Exquisite Gourd Bird Houses
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

If you have been wondering what gourds are, ask a purple martin. The dictionary definition of a gourd specifies it is a hollow, incredibly hard, dried shell of an inedible fruit belonging to the Cucurbitaceous family of plants. Gourds are seldom used for much other than ornamentation and utensils. That's a pity, because gourds provide ideal bird quarters. It is believed that Native Americans had used these gourds as birdhouses for hundreds of years. Gourd bird houses (Lagenaria siceraria) are still used in some parts of the southern United States for colonial housing for purple martins, which help control mosquitoes. In the eastern United States, where primeval forests have vanished, purple martins are almost exclusively dependent on man-made nest boxes.

Gourd bird houses are nature's own birdhouse. There is little to write as instruction about building gourd bird houses. Just drill an appropriate size hole through the top of the neck of the gourd and pass a piece of thick wire through the holes, entwining the wires at the top to create a hanger for the birdhouse. If you wish other birds than purple martins to reside, attach the birdhouse to a pole so it does not swing in the breeze. Since gourds can actually be molded or shaped as they are grown, the creative possibilities of gourd bird houses are abundant. With careful handcrafting, you may soon find exotic bird species nesting in your backyard.

Birds make the landscape livelier while maintaining the character and intimacy of a residential backyard. Setting up gourd bird houses is an excellent way to lure birds, especially purple martins closer to your home. Purple martins are very interesting to watch and their playful behavior provides endless hours of entertainment. Gourd nests are also ideal for small birds such as chickadees and nut hatchers. Gourds natural charisma, inimitability, and exquisiteness make them perfect not only for the garden but indoors decorative as well.

American Indians used gourds nests to entice the purple martin, and to this day, hollowed gourds remain the nest of choice for these birds. As these birds are communal dwellers, make sure to hang a bunch!

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.