Ok, so I think these are Purple Martins. Please let me know if I am wrong about this.

It was about May 1st that we started seeing and hearing the Purple Martins scouting for a place to live. We were not sure that they were Martins and so we googled what they sound and look like. I expected them to be dark purple, but it seems like the juveniles are not necessarily.

So we put out some suggested mud, egg shells and bedding material. They were not interested in it. Maybe because it was too close to the ground. Our dog was very interested. lol.

Then one day, we noticed a nest being built. That happened around the third week of May. It looked like the Martin nests we found online. Then there were eggs. No pic of that. Then there were baby birds. They came in the beginning of June. Within a month it was all over. The babies were born, then they grew. Then they flew!

It was such a neat experience. A lot of work though. You have to lower the bird house every day or two and clean out any nests being built that do not belong to Purple Martins. That is not easy to do. It seems like the other little brown birds work harder and faster…but we empty out their nest material so the purple ones win. It is interesting that the Purple Martins do not mind our intruding on their behalf. They seem to like our help.

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