Martin Colony History: Started trying to attract purple martins in 2012! It's finally happened in 2017! 5 years!!! ASY male and SY female came May 1st, fledged 5 babies!
Awesome pics Kevin nice site have you had any sy birds at your site I live in northern il and have been trying for two years to attract a pair with no luck getting anxious
Msaltzman hang in there! My sub adults showed up a couple days ago. It took me 3 years to get a nesting pair. Once you get started it will grow and grow.
Kevin 2014 - Added 12 more Gourds to existing Gourd pole, 34 Pair, 134 Fledged
2013 - Replaced Best Nest with T-14, Added additional T-14 93 fledglings, 27 pair
2012 - Added Trio Castle, 23 pair, banded 48 out of 85 fledglings
Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Martin Colony History: Had my site up to 22 gourds of which most (+/-3) stayed occupied. Downsized to 17 gourds due to back surgeries. Had 14 families in 2017 but did not do nest checks due to health. Feeling better in 2018 and hoping for a good year.