Mr. and Mrs. Martin

This couple (assuming they’re the same duo) has insisted on building their family just outside my front door for the last three years.  Tearing down the nest does no good, they just build it right back.  Martins tend to build nests in open areas such as in Martin houses (the tall bird houses and poles you see in some yards) so that they can easily see predators such as hawks.  The male does most of the nest building at first after which the female comes in and puts on the final touches.  Martins get used to people pretty quickly; I can walk out my front door and they’ll just sit and stare at me.   The problem is, they leave bird poop below which means I’m periodically cleaning it up.  Oh well, it’s still cool to have Martin family visit each year.

Update...

Update:  Thanks to everyone for asking about updates to my blog.  For the moment, my only access to the Internet is via my smart phone at home and my computer at work.  Unfortunately, work has been crazy busy so I'm less likely to post updates from there; I can update from my smart phone but preferred placement of pictures and text can be tricky.  So, hopefully at some point I'll pick up an tablet so I can more easily post updates when I'm home.  In the meantime, I'll try to find time at work; I definitely have more stuff to put up so stay tuned.

Mark