Apologies for a non-sighting, but since it’s such a wet day and there’s so little to report I thought I’d jump in with this request.

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is running a House Martin survey this year. We know surprisingly little about House Martins despite the fact that they breed alongside us. Critically, we do not know why this species is in rapid decline in the UK. Currently, it is ‘Amber listed’ in the Birds of Conservation Concern listings, compiled by the UK’s leading conservation agencies. Here in Eastern Glamorgan we have lost 46% of our breeding House Martins since 1989.

We need to discover more about House Martins to help us identify why they are declining and to provide evidence which will help inform policy decisions that could reverse the declines.

We need volunteers to take part in a really simple survey. All you’ll need to do is carry out two or three visits to a randomly selected (i.e. pre-selected) 1-km square between late May and mid-July, to look for House Martins and their nests. Can you please help?

For more information about the survey and to find out where your nearest 1km House Martin Survey square is, please visit the East Glamorgan BTO blog http://bit.ly/1G7Z14e

Thanks

Dan Jenkins-Jones, BTO House Martin Survey Organiser, East Glamorgan