Bird ID and Nest questions... Help!

[Clay]

That's a pretty sweet gourd rack! My grandpa used to have a couple of big purple martin houses and I always remember him enjoying them very much. I might have to do something like that in the backyard.

The martins are very people friendly birds. I can let the rack down to do nest checks and a lot of times the mama will stay inside while I remove the cap to look inside to count hatchlings. They dont care if I remove the babys to clean out the nest (they are terrible house keepers) and then put them back in. They return to the same gourd each year, assuming they survived the year. they show up in March, lay eggs usually by May, raise them and are headed south again around Aug. Its a lot of fun watching them hover above my house eating bugs that pass by and dive bombing the pond to get a drink.

 

[inactive]

Is bug control the principal benefit of having these things? I mean, not birds in general but a massive section 8 complex of martin gourds? Do you notice a difference in the insects as a result?

What particular insects to they target? Are there other benefits?

I'm totally curious now.

 

[Honey Badger]

Barn Swallow. No doubt about that..... My wife battles those little buggers every year.

 

[Clay]

Is bug control the principal benefit of having these things? I mean, not birds in general but a massive section 8 complex of martin gourds? Do you notice a difference in the insects as a result?

What particular insects to they target? Are there other benefits?

I'm totally curious now.

For most, its a hobby to help provide housing for a very protected and well liked bird species. Unfortunately since the introduction of the European house sparrow, Martins have limited housing choices. Sparrows will take over if given half a chance. So Martin landlords like me are simply doing them a service to provide safe housing. Mine even have owl guards on them and a snake guard on the pole so snakes cant climb it (they try all the time).
Initially I got my first Martin house because I was told they eat there weight in mosquitoes in a day. Well after further research I found that is not true. They are like any other hunter, the biggest reward for the least amount of work. As you can imagine, they would have to eat hundreds of mosquitoes to make a full belly. In actuality, their favorite meal is a dragon fly and dragon flys favorite meal is a mosquito. They eat any kind of flying insect though and I have noticed a reduction in yellow jackets/wasps since having the martins. They are really very cool birds and they stay close to home so there is endless time to watch them as they zip around like little F-16s. In the early spring when winter might set in a day or 3 after they have come back to nest, you have to feed them or they risk death because there are no bugs out in the cold and rain. I bought a bulk of crickets that arived alive at my doorstep. 1000 crickets and I immediately froze them to kill em fresh. I can go out with a baggy of crickets and toss em up and the Martins will begin to fly around and catch them in the air. It really is a rewarding hobby. I have 22 adults and 65-70 eggs. I usually dont lose more than one or two fledglings to death (usually heat related early jumpers) so somewhere between 60-70 new birds will leave my place come Aug. and some of those will return next spring.
Its very easy to get into if you research a few basics and heres a good place to do that. http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=2

 

[Clay]

a massive section 8 complex of martin gourds?

These are Condos, not sec. 8 lol
And this is a small setup compared to some I have seen with over 70 gourds.

 

[dennishoddy]

All the birds you see flying around underpasses this time of year are barn swallows nesting.
I can't fish under my favorite bridge right now for fear of being "bombed".

 

[Clay]

All the birds you see flying around underpasses this time of year are barn swallows nesting.
I can't fish under my favorite bridge right now for fear of being "bombed".

Yes and they are federally protected. In the highway construction business, we have to plan bridge construction work to take place after they have migrated south for winter.

this is an entertaining video on martin feeding. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3nnjMA6MvM&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

 

[ronny]

We always called them cliff swallows. I don't know if that's a distinction or just a local moniker.

They made a mess under our porch every year until last year when I strung a piece of monofilament across where they nest and attached some jingle bells to it. Worked like a charm.

 

[briarcreekguy]

To those that have Swallow nests on your porch: take some plastic and tape it to the porch under the nest, to facilitate hosing the porch down. To me, it is worth the mess to enjoy these neat little birds.

I have had 3 to 4 broods raised off in the same nest on my porch in one season.