Purple Martin Forum

Oh my goodness. We had the largest crowd ever attend this years Iowa State Fair presentation. In fact, we ran out of space so many stood during the presentation and we handed out every piece of educational material we had available. I guess you can say the martin hobby is really taking flight in Io...

just a comparison between the the S & K Bo11 gourd with tunnel and the troyer vertical with conley and tunnel. there's no comparison. my first year I bought 6 Bo11 gourds. they seemed pretty good, but after building a T14, I wanted to add some gourds to it, and just needed 4. I decided to spend ...

Rodger, that was a great read, and I also believe strongly in getting the word out and helping others. afterall, not everyone can get martins where they live, so what better way than to start a colony elsewhere? if its near to you, golf courses, parks and schools make some great locations for an new...

Welcome, LoisG. I've had martins and then not had martins - I'm still learning and learning a lot from everyone here. Good luck - I hope you have a successful season. Thank you for responding to me- I am getting discouraged but will never give up. I have read that tree swallows are not the enemy, a...

Ya know , I kind of threw this thread out here so I can edit the thread with pure excitement.... :) Steve from one Steve to another, be excited. i'm also one of the waitees, wannabees, newbies hoping this will be the year. good luck. for now, i spend most of the time lowering my housing to extract ...

Think of it this way, would gardener or farmer allow the weeds to take over his garden or field? The sparrows are non-native and an invasive species, and it was ignorance and stupidity that brought them here in the first place. Martins are not the only native species having to compete with House Sp...

Neal, i wish you luck. I approached our town councilman regarding the same thing, putting PM housing in a nature preserve that was newly designated. He was very receptive, even asking costs, and I assured him I would help install it, as well as maintain it. I'm already one of 3 stewards of this newl...

Would you please inform where you purchased the pole? PM.Org? Was this a multi piece pole put together to final length? We find it hard to have a long 14" pole sent as one piece and if so where did you buy it local etc. Thanks as we built another laminated wood pole with a ton of screw anchors...

Well I'm finally at peace with my set-up. There isn't much else I can do. I have 3 gourd racks up with 12 on each rack, all SREH and a mix of Super gourds, naturals and THG all with tunnels, porches and Conley II entrances. I have virtually no S&S as they are eliminated immediately. All I can d...

I spoke too soon. after aligning the lower spacer/cleat things, the house still has that gap, allowing it to pitch. however, i decided to simply put a piece of 3/4" scrap pine at the back of both 4 comp houses near the roof, and that took care of it. and thanx to Dan, he had the right idea. bot...

flyin-lowe wrote:Glad you figured it out. The first time I saw a T14 I knew I had to have one. I've been pleased with mine. It was a hit at my old location and at my new house the only pair I had last year chose it over my gourd rack.

Thanx

I'm not sure where you plan to put shims, but if you added an additional board almost the thickness of the gap, to the back of one of the sections, i think it would help. Dan and Toy, i discovered when i got home and lowered the house, that the 3" pole spacers that comes with the kit were not ...

I have T-10 houses plastic houses, but basically the same set up & pole as yours. Looks like you may need to use the shims & adjust the "J" hook & cable on the underside of the house. My houses came with the "J" hook already attached, on the underside, that the cable...

myself, as well as you and others all want the same thing. have our houses and gourds filled with martins, and to also impact newbies to join our cause. the problem with attracting new people is, they simply don't realize there is a need for people to provide the martins with housing. i myself was o...

hi all, myself and a friend bought the t14 plans, and built a new house. i have one issue with the newly erected house on the 3" aluminum pole. there's a gap at the top of the attached houses on the 4 compartment side, that allows the 4 compartment houses to pitch left or right of the pole. we ...

Hey Toy, that was an amazing response. I will save it for sure

Thanx for all the feedback. i realized i can use a 3.5mm to rca split cable to the input on my receiver. i'll update as soon as i get it all together.

I use a home stereo speaker and stereo with a repeat on it and timer! Set and forget it!! lol I use a bungee strap to trap the speaker to the poles high as I can reach! Cover your speaker with plastic bag. Run your speaker wire to the shed where the stereo is in my shop! This may be the redneck way...

Back 3 or 4 years ago when I first got started, I ran an underground landscape lighting cable to the horn speaker I have on top of the martin house, to an amp and then to my pc. I did this so I could play the cd with my pc and have the pc turn it on and off. Some where here on the forum it tells ho...

i have the song magnet to use next spring to get my colony started. however, i also bought the daytime chatter cd from the pmca store and want to know the best type of player to use with an outdoor horn speaker. i plan on ripping the cd to mp3 so i can use a digital device like an old smart phone, b...