Purple Martin Forum

Tom; Thanks for the advice, I will keep at it. I imagine the more you use it the easier it will get. Bill. Bill, Horizontal gourds are a nightmare setting the trap. I generally hold the wire alongside my index finger and find the hole with the tip of my finger and then move the wire into place. Luc...

Not sure if you saw my other thread or not. But I experimented this year with bee moths/bee larvae. I don't typically have to buy bulk crickets, and the bee larvae were cheaper locally than crickets. Plus when I buy crickets from a pet store or bait shop I have to stick them in the freezer for a wh...

How many crickets did you flip? Did they all eventually stop eating or did you flip until you ran out. I was feeding less then 10 a week or go and they would eat about 100 at a time before they stopped going after them. I was only feeding them once a day. I think we flipped about a hundred. Plan to...

Today Tim Gedler, my Dad and l stood in 35 degree rain, sleet, 25 mph winds and flipped crickets to roughly 40 hungry martins. How’s that for a group of dedicated naturalists! Really gives you an amazing feeling you may have saved some lives.

What impact will bird flu have on purple martins?

Everyone, I have read where some have claimed that mounting solar lights that come on at dusk to their site or motion activated lights that shine on the site keep owls away. Please comment if you are using this method, and let us know if this is successful. Thanks

I have been receiving multiple reports of huge increases in the numbers of martins so far this season; espeacially SY martins. I'm assuming other midwest states are experiencing the same. I think the great success last year is producing the huge numbers this year. Best of luck everyone. Sure hope y...

MJM Please do some serious planning on how to rig up a winch and cable system on your setup, so you can install it before they return next year. You don’t know how fortunate you are to have a colony right off the bat. Please take the appropriate steps to care for them next season. Yes there is some ...

deancamp wrote: ↑

Fri May 21, 2021 6:21 am

Would it be possible to collect some of the real deal?

That’s an idea, do you suppose they can tell it came from martins? Worth giving it a try. Great idea!

I helped with nest checks at an active site today, and noticed all the droppings all over the place. Any ideas on how to make convincing looking artificial bird poop that could be placed here and there to make an inactive site look used? Maybe white toothpaste, spackling, drywall compound with a lit...

There has been documented cases where mated pairs with young were captured in gourds and transplanted to another location and the adult pair even leave when they have young, So even the parental responsibility is not strong enough to make them stay. Federal law also prohibits this practice. I too ha...

Jeff, One thing I have gotten good at is trapping. Once the male sparrow has paired up with a mate and they are actively dragging nesting material into the cavity, place your cavity trap and most importantly put some of their nesting material in the trap especially feathers. Keep trapping until you ...

Everyone please report if you have SY birds.
Thanks

Everyone please report your sub adults. I have a feeling they’re further north than the map shows because all subies haven’t been reported. Please check your birds for for the youngsters.
Thanks,

Hannah,
I use a 1-1/2” round steel pole for my 10 compartment cedar house with 4 gourds 15’ tall but it is schedule 80. I lower it 4’ or so when there are storm warnings, otherwise it has withstood 30 - 40 mph winds with no problems.

Are there no experienced landlords out there that have observed this behavior? Once again I am nearing the time to give up hope once again.

Your primary focus is on the male sparrow, you must eliminate him one way or another, the battle is not over until he is in the ash can. The same is true for any other male sparrow that makes a nuisance of himself.

Just curious. How long does it take SY birds at existing colonies to give up and stop fighting and causing trouble at full sites before they move on and start looking for a new site?

Jhcox
Yes I’ve tried all that plus green leaves and dummy eggs only thing I haven’t done is put up a vacancy sign because I’m sure they can’t read “ha ha”. They do have the ability to drive you crazy.

You might not want to keep all the compartments open or the the bad guys will drive you crazy. I know here in Iowa if they nest sometime in June or first week of July they still can raise a clutch.