Purple Martin Forum

flyin-lowe wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 24, 2020 7:12 am

JQ, that can depend on how big your baffle is. When it comes to snakes though the netting is always a good idea.

Thanks - I have the 8” diameter baffle sold through the PMCA website for 2” pole. Now wishing maybe I’d gone for the quick release...

If you're in Wisconsin, the closest thing to help you might get (based on a cursory Google) is the following: It is unlawful to utilize Drones to harass wild animals, impede, obstruct, or harass a person lawfully engaged in hunting, fishing, or trapping, and/or disturb a lawfully placed hunting blin...

Thanks for posting Kathy. I've been reading and soaking up what knowledge I can. In an ordinary setting, is the baffle mounted ~4' up the pole sufficient in order to take care of snakes/raccoons or is netting a "must"?

With a single story house, put it as close to the house as you want to. Trees are the issue. I don't know if you're open to cutting any more than you've already cut but cutting a couple of those tallest ones on the left could make all the difference in the world. The shot looking over your house fr...

deancamp wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 23, 2020 4:31 pm

What type of entrance does your housing have.? The sreh would help keep the starlings at bay.

Excluder 2 - so should be good!

Thanks Whippy & Black Jack for your encouragement and suggestions. Sounds like it's pretty unanimous that closer to the house/patio is better. We'll give that a whirl. My gourds, owl guards, decoy, nesting material, etc. all arrived today. The stake, pole and perch are coming tomorrow - so it'll...

Here is my gourd rack just now Looking good! Hopefully my non-optimal setting will still be good enough to convince a few martins looking for a new home. I'll have to be vigilant to keep predators at bay. I purchased and plan to set up my rack with owl guards, baffle, and SREHs. Intend to "fur...

JQ, I had a similar dilemma only difference is my trees aren't as tall as yours and my yard is a little smaller... Thanks so much for this Whippy! Breathing life into my otherwise imperfect set-up over here. Appreciate the insight and encouragement. Have to believe that some cared-for housing is go...

Yes...agree closer to your house. Or, looks like a school a block away. This spring the virus concerns here would make meeting with them tough, but consider contacting them in the future. They have a few potential open spaces. Thanks John - will probably give this season a whirl with them closer to...

I think closer to your house is better than closer to trees. Thanks Dean - I agree. I'm not sure there aren't trees to the east to such a degree that it'll help that much - if you stand in the yard (the image below is going to not make it look good...) and look east, I guess my point was that you c...

I just always advise folks to walk out to a potential site and look for open flyways out to the horizon on three sides if possible. If you post a couple of more photos looking out toward where you want to place, maybe I can be more optimistic. Thanks John. If St. Louis needs housing then I think it...

Thanks Brad - appreciate it. Do you think that’s too close to the house? I agree that the trees are definitely not optimal for attracting martins. We just finished taking a bunch of trees out. The photo doesn’t do it a great justice, but it’s pretty thin on the border of the neighbor on the west (le...

Hello everyone - Happy to be here. I'm an aspiring first-time landlord in the St. Louis, MO area. My first PM set-up arrives tomorrow and I'm excited to provide a stop-over on the long journey the birds make each year. My reading has yielded lots of advice around the optimal space that a purple mart...