Artificial bird nest installed in nature reserve

An artificial bird bank designed to provide a safe nesting site for sand martins has been installed in a nature reserve in the north of the Isle of Man.

The 10m (33ft) wide, and 2m (7ft) tall structure has been erected at the Manx Bird Life Point of Ayre National Reserve.

Charity Manx BirdLife which runs the reserve said that sand martins, small migratory birds, currently nest in the working quarry near the reserve.

However, due to a changing landscape, the sites had become less dependable, which was why the bank was installed.

The structure has been designed to mimic natural sandbanks and features a network of nesting chambers for the birds to dig homes as they would in the wild, the charity has said.

Alison Leonard, managing director for Manx Birdlife, said the idea had come from her predecessor, Neil Morris, who noticed that while sand martins nested in natural areas surrounding the reserve, those habitats were unstable and changed from year to year.

While the species do not currently nest on the nature reserve, the charity hoped the move would mean that they nested in the new bank as well as their natural nesting site, she added.

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