Sand Martins

Yesterday following a phone call, I changed my plans. As I have been so busy with the arrival of spring getting out and looking for the wildlife, I had planed to get some house work done, as well as spend some time cataloguing my images and footage. Also as I have spent so much time out in the cold, a persistent cold was making me feel under the weather.

However, this phone call alerted me to something I wanted to see. About a week ago, I had been out filming the waders and water birds on a local nature reserve, a former quarry. When at a distance I thought I saw a Sand Martin. I could not be sure of my identification, but when another birder came along I told him what I thought I had seen and after a while he said that yes he had spotted it too.

Now as is the way with us wildlife watchers, we are a sharing bunch and we swapped telephone numbers. Anyway, yesterday I got a call from this chap who told me that the Sand Martins were back. So I got myself organised and went down to see if I could see them myself. I arrived just as he was leaving, but he told me where they were flying and in less than two minutes I had located them.

I was at to greater distance to film them, and as they can fly so fast, getting a picture was impossible, I set about working out were they were likely to be nesting. After much searching I have discovered to probable location, but I will need permission to access the land to get close enough to film them, but it is a very clear sign that Spring is here.