Purple Martin Forum

I wanted to provide an update on my 17 year-old colony in Mt. Vernon, Arkansas. This has been a great year for martins so far. We didn't have any late snow or ice, we didn't have a huge tornado come within a couple of miles of my house (!), and we have received plenty of rainfall so far this year. I...

I thought I would provide my first report of the year. I have four gourd racks this year and 123 gourds (16 natural, the remainder Troyer horizontal or vertical gourds). Pairs are building nests right now and fighting, so it is hard for me to get an accurate pair count, but I estimate I already have...

My martin season just ended September 4! I had at least three late nests where sub adult pairs nested in gourds that had already fledged ASY pairs. The last female had already started her inner primary molt and was still feeding. She successfully fledged four young nearly by herself even though her ...

Bill, Even if you don't get any to nest this year, leave the gourds up all summer and you will certainly get some visitors, especially when the young fledge in the area. They always search around for potential nesting spots for the following year and would imprint on your site. I would either take t...

Hello. I am in Faulkner county. You have about another two week window to pick up some nesting martins. Many sub adults are arriving right now. I suggest playing the daytime chatter CD as well. Good luck.

John, If you are really concerned about the starling I would recommend coming at night and quickly plugging the hole. If I have persistent starlings I use a long pole with something at the end to wrap a sock around and then just from the front plug it up without making any noise and leaving it there...

Daryl, It is my opinion that the 80 feet is not an issue. It wouldn't matter if they were 100 or more away, the hawks still might try to attack by sailing over at a great height and then stooping, so I wouldn't worry about it either way. The most important thing is the early warning system by additi...

Beautiful shot, Jose. Thanks for sharing.

Daryl, My experience has been that sites that are this much in the open as yours are more likely to be attacked by an accipiter or merlin coming in from up high and then stooping down at full speed and trying to quickly capture martins that might have exited too late and are still close to the racks...

Tony, this year I added an additional 20 cavities. Over the years I have slowly built up to around 100 cavities as of last season. I don't plan on adding anything else to this site. Last year I had around 85-90 pairs, so around 90% occupancy. I have been at this site for 16 years now. Tim, will miss...

I wanted to provide a quick report from central Arkansas. We have had terrible weather again this year with a long winter. I did not even see a scout this year until March 13. That is Friday the 13th, unfortunately! I hope that does not bode ill for this season. After a late start things have really...

Daryl, Congratulations on your new place. Looks like an ideal spot to me. Also, thank you for all you are doing for the martins in Minnesota. It is great to see that your hard work has paid off and is putting many fledglings into the air to build up the martin population in your area. Do you have an...

Attached is a photo of a partially leucistic fledgling at the Steve Stoll colony in Finger, TN. The odds are against this guy returning next year, but Steve is going to be on the lookout. Not only are the odds stacked against fledgling survival and returning to breed the following year in general, b...

Awesome, Larry. This footage reminds me of a "drone" that took footage of the devastating tornado that recently hit Mayflower, Arkansas. By the way, that is some beautiful land there in Kentucky!

Greg, I also lost all nestlings except those that hatched yesterday. However, the martins are already cleaning out the nests and are in high spirits with the temp hitting 80 today and finally sunny, so I'm sure they will all give it a second try. Weather has been so unpredictable this year.

Here is a pic of the bands.

Louise, Tim has banded at three colonies here in Faulkner county the last two years, including mine (along with Beaverfork lake and Greg Pillow). I'm sure it is one of his bands. I will retrieve the bird later and take a pic of the bands. The band reads like AR C 629. He used a certain color to desi...

Tim, I just found a dead banded female in one of my Troyer horizontal gourds. Completed nest but no eggs. Can't tell for sure cause of death, but could be starling attack due to examination of the head. Right leg has a yellow band. Left leg yellow band number ARC629. Can you tell me where and when t...

It was a beautiful spring day here in Faulkner County, Arkansas. Around 9:00 heard urgent martin alarm calls from high up and martins bolted and were flying very fast. Suddenly saw a merlin falcon coming in at full speed about 100 feet up from the east. It stooped down with flickering wings and miss...

Penny, Thank you for all you do for caring for martins. I think many people confuse the purpose of a rehabber as someone who can take an unlimited number of birds, even those that are not injured, and raise them. It is a huge undertaking. I usually try to feed my martin "jumpers" until the...