Be a Bird Landlord This Spring
Spring is in the air, and along with fertilizing the lawn for the first time this year and cleaning the yard of winter sticks and debris, it’s also almost time to rehang your birdhouses. Even now those birds we love as “tenants” are winging their way northward to their North American breeding grounds.One of my favorite birds that nest and raise their young here in the Midwest is the House Wren. House Wrens appreciate a birdhouse built to their small dimensions with a nickel-size hole for exit and entrance. If a house like that is not readily found, House Wrens might nest in any of these: empty cow skulls, woodpecker holes, abandoned hornets’ nests, watering cans, or like some did on our porch last summer, in a hanging plant. They seem less frightened of people than other types of the wren family. To begin the spring housing ritual, the male wren builds frameworks of nests with sticks. The female then comes in and decides which is her favorite and lines it with soft material. The eggs then take 13-15 days to hatch. The nestlings stay in the nest 15-17 days.Purple Martins, members of the swallow family, are a most-desired bird species as a summer visitor to your yard. Purple Martins eat their own weight every day in mosquitoes. They are most active in the late afternoon and early evening. A house for Purple Martins looks like a bird condominium complex. Purple Martins nest in groups. After erecting a house for Purple Martins, it may take several years for the birds to “discover” the available dwelling place. In early spring, Purple Martin scouts head north and stake claims on available nesting homes. Fans of this bird can check The Scout Report Online to find out when these scouts have been sighted in their areas. If Purple Martin houses are made available too early in the season, before the scouts appear, starlings will take over the martin houses. Purple Martins lay 3-5 eggs at a time and may raise three families during a season. The eggs incubate in 15-18 days and the fledglings leave the nest in about 20 days.