The Spanish Ornithological Society has said that the summer holidays prevent them from attending to plight of nesting Sand Martin’s in El Galan
About 12 years ago plans to build a supermarket in El Galan saw the constructor begin to excavate to site in Calle Aneto. The foundations were dug for the intended commercial centre resulting in the start of what appeared to be the undergound car park.
Unfortunately, the project quickly became a victim of the recession and, until very recently the development lay abandoned.
In the intervening years the site continued to lie unwanted and undeveloped, during which time it became a favourite for many different varieties of wildlife.
It was quickly inhabited by hundreds of sand martins which have dug into the sides of the hole where they have established their nests to which they now return on an annual basis to raise their young.
Their presence has also attracted varieties of owls and some raptors which can be seen to take the sand martins as they land to enter their nesting holes.
The sand martin of course is an internationally protected bird, and as such it is an environmental crime to destroy their nests, many dozens of which have been detected, but it now looks as though someone is tipping into this large hole.
Local residents David Knott and David Needham have taken up the cause of the nesting sand martins with the Spanish Ornithological Society who responded with an email stating that in the case of protected species, it is an environmental crime to destroy their nests, and it’s especially serious if it happens while they’re breeding between April and September,
Although the respondent confirmed that he had shared the information with colleagues from Urban Biodiversity and Environmental Crimes he added that, because of the holiday period, action could not be taken at this time.
The organisation has since confirmed that it will investigate the matter as staff return. In the meantime it appears that little can be done to ensure the survival and reproduction of this protected species which may now disappear from El Galan and surrounds for good.
The Spanish common surname for this bird is “zapador”, which in English stands for “sapper”. Sappers are combat workers who dig galleries or ditches. The Sand Martin has the habit of digging tunnels on sandy slopes (hence its name in English) to install its nests.
