Soaring superstars – The Wildlife

Soaring SUPERSTARS

Tom Hibbert of The Wildlife Trusts introduces us to some high-flying birds and explains how we can help them when they visit in the spring and summer.

Photo: Swift | © Nick Upton

Fun fact

Every spring and summer, our skies are filled with some incredibly impressive birds. They swoosh and soar high above us, chasing flying insects to snack on or to take back to their nest to feed to their hungry chicks. Unlike most birds you see, they rarely stop to perch. They are aerial experts, masters of the sky. But who are these fabulous flying visitors?

We’re talking about swifts, swallows and martins! Swallows and martins are closely related, part of the same family of birds, called hirundines. But, despite their appearance, swifts aren’t closely related to these birds at all (they’re actually more closely related to hummingbirds), but they’re often grouped together because they share the same high-flying lifestyle.

They are all summer visitors, coming to the UK to nest and raise their young. In autumn, they head south in search of warmer weather – there aren’t enough insects for them to eat here in winter. They fly all the way to Africa, though not all to the same place. We only have a few months to enjoy their company, so let’s meet them.

Swifts are black birds with long, slender wings that sweep backwards like a boomerang. They spend the winter in southern Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. They leave their return journey quite late and don’t get back to the UK until the end of April or May to start breeding. Swifts are some of the most skilled fliers in the world. Scientists have discovered that they can go at least ten months without ever landing. Almost everything swifts need to do to survive, they can do in the sky. They eat as they fly by catching insects that are swept high into the air. Surprisingly, it’s not just flying insects that they find – they also eat spiders that drift up on strands of silk. They even drink in flight, either by swooping low over lakes and rivers to scoop up water or by catching raindrops in the air. But most impressively, they actually sleep whilst they’re flying. The only reason swifts need to land is to nest – you can’t lay an egg in the sky! They make their nests in holes high up in buildings, where they are tucked away out of sight. When the eggs hatch, the adults go out and collect insects to bring back and feed to the chicks. They squish all the insects they gather into a ball in the back of their throat, then spit it out for their young to eat. Swifts have an excited, screaming call that Scientists have discovered that they can go at least ten months without ever landing SwiftsSWIFTS SUMMER 2022 - GREAT OUTDOORS they give as they swoop through the air. You can often hear it late in the day, above towns and cities as flocks of them race around together. Sadly, our swifts are in trouble. Modern buildings don’t have as many holes in them as old buildings do, so the swifts struggle to find places to nest. Luckily, we can help them by putting up special swift nestboxes or even building swift nesting spaces into the walls of new houses. “Swifts actually sleep whilst they’re flying”

Photo: Swift | © Stefan Johannson

Photo: Swallows | © Margaret Holland SWALLOWS

HOUSE MARTINS

“You’re most likely to see swallows in the countryside”

Photo: Swallow | © Chris Gomersall/2020VISION

Swallows, or barn swallows as they’re often known, have a creamy-white belly, a glossy blue back and a red face. They have shorter wings than a swift and two long, thin tail streamers. Swallows spend the winter as far away as South Africa – over 6,000 miles from the UK! Despite being farther away, they arrive back much sooner than swifts, usually in early April.

You’re most likely to see swallows in the countryside, over lakes and reservoirs, or around farmland. They nest in buildings like barns, stables or rarely used sheds – they just need a hole to fly in and out, like a broken window or open door. They build a little nest cup out of mud and grass, usually resting on top of a ledge. It can take 5-12 days to build a nest, so swallows will often come back to the same nest each year instead of building a new one.

“House martins build their nests under the eaves of houses”

House martins have a snowy white belly and glossy blue back, with a bright white patch on the rump. We still don’t know much about where our house martins spend the winter, but they’re thought to travel to West Africa. They usually return to the UK in April, a little later than the swallows.

House martins tend to nest in villages, towns and cities. You may not even need to leave home to spot one. They build their nests under the eaves of houses, sculpting them with pellets of sticky mud they gather from the ground. Just like swallows, they’ll save time by reusing an old nest – though it usually needs a bit of repair work doing first.

House martins like to have company, so there are usually a few pairs nesting close together. Suitable buildings will often have around five nests on them, but in some places there can be hundreds of pairs of house martins in a colony. You might also find them nesting on bridges or cliffs.

Photo: House martin nest © Margaret Holland

Photo: House martin © Dawn Monrose

Photo: Sand martin © Margaret Holland

Photo: Sand martin © Margaret Holland

SAND MARTINS

Did you know?

Sand martins are greyish brown on the back and white on the belly, with a brown band stretching across the top of their breast like a little collar. They are one of the first birds to return to the UK from Africa each spring, arriving in March and early April. You’re most likely to You’re most likely find a sand martin near to find a sand water. They use their martin near beak and feet to dig a water. They use burrow in a riverbank or their beak and feet sandy cliff, then make a to dig a burrow in a riverbank or sandy cliff nest at the end of it. The burrow can be up to 1m (3.2ft) long. Sand martins also like to nest in colonies, with lots of pairs digging their burrows in the same bank. They often hunt for insects over lakes, rivers and reservoirs.

How you can help

Our soaring superstars are in trouble. Swifts and house martins have just been added to the UK Red List, which means scientists are worried about there being fewer of them about. Two of the biggest problems are that their insect food is getting harder to find and there are fewer places for them to nest. Luckily, there are things we can do to help with both of these problems.

We’ve already mentioned swift nestboxes that you can add to buildings, but what about house martins? You can buy special nest-boxes just for them, which you attach to the side of your house. But house martins are pretty good at making their own nest and all they really need is some fresh mud. You can help them by making a muddy patch in your garden. Then any house martins in the area can visit to fetch building materials to make the perfect home.

You could create a bog garden with mud and special plants, a little muddy patch, or even just a dish or tray full of mud. As you make your mud patch, why not have a go at sculpting a little nest cup of your own? See how your skills compare to a house martin!

To make sure there’s plenty of food for them to feed their chicks, we have to do all we can to encourage insects to thrive. We need to let gardens and green spaces grow wild, with lots of plants to attract pollinators. By taking action for insects, we can help our soaring superstars succeed.

You can find more facts and ways to help swifts, swallows and martins at

wildaboutgardens.org.uk

For more information about The Wildlife Trusts, visit: wildlifetrusts.org