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Status/distribution
The House Martin is common throughout most of Britain and
Ireland, but is very local on exposed and coastal areas in
the west and north. They prefer areas where there are good
nesting opportunities (usually houses, but sometimes cliffs)
and a good supply and variety of aerial insects that is sufficient
for successful breeding. The status of the House Martin is
not clear because it's colonial habits and tendency to nest
in human settlements mean that it is not covered well by the
Common Birds Census,
so the stability apparent in the CBC trend should not be regarded
as definitive. The Breeding
Bird Survey shows fluctuations or a shallow increase
in recent years. Detailed information on House Martin population
trends and breeding success is given on the Wider
Countryside Report web pages.
Timing of migration
House Martins are sometimes recorded in late March, but usually
arrive from mid-April onwards, with peak passage in May. Their
arrival is timed to coincide with high abundance of the aerial
insects on which they depend for food. Information from Bird
Observatories suggests that House Martins arrive in the southeast
first, with early major arrivals recorded at Dungeness, Sandwich
Bay and further north at Gibralter Point.
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