Residents move into new Grantown high rise
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Some just can not wait to move into new homes even before they're finished in the Strathspey capital.
With construction still in progress down Grantown's desirable Dulicht Court, some families have already taken advantage of the high-rise accommodation opportunities provided by handy sand hills on the site.
Sand martins are nesting are happily in the ongoing building project and, as one impresssed Strathy reader point out to us: "The developers are being fantastic and protecting the nesting sites.
"These lovely little birds are not rare but they're not that common either," said our bird-loving informant, who chose to remain anonymous. "They need large mounds of earth or sand to build little burrows and to set up there is amazing, especially as nothing was there last year.
"It looks like there are many holes. We reported it to the builders RS McLeod who are taking measures not to disturb them."
The company's ecology advisor, Dr Peter Cosgrove, told us: "I've advised the team to keep well back from the sand martin nests because the sand bank they are in is very fragile and potentially prone to collapse.
"There were 55 sand martin holes in two discrete areas on the Beachen Court site and both are now being fully protected by the works team.
"The birds colonised the site during lockdown.
"The Beachen Court development provides much needed affordable housing for local human residents and rather unexpectedly now for migrant sand martins too!"
Dr Cosgrove explained that the birds fly to the strath from Africa and make their nests in sandy holes along river banks, cliffs and in working quarries.
"They often use the nest holes until August when they all head off south to sunnier climes.
"Due to careful protection works, the sand martins will be looked after, whilst construction work continues in other parts of the site."