House Martin

Delichon urbicum

House Martins tend to arrive a little later than the Swallows, with just a few birds braving the weather in late March and early April. Sometimes it is late in the month or into May before they return in real numbers.

For some of us, the chattering of a House Martin might be something we associate with lying in bed, because it’s a sound they love to give as they are perched on their mud nests, cemented under the eaves of a house

Like the Swallow it’s a very gossipy sound. Most of it is less free flowing, but there are burbling parts to it that sound particularly similar.

With any luck you will see the white rump of the House Martin to confirm its identity.