Sand Martin Breeding Wall at Hardy's Gate
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Sand Martin Breeding Wall at Hardy's Gate by David Dixon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
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Sand Martin Breeding Wall at Hardy's Gate
Image: © David Dixon Taken: 9 May 2021
In 2014, the River Irwell Habitat Creation Scheme was completed on part of the industrial and residential development on Dumers Lane. Part of that scheme involved the creation of this purpose-built breeding wall for sand martins, just below Hardy’s Gate Bridge. Sand martins are summer visitors to the UK, they are one of the first spring migrants to appear, arriving mid-March to mid-April. Sand Martins are gregarious in the breeding season, nesting in colonies that may contain more than 100 pairs. They normally excavate tunnels in sandy, dry vertical banks in sandpits and gravel pits, railway cuttings, riverbanks and sea-cliffs, and exceptionally in drainpipes in walls, and holes in brickwork. See Image
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Image Location
Latitude
53.571828
Longitude
-2.299559