Purple Martin Forum

Full racks and many babies this season. 2 late departures coming out of VA as we're down to our last gourd of fledges... season should be ending over next several days here in Southern VA.

I see many people relocate the snakes that they catch in the netting. I'm sure it's a good feeling when you were able to do that, however if you relocate a snake it is likely going to die anyway. You can Google the statistics if you want. Having said that, all it does is give the problem to somebod...

Well folks- not to keep this thread lingering, but... we had ANOTHER snake. Unfortunately, this one got in :cry: . On this week's nest check I was absolutely shocked to find the largest rat snake I've ever seen inside our T-14 with (unfortunately) a very full belly. How it got past our baffle and n...

Hi All, Recently here in Washington State we had a run of bad weather during late June and into early July. When I did nest checks recently several nests that had eggs in June were now empty. So, I'm curious what you folks might know about how martins behave when their nest fails. We do not have an...

THUMBS Up!

Well Jones, me too. Apparently, we live in snakey places. This morning we had the second rat snake capture in a week. Walked out for morning coffee on the porch only to hear the unmistakable alarm cries and see a 'ball of birds' swirling around but not landing on the housing. Sure enough, caught in...

Birdiegirl wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 08, 2026 11:37 am

For anyone following this thread, I can share this link I found on the forum. I do well with photos, and this has three versions for consideration. I would still love to hear from any of you happily using 'zapper' systems.

viewtopic.php?t=36022

Thank you.

Curious if you have ever had sings of snake attacks in the past, or noticed anything like that from nest checks. Seems odd that you would go a long time with nothing and then all of the sudden multiple different snakes. I could see if it was one and you didn't take it far enough away and it knows w...

3rd black rat snake as the baffle defeated it this time...went down and caught it while it was going to the second 24 gourd pole to try its luck there....captured placed in pillow case and 5g bucket...10 mile drive to river area and released...She/He was a pretty big one this time... Put up that net...

I love birds of prey with a passion but I hate them when it come time for the young martins to fledge. Watching them and knowing you’re fighting a losing battle. I know I average between 350 and 400 fledgelings a year and I’m doing far more good then the hawks are downing bad. But it sucks when you...

This morning makes the second time that the snake netting on our T-14s caught a would-be predator. I was late to work :oops:, but the martins are safe and the rat snake was released unharmed. While I appreciate the efficacy of the snake netting- it is a hassle when doing nest checks and is pretty h...

Snakes are definitely a major problem. Fortunately I haven't had any bother my martins, but I think one got to the Mockingbird nest in the bush right outside my window. A week ago there were three babies in the nest, 2 days later they were gone. No signs of them on the ground and they were way too ...

More snake deterrents the better I learned the hard way. Been using baffles from Troyer but a Black rat snake defeated it and claimed a few gourds with the younglings inside of at least 2 full nest this past week. Found the Rat snake resting on the arm of a 24 rack pole and I removed it and repurpos...

RIP

I've lost a few to cat scratch fever... Didn't kill the bird when it leaped into the air and clawed it...cat scratching I've learned is fatal even when they seem to have gotten away...Been my unfortunate experience.

Jones, How close are your bluebird/tree swallow houses from each other? If you have both swallows and bluebirds nesting on your property, you could "pair" bluebird houses/tree swallow gourds within 10' of each other, with the openings being orientated in opposite directions (180 degrees)....

Looks Great! Best wishes on a prosperous year in all regards.

First male showed up 3/15 to a chilly evening and a female yesterday...70s and 80s...the rebirth begins and excited for another season of abundance. Hope everyone fills up and has not to many set backs this year.

For comparative analysis I have 66 gourds 4 racks and as many TS I've ever seen this year, so many in fact the BB/TS battles are being slanted heavily in the favor of TS winning most of these fights...I put up 6 TS gourds on single poles and 4 BB housing in wood. The TS has claimed 8 and BB's are do...

All birds fledged and departed...Aug 10th. See everyone next year.