Purple Martin Forum

Okay......here it goes......since I am a middle school/high school science teacher......I had to put my two cents in. I loved the article. It is definitely thought provoking. So far, I agree with both sides of the argument. In one way, we have a challenge ahead of us as far as working with a generat...

Mwren, I have 12 Excluder gourds used in my colony in addition to SuperGourds, Troyer gourds, and BigBo gourds. Half of my Excluders are crescents and the other half are Modified Excluders. All of my porches are mounted no lower than 1/8" below the bottom of the entrance of these gourds to allo...

Hi Steve, You can find some Natureline crescent entrances on Ebay if you look under plastic gourds. There is a person selling the extras that she has in Missouri. I just bought a bunch from her as well as some Natureline gourds.....all in new condition. Last I looked, the entrances were still posted...

Hi Whippy, Thanks for sending the photos. That is really helpful. Another thought.....if S&K would offer aluminum fountain rods instead of iron, the fountain rods wouldn't rust. Mine keeping turning orange. That's me being picky. However, they look great with the black paint and the arched look....

Hi Whippy, Your rack looks great. I have an S&K rack with the square arched hanging rods like you appear to be using. How do you fit your Troyer gourds on these rods? I wish S&K would offer round arched rods so that my round hanging holes would match. Let me know how you have yours hanging.

Sounds perfect Kim. In Wisconsin, the average time it takes to get that first pair is around 7 years. Some get them right away. Other friends of mine have taken up to 10 years or longer to get a colony started. And, those sites were wide open areas with nearby water, martin friendly similar to yours...

Hi Kim, I looked at your pictures and setting and read all the responses to your question and concern. I think your housing looks amazing, your site is martin friendly, and the power lines are a great added plus. You are doing all you need to do to get them started. It is just a matter of time and k...

Hi tboydshirt, You ask a very good question. I have an established colony of close to 40 pair in Wisconsin. What I am noticing is that 95% of my current numbers are mostly ASY birds. I have maybe 1-2 SY males so far and possibly a handful of SY females.....mostly paired with ASY males. In my colony,...

Hi Mitch, Great to hear you are finally off and running with some ASY birds. So happy for you. My dad has around 12 pair so far. He talked to you a number of years ago when his pair did not return the following spring. Glad you are both finally beyond that point......fingers crossed. As far as dawn ...

That is just what I was going to suggest!! The other idea would be to put your TS box about 25 feet on the opposite side of your martin pole for the TS to go in. Either way, a second box should be paired from the first so that the bluebirds can stay put. This way, you form sort of a line or triangle...

As far as I understand, you just need to set up an account to post a report on the PMCA website. There is no special granting from the PMCA to do this. Anybody can post as long as they fill in the correct siting information and account info. The PMCA monitors postings based on the location and infor...

Hi BillieJR,
Thanks for letting us Wisconsinites know about the scout arrival.
Can you encourage this friend of yours to post his sitting on the PMCA scout report? It would be nice to see where that purple dot is located for the rest of us!!

Thanks,
Brian

Hi Coolwhips, Yes.....wrens will most definitely do what you describe to martin eggs....if given the opportunity!! Since wrens are a native and protected species, I would place a wren house with the appropriate reduced opening near a tree or bush thicket that is close by so as to draw the wrens away...

Hi Gary, I had to do the same thing about 4 years ago....when I realized that I had set my poles about 2 feet over my property line. My neighbor was fine with things.....but I did not feel good about having my poles on his property. The only way to remove them is to dig around the periphery of the c...

I had asked Adam Troyer about the discontinued nature of the rocker production, and he told me that there was not enough requests from customers to justify continued production. I believe they were first produced by Diane Oberlander. I had talked with the Troyers about this last year. Maybe with eno...

I second that Spiderman. I have 2 of the Van Ert Starling Box Traps. They are one of the fastest spring traps on the market, and they literally do catch everything that goes into them. I did have some trapping issues with bluebirds going in them last year. I would watch and release right away.....an...

Since you don't have any entrances, and all of my current Natureline entrances have already been rigged with inner and outer porches, I will probably wait for now and use what I have. Those are some beauties though!! Thanks for getting back to me!!

Yes....I have 4 Natureline gourds. The entrances that I currently have, unfortunately, have already been drilled into with the original Natureline outer porch that came with them and an added S&K porch that has been caulked and liquid nailed to the inside. They are nice, but not as snug and nice...

I have 4 Natureline gourds that have modified inner porches. None of my innovations are as beautiful as yours. How could I make these or purchase? I love the look and snugness of yours!!

Please let me know what I can do to get my hands on a few of these!!

Okay.....so Andy Troyer tells me that the oxidation is a normal process for his aluminum poles and the gray color is natural. His recommendation for me is to leave it as is. So.......I guess I am posting a response to my own question......how sad is that!!