likely they are trying to fly into the reflection of the garden in the window.
We tried the stick-on hawk silhouettes with little success, but eventually stopped the strikes completely, first with a line of strings hung vertically in front of the window (about 2" apart and weighted with corks) - elsewhere on BF someone tried this on the inside of the window, but I don't know how successful it was. We got a bit fed up with the corks getting tangled up after strong winds so we now have a blind with vertical slats which does the job. We don't have to use it all day - something about the afternoon light made that the most dangerous time - window faces West.
Cheers
Phil
That's a lot of birds colliding with your windows! There are a number of things you can do to reduce or even eliminate the problem.
Often one or two windows are responsible for most strikes and there seem to be two opposite factors that cause many of them.
If birds can see another window (or door) through the glass they may think there's a route through.
We have a window in our kitchen which used to cause a lot of problems but it was the opposite effect - the room behind the glass is quite large and dark and birds (particularly youngsters) seemed to want to explore it, or more likely they are trying to fly into the reflection of the garden in the window.
We tried the stick-on hawk silhouettes with little success, but eventually stopped the strikes completely, first with a line of strings hung vertically in front of the window (about 2" apart and weighted with corks) - elsewhere on BF someone tried this on the inside of the window, but I don't know how successful it was. We got a bit fed up with the corks getting tangled up after strong winds so we now have a blind with vertical slats which does the job. We don't have to use it all day - something about the afternoon light made that the most dangerous time - window faces West.
Cheers
Phil
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