Luigina Bringgold (64) had to stand up to a small squabble on Facebook as she was upset about bird droppings on a playground in Reinach BL and posted pictures of it. “I was told to clean it myself – but that’s not my job!” Woman scolds. He doesn’t care what people think about him. “But that birdhouse is simply incomprehensible!”, She stands by her opinion.
In Baselbeit Municipality, an aviary with 48 pairs of house martins and a nesting place for the animal’s heirloom, both has become a village gossip that has been uplifting spirits since March. Because: The Association for Nature and Bird Protection Renach built the bird house in coordination with the community in the middle of a public playground. There is a slide and a small picnic table right next to it.
The Bird Club announced that it may still be several years before the first House Martins arrive. But now two nests are already occupied.
“But not on the children’s heads!”
“Like we said – the birds are going to the slide and you want me to clean it up?” Luigina Bringgold gets annoyed. “Bird lovers should come and do it.” In contrast, he has absolutely nothing against swallows, as the quarter has been a popular catchment area for birds since the 1960s. “Animals have their place — but not over the heads of children playing,” says Bringold.
She isn’t the only one in the neighborhood with this opinion. “The location is poorly chosen,” says neighbor Irene Rizzo (52). “We had swallows ourselves and I adore them, but they just make a mess. But that’s a problem here on the playground, kids need to be able to let off steam and feel good in here.” The concrete block at the foot of the aviary also looks a little dangerous with its sharp edges. “If they had at least rounded it up a little bit,” Rizzo complains.
no further rehabilitation
Christine Huliger (66), who as a general member belongs to the Union for Nature and Bird Conservation in Reinach, has no understanding of this criticism. “I come every few days to see what’s going on in the nests,” she says. “And when I’m there, I’ll definitely clean up the manure.” He is very happy with the two captured nests. “It’s great when the kids can see the swallow. And the old guys scolding in the neighborhood, they’re everywhere.”
The responsible municipal councilor for Reinach, Doris Vogeli (GLP), is also happy about the House Martin offspring. “Swallows are local, you just can’t move them. And the fact that the first nests were occupied so quickly shows that there is clearly a lack of nesting sites.” The bird house was built according to a routine procedure with a simple planning application against which no resident objected. It will no longer be demolished or moved.
House martinis only incubate for a month
“The depot staff, anyway, periodically cleans once a week,” Vogeli says. “Aside from litter and everything else that needs to be cleaned up, bird droppings don’t do any extra work.” AND: Bird droppings from home martins are not harmful to health, Vogeli assures playground users. “And the bird conservation has set up a cleanup team that comes in almost every day.”
Vogeli emphasizes that house martins are an endangered species. “I think if they are gone one day it will be even worse that we have little bird droppings here,” says the politician. She also argues that the breeding season lasts a month, and the animals only occupy nests for so long. Vogeli says, “You have to look at the relationship a little bit.
Alicia (11) of Basel and her younger brother enjoy playing in the small playground on Lemmenstrasse, while gossip about the bird house occurs in the village when they visit their grandmother in Reinach. “The fact that it’s in the middle of the playground is probably not so ideal,” says Student. Still, she asks herself: “Why should you do anything against an aviary?”
