carey@m.cs.uiuc.edu (09/10/88)
My horse attracts a lot of flies. Are there any birds that eat flies? How can I attract them? I live in central Illinois, in the country, but surrounded by cornfields. There is a small stream half a mile away. (I also live right next to a natural gas pumping station. I just found out that the odorant they add to the gas attracts flies too! Sometimes you can smell that stuff half a mile away) I would be willing to put up birdhouses or whatever to provide living quarters, there are plenty of flies! The common birds are sparrows, grackles, robins, there are a few barn swallows. Do any of these eat flies?
mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser) (09/12/88)
In article <12300002@m.cs.uiuc.edu>, carey@m.cs.uiuc.edu writes: > > My horse attracts a lot of flies. Are there any birds that eat flies? > > How can I attract them? > > The common birds are sparrows, grackles, robins, there are a few > barn swallows. Do any of these eat flies? Barn Swallows are insect eaters and would probably love feeding around a concentration of flies. They also readily nest on building walls that offer a sheltering overhang (they will nest inside or outside of a building; or even under it if it is raised). Other birds that could be of some help in this type of habitat are Kingbirds (eastern or western; I'm not sure which one would predominate in your area) and Say's Phoebe. However, I'm not sure how to attract these. On a side note, the fantastic shorebird migration continues out here on the west coast, with a Eurasian Dotterel at Point Reyes and a Bar-Tailed Godwit along Monterey Bay. Mike