Purple Martin Forum

The 30th ANNUAL PURPLE MARTIN FIELD DAY in Virginia is happening THIS Saturday! Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025 Time: 11:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. ET Location: Central Virginia (Louisa County)(60 miles NW of Richmond) Are you desperate to start a martin colony? Want to go from ‘Wannabe” to “Landlord” status? ...

REGISTER NOW FOR VIRGINIA BLUEBIRD SOCIETY'S 2024 CONFERENCE! November 1 & 2 Virginia Crossings Hotel Glen Allen, VA VBSpic.jpg VirginiaCrossingsHotelPic.jpg Keynote speaker Myrna Pearman, biologist, author, and nature photographer is coming to us all the way from Alberta, Canada. There are eig...

jhcox, I cannot say for sure, right now. The roost was there in full force when I visited it on two consecutive nights in mid-July, but since I live so far away, I have not been able to get back there to see it again. From looking at one of the radar websites I use, there was a roost ring in that ar...

Yes, scottfreidhof, it was VERY satisfying...thrilling!...to find the roost in Concord! I have visited 6 roosts, and they are all different, and wonderful! I finally finished my write-up about discovering the Concord roost and made the Forum post about my adventure... if you wish to read about it, s...

I found a Purple Martin Roost in Concord, NC! I am including many details to help you locate it and be able to get a good view of it, if you want to go see it. I have informed PMCA about this roost and sent some pictures and videos to them, and they found it on radar and confirmed it. Soon I will be...

mbey, thanks for your post and the link; I enjoyed reading your website story about the Austin roost and finding it after it relocated. Your Birdnado! video is great! Thanks for the article, information, and videos.

I found the roost! I hope to post info. about it on the Forum soon!!

Thank you very much for all this information you have posted. I'm having trouble getting the radar to show up, but perhaps it's my old computer, or maybe I'm doing something wrong. But I'll keep trying! Thanks again for your time and expertise in sending the links and writing up the instructions.

Thank you very much for letting me know there might actually be a roost in the Concord, NC area, from what you saw on the radar. Thanks for looking for it!

I live several hours from Concord, NC. On a trip to that area several years ago, it was martin roosting season, and I was excited to see martins flying around at dusk near Concord Mills Outlet Mall. I wondered if there was a staging area or roost nearby. No roosts are reported on the PMCA’s Project ...

Can someone please share links to the best weather radar websites (and any specific web page settings I should use) to see roost rings that indicate possible morning dispersal of Purple Martins from a pre-migratory roost? And could you tell me what time of morning is the best time (in Eastern Daylig...

The 29th ANNUAL PURPLE MARTIN FIELD DAY in Virginia is just 4 weeks away! Make plans now to attend! Date: Saturday, June 22, 2024 Time: 11:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. ET Location: Central Virginia (Louisa County)(60 miles NW of Richmond) Are you desperate to start a martin colony? Wanting to go from ‘Wannabe...

Virginia’s 27th ANNUAL PURPLE MARTIN FIELD DAY is coming! Mark your calendars! Date: Saturday, June 25, 2022 Time: 11:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. Location: Central Virginia (Louisa County)(60 miles NW of Richmond) Are you desperate to get martins?...Do you want to go from ‘Wannabe” to “Landlord” status?...Hu...

Larry and Judy, thanks for replying. I hadn’t thought about welding the crack in the spare pole, but I’ll check into that. But so far, this old pole I will save for winter use seems to be holding up well enough to handle the very light load required of it—perching bluebirds!—even with a crack in it....

Tom/C.C.Martins, sorry your neighbor has a tree that is growing too near your martin housing. Having alternate martin housing in a more open area should help, if martins at that system see an approaching hawk and can sound the alarm to alert martins to either dive into their cavities or flee. But as...

C.C.Martins, it is great to have a ground socket and removable ground stake, to be able to remove the whole pole if a landlord (or their spouse) wants or needs to. You are fortunate! You all don't have to look at the unsightly bare stake sticking up all winter. And you could easily take the ground s...

jhcox, thanks for the idea and the encouragement; your post came in right after I submitted my previous reply, so I didn't want to appear to be overlooking you. Thanks.

Thanks for the input, C.C.Martins/Tom! My system does not have a ground sleeve...it only has a steel ground stake that permanently sticks up out of concrete, and a pole that slides down over it until it lands on the concrete. Mine has no ground sleeve/socket that a removable ground stake slides down...

My 2” square aluminum Deluxe Gourd Rack pole swelled up and split! Recently I tried to lower the hub, but it wouldn’t slide all the way down the pole to rest on the rope-winder. I discovered a vertical crack, 8” long, about 5’ up from the ground, and the sidewalls of the pole were bulging out on all...

Just a reminder--The Field Day in VA is happening tomorrow! Hope to see you there!