Purple Martin Forum

Thanks for your replies everyone! We had a meeting yesterday, and my suggestion for placement was vetoed. But, we discussed it, and some trees will be cut down to place the housing in an area that will be accessible to the public and near our new entrance fee booth. That makes me breathe a little ea...

Thanks John and G for the encouragement. I've never used gourds - are they easy/quick to remove from the rack? Will I need to take tools out with me? One of the best options for placement of the PM housing is beyond a barrier at the edge of a pond. The public won't be able to walk up to the housing,...

Hi everyone. I recently started working at a nature park in south Texas and was given permission to put up some PM housing :grin: I've had a colony at my house for several years, and I've been participating in Project MartinWatch for 4 or 5 years now. I'm very excited about this opportunity, but I'v...

Gary, You and your mom will love it! Viewing is best between 8:15ish to about 9 pm. The parrot roost is awesome too! They've been using the same stretch of road as a roost site for as long as I can remember. Sadly, they were hit hard by a hail storm last year, but their numbers are coming back. Vero...

Thanks for your replies. We finally found the roost about two weeks ago. It was only about a mile (as the crow flies) from last year's site! I can't believe it was so close yet it took us so long to find it :???: It's in a very quiet area of town. Very different from all previous sites. We kept look...

We drove around for weeks trying to find this roost. It wasn't at last year's site, or any of the sites from previous years. This roost moves around a lot - it pretty much moves every year. We finally found it about two weeks ago but just got around to submitting a roost report last night :oops: I l...

Hi everyone. My husband and I have been very frustrated trying to find our local martin roost this year. It has been at 3 different locations in the past 4 years, and this year, we just can't find it! The roost site has moved around, but it's always been within about a mile or two of the previous ye...

Boy am I glad that weather is over! My martins looked so sad all huddled together. They didn't leave the housing for two days straight. And I really missed having them wake me at 5:30 am. They are very loud, but they didn't make a peep Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday mornings. They have been out all ...

Thought I'd pass this along for anyone who wants to participate: Watch a Nest to Help the Birds Scientists ask for your help to understand why some birds are declining For release: March 28, 2013 Ithaca, N.Y.--Over the past 30 years, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Violet-green Swallows, Purple Martin...

Gonna start adding pine straw to my housing this week. It's gonna be a busy week, but hopefully I can get at least one house up. My martins don't usually return until early February, but I'll be ready in case someone shows up early!

Veronica

I would buy a bumper sticker

Penny was very helpful. She thinks his symptoms are a result of dehydration. She gave us very detailed instructions on how to help him before putting him back in his nest. ToyinPA: Geez, I sure hope it's not aspergillus. That sounds pretty bad. We're gonna try what Penny suggested. Hopefully it's ju...

Hi everyone. Late yesterday afternoon we found a nestling on the ground under one of our housing systems. He looks to be about 13 days old. He seemed a bit skinny, so we decide to put him in a box and feed him some crickets all day today before putting him back in his nest tomorrow. He's eating pret...

Hi everyone. The McAllen, TX, roost is active again (it has been for several weeks). Once again, it has moved. These birds sure do like to move around. They always stay in the general vicinity so it's not hard to find. The new location is at the Las Tiendas Shopping Center at Expressway 83 and McCol...

It may be more productive to call Lowe's central customer service line at 1-800-445-6937. Press 5, then 2 and wait for someone to come on the line. I just called to voice my anger and was promised that it would be logged and sent to the manager of the store. I left them my name and number. I can on...

How awful! Thanks for letting us know Louise! I volunteer at a local state park to fill the bird feeders, and I think this is what they use

Veronica

Thanks for posting this Tim. I will be adding vent caps this weekend.

Veronica

Best Valentine's Day present EVER!! I saw 6 circling overhead when I got home from work. Three finally settled in for the night

Veronica

Not a single drop in the Rio Grande Valley of deep south Texas but I'm so glad you guys further north got some much needed rain! Next time, how 'bout sharing some with us too

Veronica

Has anyone ever used traction strips on the roofs of their housing? I have three Trio castles, and the martins are always trying to land on the roof but just end up sliding all the way down. These strips would be exposed to the harsh south Texas sun. I'm concerned the strips would start to peel and ...