Operation Nestbox
When we understood that swift and house martin populations were at risk of extinction we decided to take action.
It has become a community-wide project – with researchers, designers, makers, painters and installers coming together to make suitable nest boxes.
But it didn’t stop with the making and installation – households were excited about having these nest boxes on their homes, but not all were suitable so site visits took place. Once installed we all waited with baited breath, watching the sky, for the birds’ arrival.
We know that it is likely to take three to five years before our nest boxes are occupied, but we still hoped…..
Swallows have taken up home in one nest box in East Harting, sparrows and other birds have temporarily moved in to some other nests boxes, but will be kicked out by the swifts and house martins when they are ready to move in.
Some households also bought swift callers to encourage these extraordinary birds. They will be switched on each spring and off again once the birds have migrated, encouraging the speeding up of occupancy.
The entire Harting Primary School were given a spell binding lesson on these birds. The children can now identify the different birds, understand the different nest location needs, understand the habitat requirements and what we can do to reverse the declining numbers.
With the growing interest in these birds, comes a greater understanding of the environment these birds need to thrive. More of us a giving over parts of our garden to wildness. Pesticide usage is on the decline. We’re becoming more and more conscious of what these birds need so that they can thrive in our community.
At the start of the project nest locations for the different birds was plotted. We will be able to see the success (or failure) of this project, and we should be able to understand the reasons why. Other communities have had great success with similar projects – so there is no reason why our skies won’t be filled with swifts, swallows and house martins in future years.
Soon the birds will be migrating – we’re looking forward to their return, and hopefully taking up residence in one of the 47 next boxes located across our parish.
A huge thank you to everyone in our community who played their part in this project.
Special thanks must go to Harting Repair Café for the initial funding to start the project and to Harting Parish Council for their funding to ensure that this project could be sustained.
