Gamekeepers have installed five double-entry nest boxes for house martins on a Dales pub.
The boxes have been secured to the front of the Punch Bowl Inn, in Low Row, Swaledale, by members of the Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group (YDMG).
This was in response to ongoing window maintenance work at the pub that could have stopped the summer migrants from nesting.
A spokesman for YDMG said the keepers responded after reading a criticism on social media that suggested the pub owner was damaging nests during routine maintenance.
“The criticism proved to be untrue and as a gesture to these pretty little birds the moorland group volunteered to install the nest boxes to help them breed successfully.
“The gamekeepers came to the rescue and five boxes were installed giving the birds ample nest sites as the maintenance was completed.”
YDMG says house martin numbers have been declining in Dales villages with the birds often discouraged from building their nests in window corners.
