Purple Martin Forum

Well folks I'm into my third year trying to become a landlord. I had a few visitors the first year only to have them driven off by a BB. Last year was a total bust. I had figured this year was going to be a bust also so when a handsome TS pair showed up and began to nest I figured what the heck...at...

Last year my neighbors birds stayed all summer. They left near the end of august. I enjoyed watching them so much that I decided to start my own site this year. His birds are still here visiting almost daily...Today we were cutting the pasture for hay and the pms and the barn swallows were swarming ...

Looks like a Cowbirds work...let your conscious be your guide on this one

As a first timer I have had a few birds visit my site this year but no takers. I haven't seen any martins at my site in a few weeks. Today while eating lunch I heard quite a bit of martin singing going on. I went out on the porch to see at least 12 to 18 fledgeling martins from my neighbors site che...

I plan on putting an 8 ft down tube that empties into a holding pen with a BB escape hole provided, so if they do fall in they won't be going back up.

I found the old house that they are using. I was thinking of placing a swept t (or is that called a y?) fitting inside the entry hole with and drilling another exit hole on the other endof the house so that once the starling enters he will either fall into the sweep opening or have to back out. I'm ...

I have an idea for a starling trap. It will work if starlings get in a 2 inch pipe and can't turn around. To escape the trap they would have to back out. Anyone know the answer?

These 2 I killed this am were pretty small. Can they reproduce in the same season they are hatched..that would be another reason to pinch the nestlings heads off...

After a peaceful month of watching my gourds and enjoying my SY pair for the last 10 days, all of the sudden, yesterday 6 starlings showed up and immediately began nesting. They were able to get in the sreh easily. These sreh have no porches so I thought that would be impossible.. Anyway I set up in...

I have had a SY pair hanging out over a week. I have 8 gourds...4 with round holes...4 with sreh...The whole time they have been here I have never seen them enter the sreh. Well that changed this evening as I watched the female who is noticeably smaller try several times to enter the sreh. She final...

This am I saw the first sign of nest building as I saw the male bringing nesting material to the rack. He is quite an acrobat as I saw him turn loose of the material...catch a bug..and re-catch the material before it hit the ground

Thanks Laverne
I get that my resident birds would dive-bomb me when doing a nest check, but these birds were from my neighbors colony. They are only 500 yds. away and can be seen easily from mine. I just thought it was a little odd.

:grin: Well I have had one SY pair sleeping here for a week! I decided it was time to do a nest check yesterday around 3pm...I watched my gourds for 30 minutes with no PM activity going on, so I lowered my gourds and no sooner than I got them down to eyeball level I hear the PMs at my neighbors site...

I had the same problem and did what the bb protocall called for. I closed off the gourds and forced the bbs to nest in their own box. Once they laid eggs they left my pm visitors alone and I was able to reopen my housing to pm's.

41 degrees this at 7am today. Instead of the usual single pair, there were 4 pair fighting over the gourds...I think competition is a good thing!

My neighbors site consists of 10 natural gourds which are full. There is a old 6 apt house with the small compartments that the SY's are trying to decide on verses my new site with gourds. I'm pretty confident that with more SY arrivals, I'll have a few pairs move in.

:-( I got out early to see my guests exit their gourd. They perched...circled...preened...made several entries, then all of a sudden that stubborn female took off back across the field to the neighbors colony leaving the male all alone. He stayed a long time singing away..then flew off toward the po...

Well I got home late tonight just at sunset with the temp. hovering at 52 deg. I can hear pm's chirping but can't see them....duh! they were in a gourd at least trying to get out of the cold wind..at least for one night!

Thanks Courtney At first I had the bb house about 40 feet from the gourds...the bbs were building in the box but fighting the pms. So I took the bb box to the other side of the property...about 300 yards away...big mistake as the bbs began building in the gourds..I brought the bb box back to about 9...

Well my combative pair of BBs have a newly hatched family keeping them too busy to harass my visitor PMs.. They did manage to chase off many earlier visitors.. The subbies have begun to arrive this week and a pair were checking out my gourds this am....going in and out...taking off and flying circle...