Good gourd, you'll be a busy neighbor! Feed them plenty of mosquitoes for me. I thought I was doing well with my regular bunny tenants renewing the lease under my shed!

They eat all sorts of flying insects...not just mosquitos...but all flying insects...and only flying insects. They eat flying beetles, flies, wasps; dragonflies, about anything that will fit in their wide, soft mouths. My neighbors insist we have fewer mosquitoes in the area, and while the PMs do eat mosquitos, the Barn Swallows probably eat far more. They won't eat from feeders or bathe in bird baths. They drink and bathe "on the wing" by flying low over creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, etc. They're a native species bird that was on the brink of extinction due mainly to the non-native English House Sparrows and English Starlings - which also have severely threatened other cavity nesters that use to be so plentiful...bluebirds, chickadees, tree swallows, woodpeckers of all varieties, nuthatches, etc., and lack of available housing. The PMs winter in southern Brazil, and make the migration back each spring to nest in Northern America from the southern-most tips of Florida and Texas up to north of Winnepeg, Canada. They're beautiful; they sing and chatter and have lovely flight displays. They return to the same area to nest each year and they nest only in man-made housing. The east coast native Americans were providing gourd housing for the PMs around their villiages before Columbus discovered America. They're fascinating, fun, frustrating at times (when weather and HOSP destroy them), and they need us! I could go on and on...but (thankfully, LOL) I have to run to the commissary. The photo shows some of my babies last year. I've not had time to download my recent photos, but I'll get it done before too long. Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Martins! Read all about 'em here!

What a TREAT! Thank you, Caroline. And thanks to Jemdandy for the hatching info. Amazing that the birds *know* which is the very best gourd! And that they put up defenses as needed (mud dams). I hope those paint chips are not from lead-based paint. Do you have a good population of bugs to keep these guys fed? We are on our second batch of Cardinal matings here 30 miles north of Chicago. DH says he heard an owl two nights ago. I hope the owl sticks around -- something is making 2" diameter holes in my lawn, and it must be nocturnal because I only see chipmunks during the day.

Always a treat to hear about your 'babies', Caroline. We're on round three of Cardinals -- if the young ones a-courtin' now lay eggs. We have mature arbor vitae around two sides of our lot -- and some privit that they seem to favor. I was drawn to the creek last week by calling between a pair of (I think?) Flickers and their four 'kids'. (Whistling cries; spotted breasts; red 'gorgets' on their necks.) They were searching for insects on tree trunks -- and probably finding plenty of emerald ash borers. We have some big tree removal bills coming up!