You might have spotted that a new artificial nesting bank has been installed at Gosforth Nature Reserve, giving Sand Martins a more stable place to nest. Funded by NHSN members and built by volunteers, it is a great example of practical action for nature.
Sand Martins: a potential new home at Gosforth Nature Reserve
Sand Martins are usually the first spring Hirundines to arrive back in the North East in significant numbers. Well known for nesting colonially wherever there are suitable sandy cliffs or banks, colonies are often transient through natural processes of erosion which can make previous nesting sites unsuitable while creating new ones.
This species is not currently classified as one of conservation concern, either locally or at European and global levels. We should never be complacent though, and it was only in 2015 that in the UK they were moved from Amber to Green status in the Birds of Conservation Concern categorisation. Increases in the frequency of extreme weather events is one of the predicted consequences of climate change, and could have implications for Sand Martins if the rates at which nesting colonies are destroyed or created were to change. To safeguard against potential uncertainty, we can now offer a few pairs of Sand Martin a more-stable home for the future in Gosforth Nature Reserve: a generous donation from NHSN members has meant that NHSN has been able to purchase an artificial Sand Martin ‘wall’. This is essentially a river-bank-sized nesting box!
The site chosen for the nesting box is on an island opposite the Beck Hide. Over a period of several weeks, NHSN GNR volunteers spent many hours transporting materials and constructing a robust base on which to mount the box. The nesting box is a tried and tested design made by Green Future Building, and was delivered and installed on 4 March 2026.
“Every spring, Jane and I look forward to the arrival of chirruping Sand Martins hawking for insects over the lake. We’ve always thought it was a shame that there was nowhere for them to stay and nest. That’s why we offered to pay for this new artificial sand bank. It would be wonderful to see and hear this delightful species coming and going from their nests, if not this year, then in the next few years. It would surely arouse the natural curiosity of visitors” – Philip Jordan and Jane Gray, NHSN Naturalists
