This spring, the Mattapoisett Boy Scouts of Troop 53 embarked on a community service project with the building and installation of 10 birdhouses. The goal of the project was to benefit the community by providing habitat for birds that consume a lot of mosquitos.
These houses were designed to attract wrens, bluebirds, swallows and chickadees, all of which are in the top 10 bird species that eat mosquitos. Some wrens eat 10,000 mosquitos per day!
The project was inspired by the success of the Eagle Scout project along Eel Pond by Troop 53 Eagle Scout Murray Copps. Those houses provided a habitat for many tree swallows which have been seen flying over the pond and going in and out of the houses all spring.
The scouts started with a tour of those birdhouses and an educational session from Murray. Using hand tools, the scouts then built the birdhouses from kits that were generously donated by Helen Lozoraitis and Paul Duffy. On June 10, the boys installed these houses in the open field under the powerlines off of Crystal Spring Road.
Troop 53 would like to thank Helen and Paul for brainstorming and making this project happen and to everyone else who helped along the way. We are looking forward to hearing what kinds of birds are using the houses and if the neighboring residents report a more comfortable summer with fewer mosquitos!