Attraction Methods

[Rodger Drye]

Hi Grant,
No real reason. After playing the Dawn Song I was bringing in so many birds I didn't want to confuse or trick them into believing there was more individuals than was really here. I communicate with Chuck Abare who has a 300 pair colony and has a website about martins. He is a very knowledgeable Martin Landlord, and I trust what he has to say. He told me not to keep playing the Dawn Song once I attracted Martins because it might confuse them. And could possibly make them leave to seek sites elsewhere. I didn't want that. He told me once you got the birds they would go out and bring other birds in - and they did.
Mainly just wanted to make sure my 24 hour loop was still working as I'm usually outside doing something in the afternoon. Hearing that assured me that my Dawn Song was still working when I was asleep at 4:00 a.m. I would think you could play the Day Time Chatter any time of the day. I just wanted to hear my own birds to see what progress they were making.
I would think you could get speakers anywhere as long as they would connect to your I-Pod. Try Walmart or some store where they sell electronics etc. Just take your I-Pod with you and ask them if they have a speaker system that will plug in to it...
I think I played my loop for about a week.
Good Luck, Rodger

[taxidermy lady]

Oh wow Grant you got closer than me. I had a pair act like they were laying and nothing. They made the nest and she sat in the nest one fri. Morning for 45 min. And he sat out on the perch singing and nothing. Like you maybe they will be back this year and finish what they started! good luck

[Grant O]

If you are not already using them, you may want to use tunnels. I think that helped me attract my first pair. Main thing is to keep trying, eventually it will happen!

Good luck,
BW

Thanks for these pointers...I'm not giving up...I have everything I need now to rig up the IPod to play at the times I want...
BW, do you have tunnels on all your houses/gourds/apartments or do you have variety?

[Grant O]

Oh wow Grant you got closer than me. I had a pair act like they were laying and nothing. They made the nest and she sat in the nest one fri. Morning for 45 min. And he sat out on the perch singing and nothing. Like you maybe they will be back this year and finish what they started! good luck

Yeah that kind of thing is kind of ( really ) exasperating...year before last I had a little group of 3 birds, one ASY male, SY male and a female come July 1st every day for a week, stay half an hour fooling around then left for good...same time every day pretty much, noon...
Good Luck to you too.

[Grant O]

Hi Grant,
No real reason. After playing the Dawn Song I was bringing in so many birds I didn't want to confuse or trick them into believing there was more individuals than was really here. I communicate with Chuck Abare who has a 300 pair colony and has a website about martins. He is a very knowledgeable Martin Landlord, and I trust what he has to say. He told me not to keep playing the Dawn Song once I attracted Martins because it might confuse them. And could possibly make them leave to seek sites elsewhere. I didn't want that. He told me once you got the birds they would go out and bring other birds in - and they did.
Mainly just wanted to make sure my 24 hour loop was still working as I'm usually outside doing something in the afternoon. Hearing that assured me that my Dawn Song was still working when I was asleep at 4:00 a.m. I would think you could play the Day Time Chatter any time of the day. I just wanted to hear my own birds to see what progress they were making.
I would think you could get speakers anywhere as long as they would connect to your I-Pod. Try Walmart or some store where they sell electronics etc. Just take your I-Pod with you and ask them if they have a speaker system that will plug in to it...
I think I played my loop for about a week.
Good Luck, Rodger

Thanks Rodger, yeah that makes sense, my mentor Bob Buskas says much the same thing...I just want to play it awhile this spring on the off-chance my birds didn't make it back and I'm starting over with strangers...if and when my birds are back I'll stop playing it.
I phoned Apple and it seems I already have pretty much everything I need except the connecting wire...easy stuff now..

[BW Fowler]

If you are not already using them, you may want to use tunnels. I think that helped me attract my first pair. Main thing is to keep trying, eventually it will happen!

Good luck,
BW

Thanks for these pointers...I'm not giving up...I have everything I need now to rig up the IPod to play at the times I want...
BW, do you have tunnels on all your houses/gourds/apartments or do you have variety?

Grant,

I first had 12 supergourds without tunnels, then tried some aluminum housing. Then when I added 4 troyer horizontal gourds with tunnels and still had 8 supergourds without, I had 1 pair two years ago.

Last year I had 8 gourds with tunnels and 4 supergourds. I had 7 pair in the gourds with tunnels and 0 pair in gourds without. This year I put tunnels on the remaining supergourds, so I now have tunnels on all 12 gourds.

All the best,
BW

[Grant O]

If you are not already using them, you may want to use tunnels. I think that helped me attract my first pair. Main thing is to keep trying, eventually it will happen!

Good luck,
BW

Thanks for these pointers...I'm not giving up...I have everything I need now to rig up the IPod to play at the times I want...
BW, do you have tunnels on all your houses/gourds/apartments or do you have variety?

Grant,

I first had 12 supergourds without tunnels, then tried some aluminum housing. Then when I added 4 troyer horizontal gourds with tunnels and still had 8 supergourds without, I had 1 pair two years ago.

Last year I had 8 gourds with tunnels and 4 supergourds. I had 7 pair in the gourds with tunnels and 0 pair in gourds without. This year I put tunnels on the remaining supergourds, so I now have tunnels on all 12 gourds.

All the best,
BW

Sounds like the birds are making the tunnel decision easier...I've got a 12 compartment house with round holes that I'm going to convert to sreh this season and maybe I'll try a few.

[Henry Limpet]

Hi Dave. I tried these steps last year which resulted in our first browsers....

1. Put up a "No Critters" wind powered scarecrow.
http://waterbuckpump.com/2014/06/04/make-a-scarecrow/

2. Placed (2) bright white plastic outdoor chairs within 10 feet of PM pole, one on each side.

3. Used a broadcast spreader to put down a bag of Menards' brand lawn food....thereby creating a 40' diameter circle of dark green grass, with my PM pole in the center. That has got to look inviting from way way up there!

4. Attached PM decoys

5. Cut out (6) 5" circles of black adhesive roofing tar paper and stuck them to the roof of my T-8, to create the illusion of entrance holes that are visible against the large white plain gabled roof of the T-8. Again, vertical advertising as I like to call it.

6. Put away my seed feeders for Summer. That hurt.

7. Trapped Sparrows, gave scuba lessons.

8. Played chatter cd during the day on a boombox.....pointed ^up.......of course.

9. Added (2) gourds to bottom of my T-8

All in all small changes, but all were things I had not done in 2014. My visitors first showed up in early June, before gourds were added. No nesting, no overnighters, just daily visitors in 2014.

[Bill Pec]

If the martins are visiting but not staying I would check the adequacy of the housing being offered. If the nest cavities are too wet, too shallow, too hot, too bright, or not safe I would correct those issues. Offer twelve inch deep nest cavities in houses, and/or deep tunneled gourds. The deeper, the darker, the drier, the better protected the nest cavities are, the better vented the nest cavities are, the better your chances of getting the visiting martins to stay. I have no scientific proof but I think martins are drawn to nest cavities that better resemble their ancestral nest cavities in trees-- deep, dark, dry, safe, and insulated.

Bill

[Henry Limpet]

Thanks, Bill! We had a SYM who tried and tried to attract a female last year unsucessfully. We did have a 'Eureka' moment after a visit to the farm of our local Amish PM dealer.

It turns out that straw is the bedding of choice in these parts. We had been pre-nesting with (only) fallen pine needles, treated with Sevin dust. Perhaps a deal breaker, perhaps not. I am going to switch to straw for 2016. I am going to post some pics from last year soon.

[Bill Pec]

The martins in my area, Moneta Virginia, prefer wheat straw over pine straw also. I place wire baskets on a low roof near the martins each spring. One filled with wheat straw and the other with White Pine needles. The birds empty the basket containing the straw several times over during the nesting period and rarely touch the pine needles. The big disadvantage of using straw is that it can get damp and remain soggy. So if you are going to offer straw you must reduce the amount of water entering the nest cavities and continuously check for wet nests.
In my first year I too had male martins claim nests, but they never could convince a female to stay. That all changed as soon as I made the suggested changes I recommended in my previous post to you. Within days of making the upgrades I had two females accept the improved nest cavities. I am a firm believer that it is the female martin we are attempting to appease for it is she who ultimately selects the nest site. Give her what her instincts are seeking and she will stay--deep, dark, dry, and safe.

Bill

[threelilkids]

Dave, trying to send the Chatter song to ur email but it said it is to big, getting my son to help bear with me. Mary P.S. not to good with computers lol.

[threelilkids]

Dave I sent the chatter though drop box. Look for it in your e-mail. It may be attached to mrliwolf@gmail.com

[ToyinPA]

Thanks, Bill! We had a SYM who tried and tried to attract a female last year unsucessfully. We did have a 'Eureka' moment after a visit to the farm of our local Amish PM dealer.

It turns out that straw is the bedding of choice in these parts. We had been pre-nesting with (only) fallen pine needles, treated with Sevin dust. Perhaps a deal breaker, perhaps not. I am going to switch to straw for 2016. I am going to post some pics from last year soon.

Mine like straw too. I buy small bails of it from a local Amish produce place. I start the nests with cedar chips & dried white pine tree needles. At the end of summer I gather/cut twigs from my honeysucle & hibiscus bushes. I dry them over winter. Once they start looking for nesting materials I spread the twigs & straw on my sidewalk. When most of my colony is here & nest building I have to replace all that daily, some times twice a day for them. It goes fast. Some will use mud, while others do not. You could hang a wire basket with materials for them or put up a platform. What ever works for you.

Good luck,
Toy in PA

[phldave]

Dave I sent the chatter though drop box. Look for it in your e-mail. It may be attached to mrliwolf@gmail.com

Thanks so much. I just downloaded the sound track and played it and it seems to be working just fine. My next step will be to set it up on the computer to play automatically latter in the day after the dawnsong.

thanks again....