Sand Martin (Photo: Sligobirding.com)

Sand Martins are amber-listed on ‘Birds of Conservation Concern’ and included as a local Biodiversity Action Plan species. They rear their young within nesting burrows excavated in vertical sandy faces and cliffs and each season return to the same location to breed. In this case the location is an active landfill site at Avondale, near Falkirk, where their breeding sand cliff is being removed as part of landfill extension and restoration works.

The ecologists are from AMEC’s Earth and Environmental division, which has been providing specialist ecological services to Avondale Environmental, the landfill owner and operator, for the last four years, including the design and development of the new ‘wall’ on permanent land situated close to the current cliff used by the breeding colony.

“We completed the new wall in readiness for this year’s breeding season and we are currently monitoring the colony to assess their interest in it and overall behaviour towards it,” explained Gayle Pearson Boyle, AMEC’s principal ecologist. “Once the breeding season is over and the birds have left, the sandy cliff that they currently use will finally be removed – and our aim is that when the colony returns the following year, they will use the artificial wall.”

The wall is made of wooden railway sleepers with holes drilled through them. Compacted sand has been placed behind the sleepers to create an ideal formation into which the birds can freely burrow, excavate nesting chambers and lay their eggs.

“At the moment, although it is early on in the project, we are very excited by some initial interest that individual birds have shown in the new wall and we have high hopes that the initiative will prove successful,” Pearson Boyle added.