Black Beauties
by Karen
(Henderson, MD, USA)
My first attempt was a HIT!! My second attempt was an even bigger HIT! I currently have 12 pairs in my second year with plastic gourd houses!
I have a telescopic pole 18' high, great southern flyaway for the birds, no trees too close and our house is about 35 ft. away!
Basically to have success, I followed the online instructions to a T. Out of these 24 birds I currently have approximately 48 eggs and counting!
My birds love to interact with me and they trust me implicitly! They swoop and glide down around as they sing to me - of course I talk to them as well!!
I have had to continually remove sparrows nesting material from the lower houses.........they are persistent, but I never give up!!
I do a nest check every 5 days where I record any changes since previous check. At the start of the season I number my houses with permanent markers to keep an accurate record.
Once the eggs have hatched I use 1/2 teaspoon of sevin dust underneath the nest (applied with caution) in an effort to keep the nest free of bugs that could potentially kill the baby birds.
This technique was given to me by a very successful Landlord in Lancaster Pennsylvania. If I could find something natural to use with as much success I would certainly try it.
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