Are the Robins Gone??????

[Tobina+1]

I think you can really get into the bird feeding and bird house hobby.  I know that if you feed certain types of food and have certain types of bird houses, they will attract different birds.  Some birds will eat mosquitos during the summer and you can have an insect-free backyard without nasty sprays.  Some birds will keep the yucky sparrows out of your barns without making a mess themselves.  Yes, the type of house matters.  I think sparrows will make a nest in anything, so you have to keep them knocked out of the houses first, and then the other beneficial birds will come and move in.

[indygal]

so you have to keep them knocked out of the houses first

Wow, Tobina...you've never struck me as the kind of person who would go around roughing up defenseless little sparrows! 

There's a place just north of town that has about a dozen blue martin houses (the ones that look like apartments) on poles. It makes me think of a bird's version of New York City. I wonder if they actually get many blue martins to live there.

We still have several robins way over here on the southeast side, so they must be taking their time heading to warmer climes. Haven't seen many crows yet, so they too are a little late about coming to the big town for winter.

[Tobina+1]

Thanks, Indy, blue martins were what I was thinking of to keep the mosquitos down and they live in the apartment houses.  My grandpa used to have them in his backyard and he would spend so much time getting them ready in the spring.  I think once you've got them established they continue to come back to the same place to live.  But I remember it took a bit to keep the other birds out before the blue martins would move in.

Oh, when it comes to birds making nests on my house, I get pretty violent.  If I can battle them for about a month in the spring, they finally find somewhere else to nest, but it takes all I can do during that month.  It's amazing how fast they can build a nest.  While I'm in here tapping away on my keyboard, they are swooping around re-building their nest.  Back out I go and down it comes... back an couple hours later to the same thing!  And if I'm gone for a couple days... oh, they get such a good head start!

[Dee Gee]

I think you are refering to purple martins which are suppose to eat a lot of mosquitos, I have at least two houses up for them and are getting more pairs every year.  Last year we had about a dozen pairs of them in the houses and we don,t have any mosquito problem.

[frawin]

In a recent issue of Birds and Blooms Magazine they had and item whether Robins fly South for the winter. They stated" If there is sufficent food on their breeding grounds, American Robins, Bluebirds, and a host of Finches and Owls remain inthe area where they spent the summer.
Myrna and I had been noticing lots of robins are still in the area.

[Tobina+1]

Duh, PURPLE martins!  Finally, someone on here with real expertise!  So, what's the trick to getting purple martins to reside?  Do they really prefer the apartment building houses?  How long does it take for them to become "established"?

[Dee Gee]

Purple Martins are a group nesting bird they want to be together in their apartments.  I have never had any problem getting them to come to my houses, and they seem to be more each year.  The house I ever put up that they didn,t built in was a plastic one, I have a wood one that I built and a metal one, they seem to perfer the wood.  Purple Martins want their nesting house out in the open but close to building and people.

[frawin]

Some of the mixed bird seed will come up after it is knocked to the ground.  If you will put in in a microwave for a short time and then let it cool, it won't germinate.
Myrna

[patyrn]

We have had good luck with plastic gourd houses for purple martins.  They are great birds to have around and require no feeders since they feed on insects.  There should be a water source in the area, however, but it doesn't have to be in your yard.  A pond or stream in the area works for them.  We have the gourds suspended on a telescoping pole and can lower it to observe the activity of  the new families in their nests.  They really like human interaction.  We number each house and monitor each one, keeping a running log throughout the summer.  The martins arrive in Oklahoma about March 15 (probably a bit later in Kansas) and we try to have everything cleaned out and set up for the first scouts to check things out by that time.  We have always had martins return.  There is a lot of information on the internet for anyone interested in attracting purple martins. 

[indygal]

 
I typed blue when I meant purple! I was so concerned about spelling martin correctly (did you know a marten is a member of the weasel family? I didn't, so I'm glad I checked Webster's for the spelling!) that I completely blew over the blue.....