The House martins are back in town and have started refurbishing, renovating and rebuilding their nests so they can get on with breeding this year’s offspring. There’s one particular local street where the architecture of the houses suits them perfectly – the upper-storey windows have a decorative moulding which could almost have been purposely designed to have a nest propped upon it.

And what amazing nests they are! Imagine having to build your own home by flying to and from the muddy bank of a nearby stream, river or pond with small amounts of mud in your mouth, back and forth for hours until you’ve formed a structure that will safely house your eggs and later chicks.

Sorry these photos aren’t great – the day’s been wet and grey, and it’s a little dark under the eaves so I’ve had to ramp up the light on these shots so you can get the picture.