Bird Houses

 My Good Neighbors installed the multi-gourd Purple Martin birdhouse pole with artificial nesting gourds they asked me to sell them.  It looks good in their backyard.  I tried to give it to them because they helped me so much after the ladder incident, but they refused.  So I asked for $20.  They agreed.  I had explained that I had planned to dispose of it anyway, but I guess they have a strong sense of material value.  Well, I'll bake them some more bread...  They really liked the 1st one.

The nesting gourds were for Purple Martins.  I mentioned all this previously, but I forgot to mention a few things I need to tell them.  The entrance is a crescent shape that swallows (like Martins) like but other birds don't.  John needs to widen the entrances.

I was planning to dispose of it because I haven't attracted any Martins here for 10 years.  Today, as I went to get my Covid shot, I noticed that the 2 houses that used to attract had removed the poles and gourds.  Either Martins are going to different places because of climate changes, or they are dying out.

I am sad about that.  On the few occasions where I saw them flying around, they were graceful and acrobatic.  But they have very particular demands for nesting sites.  They like to nest in groups.  They like holes in old trees.  They want open areas for approaching their nests.  I had too many trees and shrubs...  The successful sites in my neighborhood were on large open yards.

Purple Martins have always been "on the edge" because of their fussiness of nesting sites.  They don't mind human activity in the least, but flight obstructions disturb them greatly.   There aren't many old trees with holes in them these days.  

They had a pre-Columbian resurgence when Native Americans started putting up large hollowed gourds in clusters for them.  Purple Martins were thought to eat mostly mosquitos, so that made them worth helping.  Or maybe they just admired their flight.  

There was another resurgence of help for them starting in the 50-60s (?) as suburban homeowners had empty yards and Martin-enthusiasts pushed them as mosquito-eaters "up to 2,000 mosquitos a day" and "end your mosquito problems" they claimed.  

Sadly, that wasn't true.  It has been disproven.  Mosquitos seldom fly more than a few feet above ground (they are flower-nectar drinkers mostly - the females only bite to get a "protein-hit" for developing eggs and the males never bite) and Martins stay well above ground level, like bats.