Swallows/Swifts

[paddywak]

I know they go back to the same nest sites, but is there any way to attract them to a new site? It's too late for this year as we've got families fledged and sitting on the telephone lines, but next year we'd like some of our "own"

[alanogden]

You can buy artificial plastic nests for house martins and fix them under the eaves. On our house they were ignored but they must work or they wouldn't sell them, would they?

[gt43]

Nice to hear from somebody who wants to attract, rather than get rid of them! Lots of people don't like the mess on their windowsills. But it is lovely to peer out of an upstairs window and see/hear the babies.

Anyway, You can get the manmade nests from CJ Wildbirdfoods (www.birdfood.co.uk). They have both swift nest boxes and realistic dome-shaped martin nests that sit under the eaves. Good luck, hopefully next year you'll be hearinghave the flutter of tiny wings !

[paddywak]

Thanks for the info, Alanogden & gt43 I'll get checking tomorrow, as for the mess they make I think it's worth it to see them swooping about after the insects on a summers evening. I dont know if it's just me but when I was a kid every house seemed to have a nest and the telephone lines were covered in them, now we're lucky if we see half a dozen

[ruthann58]

ours havent flown yet i can hear them when i am putting the washing out mum and dad make a lovely mess on the bathroom window but who cares its only for a few weeks ,they have been nesting in the same place for several years now

[showcatbenga]

I think that the success of any man-made nest is mostly down to the positioning. Try this;
http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodiversity/bird s/swallow.htm
for some tips & have a look at local nest sites to take note of which direction (N,S,E,W.) is favoured in your area.
Or you could just try providing a tray of wet earth!