Bird watching

By Paul Schnare

After experiencing a few days this month in the high 60s and low 70s, I am ready for spring.

As I drive around town I also see a lot of purple martin houses in backyards. Their presence also reminds me of spring. Purple martins generally make their trek northward to the Heartland during the month of March, so now is the time to get ready for them.

If you have a martin house in your backyard, now is the time to get it cleaned out. Remove any nest material from last season and then powder the floor with dusting sulfur. The sulfur will help deter bird mites from colonizing an apartment. Once this is done, you just need to wait for the scouts to arrive.

If you don't have a martin house and want to become a martin landlord, now is the time to purchase a martin house or a gourd designed for purple martin use. There are several different kinds of houses on the market, so go to your local retailer and look at the selection.

I like a house system with six or more apartments and with an easy way to raise and lower the house. You also will find plastic gourds that are designed for purple martin residency. They can be mounted singly on a pole, or there are pole systems designed to accommodate several gourds.

The next thing you need to do is select the site to place the pole system. The system should allow the house to be about 15 feet in the air. Martins prefer about 25 feet of clear space for them to swoop into and away from the house. They also like to be near a water source. In the Heartland, water seems to attract mosquitoes, which are a favorite food source of martins.

If you erect a purple martin house or gourd this spring for the first time, get it in place before the middle of March. This is the traditional time that scouts begin to "scout out" the area. You may want to place a purple martin decoy on the front porch for the house. This may help the scouts notice the new house in the area.

Another thing that can be done is purchase a CD of the "dawn song." Play the recording each morning at daybreak. The bird call emanated is a recording of the call of a scout. This may attract martins just making the flight into the Heartland.

Also, be sure to place a predator guard on the house pole. This will keep snakes and other varmints from climbing the pole and eating eggs or fledglings.

If you have sparrows trying to take up residency, you can purchase sparrow traps, which will allow you to remove the unwanted sparrow.

If you do all of the above and don't get martins, don't become discouraged. Some martin landlords I have talked to say it took two or more seasons before martins started to use their house.

If you do get martins attracted to your location, be sure to enjoy the "goings on." What you will see is a microcosm of human society. I had to laugh a few years ago when I watched what happened when a male entered the wrong apartment. He had "h---" to pay for his mistake. Of course, I am assuming it was a mistake on his part.

I hope this information gets you involved with martins. They are a joy to watch and be around.