Our House Martin Towers have brought a pragmatic and beautiful solution to providing habitats in areas that normal nesting box solutions don’t work.

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Flexibility

• The key to the successful design of the House Martin Tower is the flexibility.
• We can alter the size of the tower, the target species, and the mounting.
• Our largest tower design to date will have capacity for around 52 nest sites Plus Bat roosts in the roof sections.
• We can alter the size of the tower to house anywhere from 12 to 92+ nesting sites.
• Although called our House Martin Tower, we can easily alter the nesting boxes to be suitable for Swifts, Swallows,  or smaller species.
• The mounting of the tower can also be designed to suit the environment in which it will sit. We can supply wood or metal poles. We like to mount our poles on ground screws so it is not termed a permanent structure, so normally doesn’t need planning permissions.

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Success

• We have had successful nesting of House Martins in our pre-built House Martin cups and, by leaving appropriate space, with HM’s building their own nests on the towers. We recommend having a range of species nesting boxes in the towers, as they coexist very well.

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Safety, Materials & Longevity

• Our HM’s and Swallow cups are 3D printed in wood PLA (wood dust and corn starch).
• Tower strength and it’s safety in high wind conditions have been calculated to withstand 100 mph winds based on appropriate ground fixings.
• All specifications for strength and wind resistance are suitable for public spaces.
• Our towers are made from the same specially supplied wood that the rest of our boxes are made from.This is a highly weather resistant ply that will not delaminate, swell or mould in wet conditions. Our ply is sustainably farmed from plantation farms in Scandinavia.
• The water-based silver paint used on the roof of the tower is both reflective and weatherproof. Reflecting some of the sun’s rays will help maintain a more consistent temperature in the box during hot spells.
• The longevity of our boxes has been tested both in Scotland and in the Peak District in highly exposed locations. The boxes have faired beautifully and still maintain a beautiful aesthetic.
• We estimate a lifespan of a minimum of 20 years for our House Martin Towers, with regular maintenance.

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Success Stories

- Craigievar Castle

‍Craigievar Castle was a community project owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

With help from the Huntly Swift Group and the NTS, the need for rehoming the returning House Martin’s was addressed while the castle undergoes a year-long restoration.

The restoration is focusing on the exterior of the building and replacing the non-breathable render with the appropriate lime plaster, coloured pink by the inclusion of local iron rich soils.

This means that the exterior of the building is completely covered in scaffolding and netting to facilitate the work.

The House Martin tower was the solution to house both the migrant House Martins, but also to help re-home the resident bat population that nests on the upper parts of the castle.

Immediately on the House Martin’s return, they had occupied the pre-built nesting cups fixed to the tower.

They were guided to the tower by a sound system that the local Scout group and volunteers had assembled, providing a great opportunity for some hands-on learning. We’re happy to say that on a quick inspection in July, the tower was still occupied and the insect rich meadows surrounding the tower were providing a bounty for the nesting couple.

This community collaboration approach to the project made it very successful and hopefully has inspired a wider group of people to be interested in - and take action towards - the restoration of the House Martin population in Aberdeenshire.

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- North Norfolk

In the heatwave of 2022, there was a wildfire that destroyed an area around Brancaster Staithe, Poringland and Ashill.

This left 5 houses completely destroyed, and huge areas of nature reserve burnt.

To magnify the disaster, the 5 houses that were destroyed had very successful House Martin nests - leaving not only the residents destitute, but soon the returning House Martins.

The local water board initiated the project to supply nesting sites for the displaced migrants, and erected two towers with nesting sites for House Martins and bats. The ground screws, poles and towers were supplied by Peak Boxes.

Lester can be seen fixing the tower to the pole in the thankfully milder weather.