New to the forum

[LonesomeDuck]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum (although I have "lurked" for the past 6 months or so). I am from Louisiana originally, but have lived in Indiana (a bit north of Indianapolis) since 2009 now. When I was a kid we had a purple martin house with a few pairs, and that always brought back nostalgic memories for me that I hope to recreate with my own kids some day. Last year we moved to a house in the countryside so I am finally able to have enough space to have a martin colony. I ordered a Trendsetter 12 system and we were able to install it this past weekend and now I'm just waiting for spring to unwrap the cover and hope I get a new colony established! I had a few questions that I was hoping y'all could provide more insight on:

- A lot of sparrows and starlings fly through my property. Since last summer we've trapped ~50 house sparrows and ~15 starlings. I think we've taken care of most of the local house sparrow population, but the starlings still come through in waves of ~100+ birds. My Trendsetter house is with the SREH entraces, but I'm not sure that will be enough to prevent harassment from starlings. I am thinking about buying one of the S&S controller traps. I have several outbuildings on my property, so could I just attach the S&S trap to an outbuilding instead of having to put a post and 2 x 4's in the ground? Wasn't sure if attaching the S&S controller to an outbuilding would increase or decrease effectiveness.

- Do the adult male martins really start their dawn song before dawn? The dawn song CD we bought said to play it between 4-6 AM, we're in the countryside but even so I'm not sure my neighbors 1/4 mile down the road would appreciate me blasting out martin music before dawn. I don't remember the martins singing before dawn when we had some when I was a kid, but maybe I was asleep and didn't notice?

-Are the new Trendsetter SREH holes structured to prevent martins getting struck (wing entrapment is what it's called I think)? Figure that probably won't be a problem until my colony gets established with a large number of martins.

- One of the outbuildings on my property is a large barn that probably has ~30 pairs of barn swallows in it. Do the barn swallows and purple martins coexist well or not?

Sincerely,
Lee

[Anthony Neira]

Howdy ! Lee Glad you jumped in, I do know the "Barnies" & PMs get along just fine, no fighting over nesting ( ) !
I'll let the "Experts" in this forum answer the other questions ! (They're smarter than me! )
And may all your visiting PMs become "Settlers" Best of luck to you!!
Congrats on the Trapping !!

[Archer]

Since Anthony already cleared up the swallow question, let me help you with some of the others. First off, good job on getting the upper hand with the sparrow control, that is impressive and will help a lot. Your choice of SREH is excellent. I have all SREH as well, the starlings do try and get in for a few minutes or hours, but will give up eventually and fly on. The large flocks are likely migrating through your area. My experience has been that mounting the trap on an outbuilding is an excellent choice as well. Starling are used to looking for nesting areas in buildings. Position the trap close to the eave and near a corner of your outbuilding. This location will also prevent martins from entering the trap as they prefer a more open space. I have had the odd SY(single year) male check out the trap but have never had one enter it.

I have never heard the Dawnsong in person either, but trust that someday I will. I played Dawnsong and Daytime chatter alternatively, all day long. I controlled it with a timer, it worked for me.

If you have a thin walled SREH, you might consider the lewis guard. What type of SREH, does your trendsetter have? https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/view ... hp?t=27340

[LonesomeDuck]

Pretty sure my trendsetter just has the "crescent" shaped SREH, not a Conley type hole or anything. It's just a flattened semi circle.

[AidanRois]

Welcome!

Good job on trapping well. Another thought if you have huge waves of Starlings would be a V-Top if you have the room. I've heard of them trapping hundreds in a short time.

https://www.purplemartin.org/shop/produ ... rap-plans/

[Rodger Drye]

Hi Lee,
I'm thinking you would be just fine locating a NBT (Nest Box Trap) on or near an out building or shed. Starlings actually like nesting in these areas. I installed mine between my equipment shed and a tree. Built on a metal pole with a pulley that also hinges at the bottom. This is important as you will need to raise and lower you NBT several times to adjust or fine tune the internal mechanism and weight to keep it operating perfectly. Sure you can use a ladder, but that pulley works great.
I really love the Dawn Song and it really works. My daughter made me an I-Pod that plays continuously on a 24 hour loop.
I play Dawn Song from 4:00 a,m. To 6:00 a.m. And Day Time chatter from 4:00 p.m. To 6:00 p.m. Only play it for a few days or until you get your birds. To keep on playing it would confuse them and they might seek sites elsewhere.
The V Trap would be a good way to go if you have large amounts of Starlings. My friend Peter A from Michigan has one and has caught 430 in just a couple weeks.
Rodger

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

When I first heard the dawnsong, I thought it was possibly my neighbors martins. I think that they fly high above the colony, they are quite loud, and I hear them every year before daylight

[ToyinPA]

We have the S & S Nest box trap attached to the front of our garage. It's low, so we can just reach in & grab the bird. Works great. We've caught many Starlings in it. Also caught a few Cardinals & a Tree Swallow. We seem to have better luck with the wire traps for Sparrows here. I also have one small wood house we allow sparrows to nest in. The male chases other sparrows away & they leave the Martins alone. It seems once we get past nest building/breeding time things slow down as far as issues with Starlings & Sparrows. Mostly the Starlings come looking for free/easy nesting materials. Each area is different, so you will need to find what works best in your area.

As for "Dawnsong".....my males come out on the landings (T-10 with balconys/railing) & sing away at 4 AM, then they go back in & sleep a bit longer until daylight. The Robins have them beat tho, as they start singing at 3 AM. I'm usually up all night so I get to hear them . The Martins really aren't any louder than the Robins are.

Barnies co-exist with the Martins. I have seen them on Amish farms. Tree Swallows may cause issues tho. My colony chases them away.

I would suggest you make your Martin house look used. Add pre-nesting materials & smear a little mud around the outside of each entrance & just inside.

If at all possible put up a "perching wire" close to your Martin house. 3-10 foot away. Check with your local electric company for used electric wire. They throw it away when they replace it & most will give it to you free. The Martins like the heavier wire to perch on & watch the house from a distance. I have tons of wires crossing my property, close to the houses, so my colony uses them a lot.

Good luck.
Toy in PA

[Jose Rodriguez]

Welcome to the forum Lee! Good to have you!

[Bill Pec]

As for when the male martins perform the dawn song I have noticed that their singing is closely linked to temperature and the time of season. For example, here in Virginia on cold mornings the martins don't come out of their nest cavities or just stay huddled on their perches. No dawn singing going on in these conditions. I've heard my birds singing in the predawn light only when the weather is warm, and usually around nesting time.

Bill

[victorcourville]

Hi! Everyone, I,m Victor Courville from Louisiana area and just put my first purple martin house. I hope to be successful as a landlord and haven,t seen or heard about any in my area. Great to connect with everyone.

[Rodger Drye]

Hey Victor,
Welcome Aboard Victor. Glad to have you as another member and Purple Martin enthusiast. Being from Louisiana you are in a good position to start seeing some of the first Birds starting their Migration. Look on the Scout Arrival report, I think several folks in LA have already reported seeing scouts. What kind of housing did you put up?
Hope you have a very successful 2016 Season - Good Luck !
Rodger

[victorcourville]

Hey..Rodger, I put up a 12 compartment martin house I bought at tractor supply. It is a plastic bird house I hope that will work out for the housing. Thanks for responding.

[Rodger Drye]

Hey Victor,
Just make sure you have cavities that are large enough. I believe PMCA suggest they measure 6" X 12" or larger. After all Purple Martins are the largest of the swallow family. To think they often average laying 5 eggs, when the babies grow larger it can become rather crowed with 5 growing Chicks and 2 Adults. Read everything you can about Purple Martins to educate yourself. The PMCA and this Forum will help a lot. Ask questions and read, read, read, that's how everyone learns.
Have you considered playing the "Dawn Song" an attraction tool that has helped me and others. Pull it up on the PMCA and read about it. If you are serious about getting Martins and becoming a Landlord this is a very influential asset toward that goal. Good Luck.!
Rodger