Sand martins lack habitat

This year too, the sand martins have returned to Switzerland from their wintering grounds in Africa.

Housing shortage for sand martins

But here they face a housing shortage. Steep riverbank walls are nowhere to be found, and even in gravel pits habitat is becoming scarce. As a stopgap solution, artificial nesting walls made from a special sand mixture have been created by BirdLife Switzerland and partners as part of the Species Promotion Programme Birds Switzerland.

A decline in sand martin colonies has been observed for decades. According to the breeding bird atlases of the Swiss Ornithological Institute in Sempach, the population stood at between 5,500 and 6,500 breeding pairs between 1993 and 1996; by 2013–2016, that figure had fallen to just 2,300 to 3,000 pairs — roughly half.

Artificial sand banks as a lifeline

BirdLife Switzerland is raising awareness of the concept across Switzerland through publications and an advisory service. There are now 26 such artificial sand banks, in which around 40% of the 4,200 sand martin breeding pairs nest (2020).

In the medium term, revitalisation projects along larger watercourses should once again create nesting sites on cut banks. However, since 2011 no Swiss revitalisation project has been able to generate sufficient dynamic processes to produce new nesting sites. Significant action is still urgently needed here.