Purple Martin Forum

Well Hello again from vermont everybody! I havent and do not make many posts but this one has got me going and really made me laugh at some points. Let me try to make this clear if i can online. I dont want to get too deep though so here goes. The number in front of the caliber of shell or gun you u...

Wow wow wow wow wow, Fred!!! And i though i was the radical one on this forum. You are the king!!

Fordude, DNA or dioxiribonucleic acid, is a very complicated strain of genetic material. It carries BILLIONS of bits of genetic information. Our DNA matches the primates 99.96 percent. This is no coincidence, nor was it put here by the devil to waver your faith in god. We evolved from primates. Simp...

Nanette, The Cabelas Master spring catalog 2006 (edition II) has a good selection of scoped pellet rifles. I was going to buy the Mendoza RM 600 combo (gun and scope) Catalog # DG-22-7569, but i own a Ruger target 22, which will drive push pins at 40 yards, so i am staying with that. This gun and sc...

John, I know how you feel about killing anything (especially birds) but just think of the hosp AS rodents. That will make it easier. And to Nanette, You stated you are using a bb gun. If this is the case, and i have made this post a few times, bb guns are not accurate. The reason for this is because...

Dear smcnic, You stated you were putting holes in your house from the bbs. If it is a bb gun you have, you are shooting an unaccurate weapon. The reason bb guns are not accurate is because the barrel does not have twisted groves to spin the projectile. Real guns have groves which spin up the project...

Well Dick, Its all a matter of perspective.Here in northern VT this morning it was 39 degrees with the wind howling. I did work outside a little with long johns, a full ski doo suit ,toque and gloves. This following 12 days of constant rain with not one ray of sunshine. There are not any bugs out. N...

Dear tg, The white pine needles you seek are from a white pine. How you can tell them from the other types of pine trees is by- The needles are approx. 3 to 5 inches long and relativily soft and if you look closely there will be 5 needles per growing tip. And yes, under the tree, they will be mostly...

Fred, Well this is a tricky one upon further investigation. I thought it (indigenous) meant that they stay in the same area and do not migrate. I know they(house sparrows, starlings) are not native, but i may have misinterpreted the definition of indigenous. I do that sometimes. I should have said n...

Dear Becky, ANY way you can get martins is a good way. Those are some lucky martins - moving from a run down shack to a high- rise apartment building. If the golf course owners were abit more savvy they would have realized martins are an attraction and would have upgraded and increased thier housing...

Dear Mr. Mhoban1, Tree swallows are protected by law and you are not supposed to harm or destroy thier nests. The soloution is to provide them thier own single nest boxes and let them establish in those boxes. Place the boxes within 25 to 40 feet from your martin house and do not open the martin hou...

Bernie, Thanks for the info. I was wondering though, since house sparrows are indiginous, if Murrays law applies. This means the farther north (a non migrating) species lives, the bigger it has to be to survive the longer winter. Maybe this is why it has not worked so well for the more southern peop...

Dear mhoban1, I believe the recomendations of the PMCA are to Pre- add nesting material to the compartments. White pine needles are the top choice. Check the archives or do a search for more information on this. And make sure of the identification next time you see them. Tree swallows look like subb...

Mark , I am going to guess at this, but maybe its because they are in charge of the topographical maps and in conjunction with the banding they can keep better track of where they are banded and/or found.

Congrats Al, When you have to wait a very long time for something to happen it makes the feeling of accomplishment that much more enjoyable. It must feel like Christmas when you were a kid, eh? Good job, and dont forget to change your profile.

Terri, It seems the red squirrels are alot more agressive than the grey squirrels, at least in VT they are. I have witnessed reds doing damage to nest boxes but never have i seen greys doing any.

Im just guessing but could it be pesticide or poison related?

Dear dr kathi, You might try to heat the larger section, just a little bit with a small propane torch, to cause it to expand, and with a monkey wrench or vice grips, twist the smaller section. You may need a wrench for each section. You can use an extension on the monkey wrench or vice grips to give...

off with thier heads!!

Dear showme, Birds can be alot of fun. Ive been feeding black oil sunflower seed for 14 years now since ive moved to VT. My feeders have never gone dry. The seed is cheaper if you buy 50 lb bags at an agway or similar place. Ive had a a quite few experiences, hummingbirds land on my hand when i was ...