about a dozen sand martins back nesting in the wall at appley bridge.they nested here last year so its great to see them back.they use overflow pipes that are built into the wall.

Throughout GM Sand Martins will use: clogged drainage pipes in built up river bankings ( I counted 30 on the Irwell between Lower Broughton and Regent Rd in 2000); peat piles on the mosslands; holes in buildings eg where strengthening bars have been inserted in the brickwork (eg at the late E Lancs paper mill in Radcliffe now demolished, Radcliffe town centre)

In Stockport they use gaps in brickwork.

HI, THERE A FEW SAND MARTINS AROUND THE PEAT WORKS AT THE BOTTOM OF NOOK LANEON ASTLEY MOSS, 3.00PM 30 05 09

with regard to my previous post martins still flying in and out of these pipes.but i have also seen sand martins flying into holes in a wall at martland mill.so two different sites within a couple of miles of each other on the same canal.never having seen sand martins using this method of nesting as opposed to the traditional sandbanks does this suggest natural nest sites are decreasing or is it normal for them to nest like this in small groups as opposed to the very large colonies in sand or river banks.

WALKING ALONG THE CANAL AT APPLEY BRIDGE THIS MORNING I SAW SAND MARTINS FLYING INTO PIPES IN THE WALL ABOUT 200 YARDS DOWN FROM THE SWINGBRIDGE IN THE DIRECTION OF GATHURST.