Milestone hit as 180 sand martins fly in Worcestershire

On By Littum

A conservation project has reached a milestone after 180 sand martins escaped in Worcestershire.

RSPB Worcester and Malvern Local Group, in collaboration with the Canal and Rivers Trust, have worked to protect the green-listed, small migratory birds.

Sand martins travel thousands of miles from Africa to breed in Europe, often creating their nests by burrowing into sandy cliffs, riverbanks or gravel pits.

(Image: RSPB Worcester)

But in Worcestershire their nests on the banks of the River Severn are often washed away by heavy rain.

To combat this, the local RSPB group installed the first safe box in 2022, which flew 43 chickens.

Since then, the population in the area has continued to grow, with 78 chicks reared and ringed in 2023, and a record 180 chicks fledging this year.

The local RSPB group has installed three sand martin colony boxes in the county on river banks.

These colony boxes mimic natural riverside habitats and have sand-filled cavities for birds to burrow into.

Simon Evans, project manager, said: “We are thrilled with this year’s success.

“I didn’t think a few years ago that an idea would turn into this brilliant project.

“Not only are we seeing fantastic and increasing breeding numbers for sand martins here, but we are connecting with the community to talk to them about these amazing birds.”

“It’s a team effort and we give a big thank you to the volunteers and the Canal and Rivers Trust and Worcestershire Environmental Group.”

The sand martins, the smallest member of the swallow family, arrive in March and depart in September.

Where possible, fledglings are ring-tagged so that they can be recorded and monitored in the future.

The organizations have also held a number of activity days with school children this year, where they were shown bird ringing and taught everything about nesting sand martins.

During the winter, volunteers will be busy cleaning the colony boxes ready for March when the sand martins return.

If you would like to get involved or learn more, contact Simon Evans (Project Manager) at [email protected].