Purple Martin Forum

I have well over a hundred Troyer gourds up with Conley II's. They offer little resistance to a very determined starling. I have put porches on the old Supergourds with crescent entries, the porch flush with the crescent entrance. They are the most resistant in my opinion. Or maybe it's that I have ...

I live in central Kentucky and starlings are a huge problem. I have well over a hundred gourds, all with SREH entrances. I find they are of little help, but I suppose if they keep out one fat starling, it is worth it. But if I was to do things over, I would use the old round hole Supergourds as I fi...

My brutal honesty gets me into trouble. I'm a gourd guy. I bought a T-14 years back and thought I would put it up in the center of my colony just because it would look good. But then decided against it. It is still in my basement half painted. Hi Robert, wonderful setup you have! Not meaning to hij...

Hey, a plastic, store bought martin house looks great. That doesn't mean martins will like it. To start out you can put up an inexpensive pole with 4-6 decent gourds. That is my suggestion. Make sure your gourds are top notch and the rest will fall into place. Even if you only have a pair or two mar...

Robert you have a nice setup! I've had a super colony for the several years now and yes it's alot of work. I'm 62 and retired now, so hoping to keep a better eye on my colony. I'm still old school as I am 80% round hole.. I don't have the starling pressure that most have, usually before the Martin'...

My brutal honesty gets me into trouble. I'm a gourd guy. I bought a T-14 years back and thought I would put it up in the center of my colony just because it would look good. But then decided against it. It is still in my basement half painted.

Robert, :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: yes I'm 16 years old and I started in 2013 so that means I was 12. My grandpa started me and now I'm trying to get more people to get started!! I really like your colony set up! All the martins in my town are in Houses so I'm now trying Gourds this year. We will see ...

When I get a little older and move out I will probably have a Super Colony some where that is what I am hoping anyways. Kyler, Oh my God, I love you! I'm 57, and can't do the things I once could. But to hear a young person interested in purple martins in this day and age is wonderful! My kids, whic...

To have a 'super colony' is more than having a hundred cavities or more and hope they get filled. I can personally vouch for that as I have had up to and/over 150 pair and have my numbers diminish by inattention. Why? Well, without any scientific evidence to support my claims, I am 100% confident th...

As long as you are a decent distance from any trees, 35 feet in my case, and keep HOSP's away, you should attract martins. That is if you are in the sweet spot and Kentucky certainly is, and Pennsylvania should be no different.

Everyone is being polite, but I personally don't like those houses. Have you converted them into 6" x 12" compartments? Unless they have recently been producing them as 6" x 12", I would go with 4 gourds, and I bet you would have better luck attracting. That house in my opinion i...

I love martin decoys, but I don't know how effective at attracting martins. But they are great at confusing hawks coming down for a kill and getting fooled.

Sounds like you have a good starter system to attract martins. My advice for you attracting for the first time is insure your system is a good distance from trees, and keep HOSP's at bay by trapping or shooting. They cannot co-exist.

Oh, the colony is going well, I have just been unable to monitor it like I once did. It is 100% SREH so it has that. My winch issue is that I haven't brought down my racks for a few years and I'm worried about rust. Years back I brought them down twice a week for checks. But those days are over. But...

Hey guys, it's been a few years since I touched base here at the forum. My health has been going down hill, but this year I have vowed to make some improvements to my colony, although I am downsizing from 224 to approx 176 gourds. To be honest I am a person without one wit about mechanics or anythin...

Anyone else use these 'Nite Guard Protecters'? I put up four in 2012 after an owl attack which I actually witnessed the tail end of at dawn and saw the owl take flight from the natural gourd it managed to tear down from a rack. I haven't experienced an owl attack (that I know of ) since. But I haven...

I'm doing the same, replacing probably most of my caps. It's going to be expensive but I'm at the point if I can fix an issue and never worry about it again, I'm all for it.

Although I have never bought into the man-made global warming phenomenon, I have found that Bjørn Lomborg's take on it and his solutions do make sense. His video lecture called "Cool It" is available on Netflix. It's well worth watching no matter which side you presently believe on the top...

I never bought into global warming. Of course us that don't believe in it aren't as smart as the others that do. Don't take my word for it, just ask them. You can find them trolling at Huff Post. :roll: Global warming? Satellite data shows Arctic sea ice coverage up 50 percent! http://dailycaller.co...

Ray is right. Unless you are shooting at a wasp or bee at close range, I don't see the purpose.