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#21 |
WG Prize & Gift Coordinator
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Michigan
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They actually come down to eat the scrambled eggs?
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The successful woman is the woman that had the chance and took it! A walk among the elusive Whitetail Deer |
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#22 |
Alternate POM Judge
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Maryland
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He throws the egg in the air and they catch it. They see his truck pull up in the driveway and they fly around waiting for their egg. He feeds them on days when the weather is bad and there are no insects flying.
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In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. Aristotle |
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#23 |
WG Prize & Gift Coordinator
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Michigan
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I found that statement originally pretty hard to believe as I know they eat on the fly....
Ahhhhh now I understand. And it actually works ha? I'll have to give it a try.
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The successful woman is the woman that had the chance and took it! A walk among the elusive Whitetail Deer |
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#24 |
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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I wish there was someone around me who had a colony...and could perhaps give me some pointers. I might try for a colony myself if I thought it was likely and had someone to guide me. At the same time, I have bluebirds and don't know if the purple martins would be too much competition.
I also want to attract barn swallows...but it is my understanding that they stay in the same colony and don't start new ones unless the structure is gone or gets too overcrowded...so they may just be a dream for me.
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
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#25 |
Alternate POM Judge
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Maryland
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I would love to have barn swallows too. For years the starlings have chased them away from the areas around the barn where they would nest. This year so far I have succeeded in blocking the starlings from nesting. I put chicken wire in all the spots the starlings like to nest.
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In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. Aristotle |
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#26 | |
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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I hadn't thought of the starlings being a problem for the barn swallows too...but that makes sense considering their nesting habits. I usually think of them as competing with bluebirds, but the fact is they probably compete with many more native birds than I realize.
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
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#27 |
Alternate POM Judge
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Maryland
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Dap if the bluebirds boxes have the correct size hole starlings can't get in them just house sparrows.
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In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. Aristotle |
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#28 |
Salamander
Join Date: Nov 2008
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After they learn to take tossed eggs and crickets, they learn to feed from platform feeders, given time and availability. "Emergency feeding" is just a way to prevent martins from starving during cold spells. If a cold spell hits after young have hatched, only feed mealworms and crickets. Scrambled eggs give the young diarrhea and they usually die from dehydration.
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www.michiganmartins.com |
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#29 | |
Salamander
Join Date: Nov 2008
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Bluebirds and martins get along fine. Barn swallows are not colony nesting birds, but will nest in small groups, with nests spaced several feet from another. Single nests are common. They nest under the docks where I fish. That's the key. They want a "roof" over a ledge, or something that they can build their mud nest on. They are a problem in a park building near me. I don't know if they were evicted. The open area between the bathrooms was a perfect place. It had ledges and a roof. The space between the ledge and roof only needs to be about six inches. There is a bunch of information about attracting them. It is a rural bird. You should see them if they are around.
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www.michiganmartins.com |
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#30 | ||
WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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I know I've seen a solitary nest outside a friends garage once. I added wooden ledges outside our barn/garage under the eaves. Several years later, and nothing has nested on them yet. I wonder if I should put more up on the other sides (not just the one facing the house).
__________________
"If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~ |
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Tags |
babies, bird, bird house, birds, box, chicks, houses, housing, martin homes, martin houses, martins, nest, nesting box, nesting material, nests, protection, purple, purple martin, purple martins |
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