Purple martin stewards generally do an annual cleaning, but whether it
really helps is uncertain; the idea is to reduce insect parasitism, but I
don't know of the supporting evidence. The late Jack Davis advised me to
clean martin boxes in the spring and then add a generous handful of cedar
shavings, such as the type one might find in pet stores.

Kevin Li
Seattle

> ----------
> From: Ed Newbold[SMTP:newboldwildlife at netscape.net]
> Reply To: newboldwildlife at netscape.net
> Sent: Sunday, February 14, 1999 11:18 PM
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: barn swallow nest
>
> Hi everybody,
> I went to the Nisqually today, walked the entire dike in good weather and
> failed to see or hear:
> 1. Belted Kingfisher
> 2. Purple Finch
> 3. American Kestrel
> 4. Meadowlark sp.
>
> This is part of my campaign to counteract the positive data bias in
> birding.
> After never having heard of or seen harriers hunting shorebirds, today I
> was
> told two such stories. Two birders saw one capture a dunlin in the
> Nisqually,
> only to lose it after a struggle. Then I heard about a Harrier catching a
> Dunlin in the Stilly estuary yesterday (Moon, Droker, et al).
> But here's what I'm really writing to find out. Last year we were
> landlords
> to a Barn Swallow family above our front steps and they fledged three
> young.
> Since they were a lot of fun and I've heard they are declining nationally,
> I
> am understandably eager to have them back. They picked a really good safe
> place where we can help them fight off cats and crows and it would
> probably be
> good if they stayed exactly in that same place. So my question is:
> Should I
> knock the old nest out or leave it there? I also have the same question
> regarding my violet green swallows, which nested in a box built by the
> Rainier
> Audubon Society and also fledged three: Should I empty the nest contents
> or
> not?
> Thanks for everybody's time.
> Ed Newbold
> Seattle
> Newboldwildlife at netscape.net
>
>
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