Panic time -- days are getting longer!
Thought I'd share a photo of an old martin nest -- most folks here have seen them. This nest in a gourd was built from scratch by a pair last year, but after two eggs were laid something happened and it was abandoned.
It's unusual to have a clean, intact nest at season end. I saved it for some lucky martin pair to use this season. You can see the mud dam in front. I also still have the old eggs -- don't tell the feds.
Some folks think putting up a gourd with an old nest is a trick to get martins to stay at a new site. I plan try this at a golf course site with this gourd.
John Miller
Photo of old martin nest
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Guest
Gary and I help our 72 year old neighbor raise and lower her martin house each year. When we took the house down last year we found something depressing. One of the compartments was stuffed full (EHS) of trash nesting material. As we pulled out the nest we discovered 2 cracked EHS shells and, buried underneath the EHS nest a martin nest with 2 unhatched martin eggs. We have kept this to show our doubting neighbors how much harm vermin birds can cause to our native birds.
Sue
City by the Sea, TX
Sue
City by the Sea, TX