The RSPB is asking people to make muddy patches for the birds who desperately need it to make their nests as the breeding season gets under way.
After the driest April on record, and more dry weather forecast, birds like house martins and swallows are struggling to find enough sticky mud for their nests.
The wildlife charity suggests putting wet mud in a shallow container like a dustbin lid, or creating damp mud at the edges of borders and ponds or in bare patches of grass.
John Day, of the RSPB, said: "The dry spell has made it extremely tricky for lots of birds to build nests and fix their old ones.
"Without the right materials to make their nests it could affect their chances of breeding successfully."
House martins use pellets of mud to build a dome shaped nest under the eaves of houses.
They usually rely on gathering mud from the edges of water bodies or from muddy puddles on tracks and in farmyards, but the dry weather means they are few and far between at the moment, so man-made muddy patches will be important.
As well as summer migrants, birds like blackbirds and song thrushes also use mud for their nests.
The RSPB has further information on how to encourage house martins to nest.
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