For house martins and swallows

Swallows and swifts are two similar bird species that hunt insects in the air and build their nests from clay. In the Czech language, they have beautiful names - "vlaštovka" and "jiřička obecná". During flight, they are similar to the common swift, which is larger and nests in boxes, which is why it has a separate category. Due to plastic windows and silicone plasters, swifts lose a large number of traditional nests - nests on such surfaces do not hold well or even fall with the young. Artificial nests provide them with a safe and durable alternative.

If you want to support them by offering an artificial nest, you need to know first which species is present in your area. The house martin is a more common species in cities and often builds its nests in the corners of apartment building windows as well as family homes. The house martin always nests outside on the facade of a building, typically in the corner of a window or under the roof. The swallow always nests inside buildings - in barns, stables, or garages. The house martin's nest has only one small entrance, which differs from the swallow, whose entire top of the nest is open, creating a sort of bowl. The house martin differs in appearance from the swallow in its shorter tail and white rump. The swallow is black on top, has a long forked tail and a red throat. The common swift is the largest of the three and is entirely black. It never builds clay nests on the facade but nests in cavities or boxes on buildings.

.

The advantage of artificial nests is that the droppings of the young birds will not soil the facade because the nest openings face away from it. Even after multiple broods, the new facade beneath the nests remains clean. However, artificial nests do not prevent birds from building natural nests elsewhere. In these nests, the young are also safe from predators. Nests are often installed as part of the renovation of residential buildings to guide the white-throated sparrows to places where nests do not cause problems, and residents can enjoy the thrill of catching insects and their beautiful chirping.