Purple Martin Forum

in Buda TX: First scout seen Feb 13th - when I lowered rack to seal vents and weatherize, a male martin flew-out. Hadn't seen any until then. I put some mealworms and hand warmer in gourd and he came back and I think stayed overnight, but was not there when I checked mid-afternoon on the 14th. Haven...

Elmo, I have used both pine needles and oak leaves & twigs. Pine needles work fine, but I have to drive out to Bastrop to scavenge the needles. :grin: The folks above have given you good advice. Oak leaves and twigs are the nest materials of choice for the local martins, and all I have to do is ...

Good luck Folks! I have always admired how much hard work you do up north to help the birds through the cold. Thanks!

BW

I've been lucky this year to need additional housing. I added a 4-gourd rack last weekend. An adult male quickly attracted a young female during the week. A good sign this weekend was multiple young females have arrived and seem interested in the new housing. Also a first sub-adult male appears to b...

Sharon,

A pair is a very good sign indeed. Wishing you the best of luck!

BW

I think it is a good approach to offer them a choice in housing. In addition to pine straw, you might add some oak leaves and twigs to make it look like a pair nested there last year. Might also think about putting out some martin decoys or dove decoys around the perimeter of your site. I'm taking t...

Great work Spiderman. Good luck this year.

BW

It seems to me that you are doing things the 'right way' if there is such a thing. I'm sure there will be many tips that the good folks here on the forum will share with you. Smear some mud inside some gourds and outside on the porches. Add more perching space, especially if there are no power lines...

Louise, Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be watching for them. Have seen several female sub-adults so far by no young males yet at our colony in central Tx. Nest building just started about 5 days ago for one pair. They are the first birds that have ever used my elevated nest material trays. As of yest...

Good to hear that your show has begun. Its getting kinda crazy over here with about 8-10 of the 12 gourds "taken". There has been a sub-adult female here for about a week, and today several more young ladies showed up, causing quite a stir. Haven't seen any sub-adult males yet, but they wi...

I had two late nesters last year. One pair of adults overtook a gourd in mid-June from a pair who were dominating two gourds. I guess they lost their nest to a weather event or predation somewhere nearby. The adult female that they fought to gain the cavity was in pretty bad shape for a while. The f...

Yes, they are quite the soap opera at times, but also sometimes a harsh reality show.

I did have a pair keep a second gourd next door (before the housing was full). They used it as a roost house after fledging, kind of like a vacation home next door.

Lots of luck,
BW

Sharon,

I know you will keep us posted. I look forward to sharing in the excitement of your first residents.

Enjoy the year!
BW

Anthony,

Any huddle is better than a wasp huddle.

Have a great year,
BW

Recalling the story below about last season helped keep me from missing ‘them crazy martins’ too much over the break: It was a bit late in the season to be house-hunting. At least 10 pairs of birds had claimed cavities in our 12-gourd colony. The 2 “available” cavities were in fact both being guarde...

Probably better to have some deterrent than nothing. Turns out Kathy F has a recent post...what a story!

see:
https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/view ... =2&t=32499

BW

Coolwhips, Looks like a nice set-up. Try searching for Kathy Freeze. She has posted a large amount of stuff about owls. Tough problem. I have lots of horned owls around. I use the tunneled gourds to add depth, and put the metal rods sticking out in front of the entrance. Keeping my fingers crossed a...

Jody, Rodger, Sharon and Mick,

Thanks, glad you all enjoyed it. Jody, yes, I had to get this story out before the bird's make new ones this year. In a couple months, it will be loud and noisy, but its such a good noise to hear.

All the best,
BW

Good luck James. I've always enjoyed your posts. Keep us posted.

BW

While we wait for birds to show this year, thought I would share the story below about last season: Early last season just after the sub-adults began coming in, we noticed a loud commotion coming from our 12-gourd rack. A young adult female had just arrived, and what an entrance she made! The adult ...