The Sand Martin colony in the cliff face between Hornsea and Mappleton has failed this year due to what looks like erosion. The whole colony seems to have slipped away from the cliff and although it hasn't totally fallen there are significant cracks showing and the angle of the nest holes has moved away from almost vertical to around 60 or 70 degrees.
There is no activity at all around the nest holes, nor is there any sign of recent activity.
These photos were taken yesterday and show the sorry sight. A few Sand Martins were still flying around, but only a handful 😥😥😥
Last year there were about 32 active nests. The colony has been shrinking over the past 10 years as the stratum that is suitable for nesting erodes with the cliffs, so I anticipated a reduction of the colony again this year. I wasn't expecting a catastrophe like this though.
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