Terrene, The ancient martins of the past once nested in hollow tree snags,old woodpecker holes,etc and some including myself think they mave have used rocky outcroppings,cliffsides,and river banks very similar to how the Rough Winged Swallow,Barn,and the Cliff Swallow nests today. To me this would explain their use of mud in their nests. There would be no need for mud in a deep woodpecker cavity or tree hollow but maybe the ancient martins used mud to seal off a rock crevice or something similar?? All fun questions to think about and wonder. The native American Indians of the south first started attracting martins by using gourds. Most likely it happened by accident as the Indians hung the gourds to dry. Well maybe the mice(that love to eat gourd seeds)got into them as they hung there in the winter drying. They ate a hole in the gourd and in the spring the martins took them. After the Indians noticed this they liked the martins and then started purposely hanging the gourds for them? Again fun questions to think about. When the white man settled in this country they began to build wooden houses for martins along with adopting the Indians practice of hanging gourds and then the stage was set for making the Purple Martin so dependant on man for housing as they are today. I think that in ancient days of this country when the great forests once dominated that the martins were not as common as they are today with the increased open area and that is most likely true. However the greatest threat to martins now is their need for man made housing and of course their number one enemies the Starlings and the House Sparrows. When these two birds came on the scene they slowly began to push out the martins wherever they became common. Gone were the days of simply putting up a martin house with 2 inch round holes in it and forgetting about it. Same with the Bluebirds and if it were not for the 1 and 1\2 inch entrance hole in BB Boxes the Eastern Bluebird would not be near as common as they are now. The 1 and 1\2 hole stopped the starlings and then they only had the House Sparrows to deal with. Fortunately for the Purple Martin there are now SREH(Starling Resistent Entrance Holes)and they have helped martins everywhere now not have to deal with starlings and wherever this is happening the martins are doing great. My site is nearly 100% clinger SREH now and it is such a sitisfying feeling knowing the martins are protected from those nest stealing,murdering starlings. Martins can deal with the sparrows to a point but not starlings and having the SREH is the only way to go these days if you seek a martin colony. I have been a martin landlord since I was 11 years old Terrene and all. I never tire of watching them and they are such a great part of summertime in this country. They are as American as baseball,apple pie,your Grandma's country biscuits,etc..smile..Thanks to all people who now use the SREH and trap and control the House Sparrows at their martin colonies. It simply helps the martins bigtime and so many other native songbirds continue to exist and live free and un harrassed in their own country. Man has in a way changed the nesting habits of the martins and this one question is always in my mind when I watch them. What would happen if all of a sudden man stopped supplying them housing?? Would their ancient instincts kick back in and send them back to cliffs,riverbanks,hollows,etc??? That is a lot to ponder right there I know that...Mike

What a treat! Thanks for sharing. I read such a discouraging article in the Chicago Tribune last week. It was about a bird tagging location near the Illinois/Wisconsin border that has been functioning for forty years. At first I thought the article said the number of birds had declined by ten to twenty percent, then...no, the number has declined TO ten to twenty percent of the migrating birds. They blame pollution and the declining habitat along migration routes. One of the tiny birds photographed had been recorded on migration from Northern Canada to South America. Our bird population has never come back more than a few percent from the die-off during avian flu a few years ago. I almost never see a crow or blue jay -- who thought I'd miss *them*?

I miss the ones we had at our house in Norman, OK. Every single year they came back, they unfortunately nested in our chimney which made a big mess but we did not disturb them at all we were so happy to see them return each year. We put out houses but I think it was the same family and they only wanted in the chimney I guess it was much higher than anything else. Watching them at evening diving and darting was great they are like art in motion. It did drive our kitties a bit crazy though hearing those babies chirping through the fireplace doors LOL

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!