Building their house on sand once again

They have completed a long and perilous journey across the Sahara desert, Mediterranean and southern Europe and need to build up their strength for a while before getting on with the business of pairing up and breeding.

The males arrive back first and, if they can, will return to their old nest holes.

Younger males or older ones that have lost their nest holes face the arduous task of digging out a new one three to four feet long with only their weak claws and tiny beaks.

They usually tunnel into a quarry face or soft river bank but have been known to dig into piles of freshly-dug sand or newly excavated ditches.

By their very nature sand martin nest sites are unstable, with a quarry face quickly disappearing as stone or sand is extracted, or long stretches of a river bank washed away by a flash flood.

These days many nature reserves give sand martins a helping hand by providing high banks for them to nest in with a number in Yorkshire, the latest of which is at the RSPB's Old Moor reserve in South Yorkshire. Staff hope that as many as 100 pairs will be able to nest in the bank there providing an enjoyable spectacle for visitors as they fly to and fro.

Once the male sand martin has prepared a nest burrow to his satisfaction – and he will ignore any female until he does – he will sit in the entrance with feathers ruffled to deter any rival males.

Once he sees a female he is attracted to he starts singing and soon the area in front of the nest burrows is full of would-be sand martin pairs flying around each other calling and singing.

Once the courtship is over four to five eggs are laid in May and the young stay in the nest for two to three weeks before fledging.

There is usually time for a second brood before they leave for Africa again in late August or September.

Sand martin numbers have always been volatile, due mainly to droughts in the areas to the south of the Sahara where they winter.

Two droughts, in 1968/9 and 1983/4 resulted in the massive collapse in numbers but, while the population is still far less than it was in the early 1960s, there continues to be a gradual improvement.

Chiffchaffs have also been arriving back in increasing numbers and singing in woodlands while the first willow warblers were heard at the weekend. More swallows are beingseen, three yellow wagtails were seen at Toft Newton reservoir in North Lincolnshire and a ring ouzel at Oxenhope, West Yorkshire

A great white egret wasseen at the Blacktoft Sands reserve and another at the Saltholme reserve on Teeside.

Firecrests on the way back to Continental breeding sites were seen at several east coast sites with three at Spurn where there was also

a black redstart.

A male black redstart was seen inland at Stainburn Moor, North Yorkshire.

Four garganey ducks were back at Wheldrakes Ings near York while a drake was seen on Hornsea Mere.

Forteen waxwings were still present this week in Cottingham,Hull.

The annual report of the Swillington Ings Bird Group is now available, price 3.90 including postage from RE Leighton, 33 Stone Brig Lane, Rothwell, Leeds LS26 OUD.

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