Purple Martin Forum

Always nice to hear of a new Landlord from Manitoba. I am an hour south of the city (Altona)and have had martins the last 10 years and other stints as well. I used Dawnsong to start my latest colony, I let it play till the first pair started nesting. They never had a problem with it, and by the time...

Maybe a house sparrow being chased by a Martin, I noticed the square tail on the lead bird.

Very Nice Peter. I am in Southern Manitoba and have built a nice colony too. This year I will be installing a martin house at a local school in cooperation with a teacher at that school. Hopefully we can get some martins , so the students will be attracted to the Martins. We need young people to car...

Are the sparrows coming to the trap and just not getting caught, or are they avoiding the trap? Where do the sparrows congregate? Where do they fly to when you scare them off the house? I would look to these places to position your trap where they naturally feel safe. Good luck.

You know they have been feeding when they are beak wiping. I watch for this in times of bad weather, sets my mind at ease that they are catching something.

In Manitoba I have not seen crows as a threat to my colony. They do provide a deterrent to the owls though. Just this morning I saw them harassing the Great Horned Owl that sometimes comes around. They make a big racket when they find an owl. So around here, I like to have crows around.

Hi Kyler, last I recall you were working on styrafoam nest trays, how did that work out for you? I will not be explanding any further at my residence but have been working towards getting a colony set up at our local school. Last summer I found out that a teacher I knew, was interested and had marti...

Powered parachutes are not likely an issue. Maybe at a new colony site with new birds but an established colony will ignore aircraft. I have spray planes flying over my yard most days at about 500 ft and they pay them little attention. I find that new birds, especially the first of the season to be ...

Yup, happened here too. I just laugh and feel honoured.

I would advise to not put the decoys in a prominent position such as your top perch. New martins to a site can feel threatened by the decoys. Placing a decoy further down on the house or with one head sticking out of a hole would not be at threatening to new martins. Overall watch their reaction to ...

Thanks for your reply G Saner. Tree Swallow numbers are improving, a few nests have been claimed, with more scouting around.

The book I purchased from the PMCA states, on page 76, that to prevent parasites sprinkle "diatomaceous earth" in the nest or do nest replacements. Congrats on being a Landlord. I am surprised what that book from Pmca tells you to do. I have read from the PMCA that they do not recommend d...

Did you notice any Tree Swallows around during the bad weather? I am up in Manitoba and my martin numbers are normal for this time of year but I am seeing very few Tree Swallows. I am wondering if they took a big hit from the bad weather. There is still lots of time for them to show up but not many ...

I have tried everything to keep the Tree Swallows in their own housing and for the most part they will nest in housing I provide for them the problem seems to be the Tree Swallows like to perch on the perches or the housing for the martins when I put it up and they claim it all for their own. The B...

I like what I am hearing Alfie. You never know for sure if they are staying until you see eggs, but some good signs are them staying for the night. When they start nest building that is another good step. Keep up the good works and the starling and sparrow out of your house. Some people might sugges...

Hi Adrian, Must be my martins knocking at your door. I am up in Manitoba and have trained my martins to ask for food by appearing at my door. They have never knocked before so they are really desperate. Thank you so much for helping them. You can tell them that the forcast up here looks good for the...

In addition to what others have said. I use my car as a blind. Birds will not scare as quickly if the do not see the human form. If you pull your car into a good shooting position, is usually only take a few minutes for normal activity to start again. If shooting up is a problem, as neighbours too c...

It's gratifying to hear that you have listened to those that were trying to help you. I am waiting for my first birds of the year, should be here any day now.

Small town often have a sewage logoon near them that is teaming with life. They support wildlife in bad weather events. Ducks, geese, shorebirds and songbirds gather there to tough it out. Since we have no small lakes nearby, the lagoon is an resource most people do not think of in that light.

glfriend wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:05 am

First year!!! After trying for 9 years. The difference this year was I listened to you folks on this forum. to the letter.

So what was it that you did differntly? Curious minds want to know, lol. I wish for you that they stay!