Playback Rate 1

Timecode: 00:00:00

EasternPurpleMartin_EggShells_Joseph_Laura_AustinTX_8December2022_Reel4136.mp3

Laura Joseph [00:00:00] Sparrows: we just stay after them with the vigilance.

Laura Joseph [00:00:05] We take them out. We don't kill them. We don't trap them. We just take down the houses every day. That's why we have a Monday group, Tuesday group, Wednesday group.

Laura Joseph [00:00:18] And we take out all the sparrow nests, put them in a bag and compost them.

Laura Joseph [00:00:24] And we destroy, the kids love to destroy the eggs. There's always some kids out there who have a contest with the sparrow eggs. They smash them.

Laura Joseph [00:00:36] And there's some real science that kids can learn. And we we try to involve as many kids as possible.

Laura Joseph [00:00:49] We teach them about calcium in egg shells. And we encourage them to save their egg shells and microwave them and crush them up and then put them on the feeders. We have four or five feeders out there where we keep egg shells.

Laura Joseph [00:01:09] And then the parents eat the egg shells, which is like taking calcium tablets every day. And also the parents feed the crushed egg shells to the babies because that helps them digest dragonflies and beetles and whatever else the parents bring home for them to eat. They need some kind of grit to help them chew it up.

Laura Joseph [00:01:42] And so we teach them that the egg shells are a really important part of the martin's life. And if you eat an egg, you may save the shell and bring it. And lots of kids do. Lots of kids do.

Laura Joseph [00:02:01] We have two or three inches of egg shells all the time at home.