The occupied nest.

The occupied nest is second from the right. It and the small one were made from card board that had been soaked for several days in water, with added fabric softener. I then shaped this around a ball to create the nest .I fitted some gauze into the nest to help in fixing the nest to the shelf. It was then left to harden. I painted the shelf with a light colour, they prefer white eaves. As you can see the 2 purchased nests,(£14 each!!!), look great, only problem is they have never been used. My tatty ones have now been used 3 times. They have been damaged by sparrows, but the male just carries out some DIY and you can just make out the mud he has added.Oh, and one fell off, but not when it was being used thankfully! Hope this is of some help, but if you need any more info. on making nesting sites then there is a very good book on the subject, published by the BTO.

House Martins in residence.

This shows the shelf onto which I attached the 2 bought nests and between are the 2 home made nests.

Summer visitors all in.

I eventually caught up with a Spotted Flycatcher on 27th May. It was rewarding to stroll along the sculpture trail in Thornton wood, thinking ,this is a good place for a Spotted Flycatcher, Oh there is one! On the same evening a Badger was seen out hunting for worms at about 2030. It is also great to have a pair of House Martins in the nests I made for them. It is a mystery why they have never used the two expensive ones I purchased at the Bird Fair. A Curlew flew over calling on 6th May.