martins vs pesky tree swallows
-
Boardman Birder
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Thu May 08, 2025 8:45 am
- Location: boardman wisconsin
my classic style martin house is new this year and i have one pair that has apparently moved in, there is nest building going on but i haven't seen eggs yet. i had kept most of the entrances closed but lately there has been a tree swallow starting to build a nest on the opposite side of the house. now i have closed all the holes on 3 sides but have left 3 open on the side the martins are nesting in. should i close up all holes other than the one they are using or leave a few of them open still?
-
randyM
- Posts: 254
- Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:30 pm
- Location: Long Lake SD
- Martin Colony History: * 2016 - 1 pair (ASYM + SYF) 2/3 eggs hatched 2 young fledged.
* 2017 - 4 pairs, 16/17 eggs hatched, 16 fledged, 16 banded - 2 banded SY returned in 2018 (12.5%)
* 2018 - 10 pairs, 46/52 eggs hatched, 45 fledged, 29 young banded - 3 banded SY returned in 2019 (10.3%)
*2019 - 32 pairs, 145/160 eggs hatched, 139 fledged - 87 young banded - 12 banded SY returned in 2020 (13.8%).
* 2020 - 35 pairs, 180/199 eggs hatched, 178 fledged - 150 young banded & 42 SY returned (28.0%)
* 2021 - 89 pairs, 363/446 eggs hatched, 355 fledged - 150 young banded & 19 SY returned (12.7%)
*2022 - 116 pairs, 495/579 eggs hatched, 471 fledged - 150 young banded & 27 SY returned (18.0%)
*2023 - 160 pairs, 708/828 eggs hatched, 572 fledged - 150 young banded & 38 SY returned (25.3%)
*2024 - 235 pairs, 950/1153 eggs hatched, 865 fledged - 100 young banded & 18 SY returned (18.0%)
*2025 - 200 pairs, 795/953 eggs hatched, 739 fledged - 200 young banded
If the tree swallows are not pestering the martins enough for the martins to leave (as is sounds like they are both building nests), I'd let them co-exist and keep cavities open in which both species were building nests. On numerous occasions I've had tree swallows nest in a gourd less than a foot away from an active martin nest cavity and all got along fine. If you close the cavity the tree swallows are using, they may become more aggressive and chase the martins away and try to claim the cavity the martins are using. If you close all cavities to the house and put up a gourd closer to the ground on a shepard's hook, by the time the swallows claim the gourd to nest in, your martins will likely abandon your site. Hopefully they can co-exist and both raise a brood.
Good luck!
Randy
Good luck!
Randy