Cliff swallows?
Have they left for the winter already? I had some nest near the house this year. They build nests on the garage under the eves, not in the nest boxes I built for them. However they had lots of chicks and I haven't seen a mosquito or horse fly all summer. This has been the best solution of any that I've tried so far.Can I expect them back next spring?
Thanks guys. |
We have a pair of barn swallows that nested inside the kennel building (I am not sure how they go about getting in and out through the dog run doors without any of the dogs ever catching them) for the past four years. I am assuming it is the same pair returning every year because I find it hard to believe that a random pair of swallows would learn to enter and exit the building every spring.
So I think your chances are pretty good they will return. |
Yes most likely they'll be back .... but were they cliff swallows or barn swallows? google them to see the differences in nest shape and body shape.
|
They seem to return every year to the same locations.
I have not seen mosquitos or a horse fly all season, but I attribute that to the 30 plus temperatures and no moisture. |
We had some previously, don't know which kind. they came back every year to the same spot, until they didn't, no idea why. Way more bugs now. I'm going to look into ways of attracting swallows.
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Always something to be learned from threads on this forum. But bats are probably no more effective at mosquito control than the Martins.
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
The ones that were flying around your garage at the test were Barn Swallows. Cliff Swallows usually use a rock, brick, or concrete surface; and neither nests in cavities (like nest boxes). Your nest boxes will work for Tree Swallows provided the hole is big enough (usually 1 1/2") and the floor area is big enough (typically 5"x5").
|
When I was putting up my bat houses I searched for information about it. It seems someone did a "study" where they put bats in a room full of mosquitoes and counted how many they could catch per minute. From that was extrapolated the tremendous number that it would be possible for them to catch in a night of feeding. But real world observations have shown that reality is quite different - similar to the hype on the Martins.
We traveled to Whitehorse this summer, camped and golfed all about Alberta and have been outside in the yard every single day we were home. I applied mosquito spray twice this entire year, and once was really unnecessary. I don't think that the birds/bats etc. had much to do with it. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
I put them on the fence posts. Every couple of hundred yards will be two boxes on adjacent posts. If the Bluebirds take up residence in one, the Tree Swallows will nest in the other one without fighting the Bluebirds for space. Both Bluebirds and Tree Swallows will defend the nest from others of their kind, hence the spacing of a 100+ yards between pairs of houses.
Try to keep them in open areas about 4 ft. off the ground. |
Quote:
Thanks |
Yes, I clean them out every spring - late march. They stay out all year - some of them are 10 years old.
|
I opened this thinking it was a put down on some guy named Cliff.
|
Barn Swallows is what they are/were
The purple martin houses used to be supplied by Dirt Willy, who has passed on much too young and I was told, I believe here that Martins feed at a higher altitude than the smaller swallows, but the ones I had here this year did a fantastic job and I'd like to encourage them.
|
Next to pigeons, barn swallows are perhaps the messiest, dirtiest birds there are. But we let them be in the yard anyway because we enjoy seeing them and the young develop - one nest is over the back door of the house just 5 ft. from the kitchen window. Having to pressure wash the step, door and side of the house every year after the young have fledged is a small price to pay for the close up views.
The only real way to encourage them is to not discourage them. Most folks aggressively wash down the nests to prevent the birds from setting up shop so they don't have the dirty mess around, but if you leave them be they will return every year. |
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:58 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.