The story doesn't end there, I'm afraid. As I said, I plugged the hole in the nest box where the TUTIs nested. While I was distracted with them, a pair of bluebirds who have been hanging around here started a nest in my second video box which is in my back yard. I hadn't been paying enough attention because I had intended to put that one out of commission also. By the time I turned my attention to that box, the nest was almost done. Mama has been working on the nest and at the same time working with Daddy to feed the 3 (maybe 4) fledglings from their first brood which grew up somewhere else (I'd seen the parents come to my feeder and carry mealies off beyond my yard a few houses/never did find where the nest was; I'm guessing they got evicted by our little brown bird 'friend'). So for the last few days I have been so happy to see the whole family in my backyard, all 5 or 6 of them. They go back and forth from the mealie feeder to the top of the nest box which is not far away. Anyway, I WILL be monitoring the box as carefully as I can. My husband rigged up a cord that goes from the nest box to inside my kitchen. If I see a HOWR on the box or in the box, I pull on the cord and can shake the nestbox! Hope I never have to use it. The box is also easier to get to than the one in the front (no steps, yeah!). I have evidence that having the whole BB family around will offer them a lot of protection. As I watched (and recorded), a HOWR went into the nest box & started to pick at the nesting material with the intention, I'm sure, of throwing it out the hole. However, 'The Family' showed up and blocked the HOWR IN the box. I swear that HOWR must sit somewhere and watch the BBs cause it had the guts to go into the nest while Mama is actively in and out of the nestbox while working on the nest. Actually prior to getting trapped in the box that time, the HOWR had gone into the box & started picking at the pine needles but I chased it out quickly. So if you go to my dropshots page (guest password birdbrain), there's a new video 'HOWR gets trapped in box by bluebirds'. If you listen carefully to the video, you can hear the bluebirds 'chatting' while the HOWR quivers at the bottom of the nest. Not sure what the quivering is all about but I know that some animals (like cats, for instance) 'quiver' in anticipation of pouncing/striking. You can see that it tries to get out the hole twice to no avail (it seems to 'throw' itself at the hole). I was afraid that one of the parents was going to go into the box and get hurt. Yes, maybe there would have been a battle and the bluebirds MIGHT have won but I didn't want to take the chance so I opened the back door (this was before I had my 'shaker cord'). My two male dogs got out in front of me and not only chased away the bluebirds but also the wren. Amazing video, though! The nest is done now and when the first egg is laid, up goes the wren guard, and I go into active monitoring. Blessings, Lina... Here is a link that might be useful: Video HOWR gets trapped in box by BBs

Good SUNDAY morning! DH and I have had our first major 'disagreement' over the placement of several Snow Village houses (lol), so thought it might be a good time to check in. Marci, could you please send me the link to the album? I don't have it marked as a favorite on my home computer. Also, I plan to download some photos of our decorations next week (at home) and want to send them to you for the album. Making a big pot of soup, doing laundry (I miss BJ!), and plan on wrapping some gifts after DH leaves at 1pm for the JETS game. This afternoon I need to run over to Trader Joes for some nice blanched almonds, pecans, and walnuts for my baking. Tomorrow I work from 8-Noon and will do more baking during my 1/2 vacation day. Don't know if I told you guys, but (in the spirit of Diversity) we started a corporate holiday choir and I have a rehearsal tomorrow at 9am; otherwise, I would have taken the entire day off! Good news about having to use some vacation to come in is that they are allowing me to carry over 13 days into next year's time. That gives me 55 days for 2007!! The carryover will come in handy as we are going on an 11-day Holland America cruise on January 6 and taking a week in March for Florida. DH likes winter vacations, and since he truly kicks back when he has the least worries about work, it makes the time away that much nicer. OK, time to get back to DH's way of doing things once I switch another load from washer to dryer. Have a great Sunday. GO JETS -- GO STEELERS (for Marci!)

Lydia 1959...As far as it's known, from decades of research by the PMCA and other organizations, the Purple Martins in the eastern half of the U.S. nest only in man-made cavities, and near human activity. Since the times before Columbus they have "imprinted" on humans. The eastern Native Americans lured them to their villages and gardens by setting natural gourds on sticks and dead trees. They knew when the Purple Martins were near, the flying insects were kept at bay. There is a small scattering of PMs on the west coast, and they seem to be nesting in single family groups around piers. There was a lot of excitement when a colony was discovered nesting in drainage pipes under highway overpasses around the Sacramento area. Still, for the vase majority of the Purple Martins, and the entire eastern population, it's man made housing. You can see the problem since fewer and fewer people are offering, and safely managing, housing for them. The PMs, along with our native blue birds, started declining in the 1950s and were fast approaching endangered status. The main causes were lack of housing being offered to them, loss of wooden fence posts in the case of the blue birds, and the explosion of the imported, non-native English House Sparrow that will kill/destroy any cavity nester, its eggs and its chicks, that it can find...PMs, bluebirds, chickadees, woodpeckers, nuthatches, etc. all fall prey to these non-natives. So, loss of habitat, explosive numbers of non-native competitors, and a lack of well-managed housing not being offered is the main culprits of the decline of our native cavity nesters. I wish you could come visit. I sit under the feeder tree each morning with my tea and listen to the beautiful chatter, chortles, and songs of the PMs. They're here for such a short time, but I try to enjoy them enough to last the rest of the year. They travel to and from southern Brazil each year to raise their families. They come back to the same colony each year. They are magical!

Nicole...Purple Martins use only dry nesting materials; around here they like pine needles, wheat straw, twigs, old mulch, etc. They usually add green leaves right before egg laying begins. Mine used a lot of maple seed "helicopters" this spring. Some PMs add layers of leaves right before egg laying begins. Some add one lone leaf and call it good. They don't use anything soft. I fill the gourds with fresh cedar shavings in the spring; I pack them tightly and fill the gourds to about 1/2 inch below the entry hole. Some of the birds don't bother to add anything else. They spend nest-building time eating and resting and getting strong. When the chicks are 10-days-old, and again when they're 18-days-old, I remove them from the nest, take out all the old nesting material, add Sevin dust if I see any mites, add new cedar shavings, and replace the babies. The adults buzz around and watch the procedure, but they're very use to my nearly daily "help." It keeps the chicks clean, parasite free, reduces bacterias and molds, and helps ensure they all fledge strong and healthy. No. Most birds "in the wild" don't get this treatment, but with the martins it's all a numbers game. I try to ensure each egg laid has the optimum conditions to hatch (didn't do so good this year) and each hatchling lives to fledge. I love tending my little flock. I can do a complete nest change/clean out in about two minutes so it's really not a bother. Janie...LOL. Of course he's a guy. No lady would be caught in such an over-indulgence stupor! LOL (All their "parts" are internal, boys and girls,)