Purple Martin Forum

I have an S & K pole with square rods to hang gourds from. My S & K gourds are beginning to have problems. Wanting to hang some Troyer horizontal gourds from the rack. Can I attach a heavy wire to the rod, thread it through the round hanging tube and attach again to the square rod. My worry ...

I have one nest that had 5 eggs in for 3 nest checks. The 4th nest check, there were 6 eggs. The next time I looked, today, there were 2 eggs and one approx 5 day old bird. The nest was not in a mess, there was nothing below the nest on the ground, I have a pole guard-one of those that is 30 inches ...

Thank you Randy M. I will leave the gourds up and go look for my CD of chatter. barbiejoe

When will all the MN purple martins have flown past South Missouri? I'm ready to take my gourds down, but I want all those martins to see them first. barbiejoe

How do you catch an adult banded bird to see where it came from and how old it is? barbiejoe

can anyone give me a quick, simple answer? A hawk has been bothering my martins for 3 days. Never had this problem before. Should I skip my nest check today, to keep from bothering them any more? Thank you.
barbiejoe

Thanks for your answers Rafke77 and everyone else. I did notice that at least two of my gourds have a levee in them. I've not see that before. However, it was orange like clay and my garden is black dirt. I guess any smart bird would hunt where there were bugs. By the way, I had a good experience to...

I don't have a long experience with martins, but maybe 6 years or more. I have never seen them in my garden. A couple of days ago, I had two pairs hanging around in the garden, both on the fences and on the ground. We have had some cool mornings and a cool spring, but it was 50 degrees or more when ...

Hey, Brent: This year we had a lot of cooler than usual days. I had a nest that I checked and it was a couple of days late. I worried about it, as I have not had that in my short experience. The next week the eggs were hatched. I was thankful and amazed. I figured maybe the consistent colder weather...

Is the McKinnon flasher the cutout of a bird, from white plastic, like a chlorox container? You hang it from the nest box and it waves and moves with the breeze. Supposed to attract TS. I used one two years ago and had a TS in that nest box. did not put it out last year and a PM nested in that same ...

After 3 years of use, my front porches are getting brittle and breaking off. I am wondering. Has anyone ever tried inserting dowels into the two holes that attach the porches? The birds could land and perch on them. I tried this spring, hanging some of my gourds without porches, and the martins seem...

My birds are later than last year, but it was so cold this year that I was praying they would hold off. Saw 1 on the 25th, 2 the next day, 5 yesterday the 27th. Two are lighter color. My binoculars don't show enough detail to know if they are male or female. I assume they are male. I think females a...

I need advice on an easy caulk to squeeze into the small areas of the entrance of my gourds, so babies and adults don't get their toes caught in the tight areas. Someone recommended Lexel, but I read a comment on it at the Lexel website, and it sounded like it was hard!! to apply. I want something e...

I have 12 gourds, ten have families in them. Two empty. Even so, one pair chose to nest in a gourd that is on a post 5 feet above the ground. It is situated to attract bluebirds or tree swallows so they won't bother the martins. This year it was empty and the PM family used it. It had four eggs and ...

Thank you Spiderman. That sounds pretty easy. I meant to work on the gourds today but it was SO hot, I decided I would wait. Not sure about tomorrow, but I will do something. Soon. Thanks for the advice. barbiejoe

Thank you Brad-AL. I sure wish I had known of this problem Before I set out my gourds this spring. barbiejoe

I have a bluebird house with house sparrows in it. I have removed the messy sparrow nest twice this year. Now the female is feeding babies. I was not seeing a male, so was not totally sure it was a house sparrow. We went out to remove the babies, and when I looked into the nest, it was a lovely cup ...

Thank you to both "The Smiths" and Ray Gingerich. Both replies make sense and are helpful. I have two problems. The first was the bird who caught its foot as it left the gourd. The other one was when I read all the comments on splayed legs, and decided I should do something about that. All...

What kind of caulking is safe to use while the gourds are occupied? Can they get stuck in fresh caulk?
New Subject: If there is enough nest material, will that protect babies from splayed leg syndrome?
I'm a mess this year. Thanks for any help and advice. Barbiejoe

Chris B: If I discover a crack or place that might catch a toe, can I put white Lexel on it while the gourd is being lived in? Will the caulk get on the birds and mess up their feathers or eyes, etc.? All the glues, caulks, etc. that I looked at take awhile to dry. I sure don't want birds with glue/...