Purple Martin Forum

My little colony is hanging at 5 or 6 pairs as usual, and we're happy to have them back again. Last week just after major thunderstorms rolled through, I went out to check on them, and there were at least a hundred martins flying in patterns over the yard. It was kind of eerie to see them wheeling s...

Yesterday I lowered the Quad Pod for a check and had my first jumper. He made it to the fence line but fortunately didn't go over into the neighbor's yard with all their dogs. I caught him in my hat pretty quickly and replaced him in the nest, everything seems fine. I was surprised how loud their al...

Great picture. This happens with mine occasionally.

Thanks for the heads-up. I will look at mine and see what can be done.

I have one telescoping pole. The chance of this happening has always worried me too. Every year I paint the junctions of the poles up and down several inches with green paint so I know when I am getting close to the joint. The paint on the lower joint usually wears off and I have to re-mark with a s...

My little colony has its most nests ever at five. Most years we have four. In the past the babies in all nests have been pretty much the same age. Not this year! I have two nests with pinfeathers just starting to show, one nest with naked pink chicks, one nest with the chicks completely covered with...

No, the photo is not cropped. He let me get so close I could use the 'super macro' feature on my camera - that is only a couple of inches from the lens. When I checked back a couple of hours later, he was not there. But, it is not normal for wild creatures to let us approach them that closely. I am ...

This guy was sitting on the edge of our garden's raised bed six inches above the ground. He let me get so close I could have touched him. Surely that is not normal? Hope he's OK.

Matt, Sorry to hear about your colony. It has been a very tough, dry and hot year. Yes, I initially only had 2 nests (maybe a 3rd that was destroyed by starlings before I got them) instead of my usual 4-5. Both those initial nests have successfully fledged, and now I have 2 more with nestlings in th...

All previous years, all our nestlings have fledged the same week. This is the first year that we have had a second wave of nests. I've been out of town for a while but on my nest check today I see that both nests in the 2nd wave have hatched. One set of babies looks quite a bit older than the other.

Thanks for posting those.

I am happy to have two of these new clutches in our little colony. This may end up being our most productive year ever.

My late nesting pair built a full nest in the leftmost compartment of a house that is three compartments wide, 90% of a nest in the middle compartment, and threw a few sticks in the rightmost compartment for good measure. Seems like a lot of extra work!

A pair of Cooper's hawks are nesting at the far edge of our neighborhood. It is fun to check on them during our nightly walks....but I hope they stay far from our little colony. Here's mama by the nest.

We have been lucky enough to hear and see the 'boom' display here and in Yellowstone park. Sounds more like a ripping or sizzling sound to me than a boom but very cool to see and hear.

Great picture. Yes all those birds are in the nightjar aka 'goatsucker' family. Weird name but interesting birds.

Oak leaves and twigs are the favorite here, but one pair has built with only twigs, all about the same diameter, and all about five inches long. It looks like they ordered them from a supply house!

Small colony, but I only have about half my usual number of nests this year.

The starlings here ignore the nice round holes in my cheap house and go for the SREH in the Quad Pod. Go figure. However, they are loyal to one particular 'pod' in it for some reason, and that big ol' Victor rat trap I put in there gets 'em every time.

I saw and heard my first 3 today. This is quite late for my little colony. Fortunately they are already going into the houses.

I am in the Clear Lake area.