New to Forum and Purple Martins

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litefever1
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 7:22 pm
Location: Amherst, NY
Martin Colony History: 2017 - starting; 12 S&K Bo9 gourds with tunnel & clinger entrance.
New PMCA member

Hi Folks,

A quick note to introduce myself. My names Grant, I'm a research scientist who recently moved to upstate NY from WA and I'm hoping to establish Purple Martin colonies at home and in a nearby State park with a public outreach and education program associated with the latter. No idea if I'll be able to pull off the State park location but reached out to them during the Holidays and hoping for a positive response to the inquiry.

Been doing lots of reading and looking forward to participating in and learning a great deal more from this community.

Grant
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GeneP
Posts: 525
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:35 am
Location: Kansas, Lawrence
Martin Colony History: 1 gourd rack with 24 gourd capacity. 2018, my 11th year hosting martins.
18 pair in 2017.

Welcome to the forum Grant. This is the place many of us learned how to be successful martin landlords.
I would start with the home page of the PMCA and go from there. The forum is also a great place to ask questions.
Good luck.
PMCA Member, Single Gourd Rack, 2019 marks 12 years hosting martins.
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Ed Pace
Posts: 680
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 3:31 pm
Location: NY/Jamestown

Hi Grant and welcome to the forum. Yeah you've come to the right place to find out information there's a lot of experienced people that are willing to share everything to help you out in attracting Martin's. I am located in the Jamestown area little bit south of you but in regards to the state park that you're speaking of I'm not sure which one it might be but I do have a person's name that I'm sure can help you and she's probably more up in your area. Good luck, Ed.

Celeste Morien , Medina,NY. Tel #, 585 721 8202

nyspurplemartins@gmail.com

celeste.morien@gmail.com
Last edited by Ed Pace on Tue Jan 17, 2017 2:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dave Reynolds
Posts: 2442
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 4:35 pm
Location: Little Hocking, Oh.
Martin Colony History: Satellite Site “Oxbow Golf Course”..
2018 - 15 Pair, 36 Fledged
2019 - 26 Pair, 97 Fledged
2020 - 30 Pair, 137 Fledged
2021 - 30 Pair, 144 Fledged
2022 - 27 Pair, 125 Fledged
2023 - 31 Pair, 130 Fledged
2024 - 41 Pair, 198 Fledged
2025 - 44 Pair, 168 Fledged

Home Site "Little Hocking, Ohio".
2019 - 1 Pair, 5 Fledged
2020 - 1 Pair, 4 Fledged
2021 - 8 Pair, 36 Fledged
2022 - 13 Pair, 46 Fledged
2023 - 16 Pair, 84 Fledged
2024 - 22 Pair, 104 Fledged
2025 - 28 Pair, 83 Fledged

Grant ---- Welcome to the Forum... Great place to meet good martin Landlords and a lot of Martins Information to help.. Just go ahead and ask any questions. Everyone here will help in any way.. Glad to hear you are wanting to start a new colony. Enjoy the site..

Dave
PMCA Member
Little Hocking, Ohio
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~Ray~Gingerich
Posts: 2122
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 10:24 pm
Location: Delaware/Dover

Welcome Grant,
It would be great to have more martin colonies established in the north east! Here you can learn all about Martins and how to cope with weather extreames. Wishing you great success!
Ray
~Ray~ Gingerich
1999 1pair, 2006 2 pair, 2008 2 pair,
2009 23 pair, 2010 39 pair, 2011 67 pair,
2012 115 pair, 2013 160 pair,
2014 152 pair, 2015 174 pair, 2016 178 pair
2017 187 pair, 2018 200 pair, 2019 171pair
2020 233 pair
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Carlton
Posts: 1959
Joined: Tue May 17, 2005 6:42 pm
Location: Florida/Deerfield Beach
Martin Colony History: I moved to South Florida, from Delaware, in August of 2015.

I care for a 6 condo Sunset House as well as two Deluxe Gourd Racks, with 24 Chirpynest/Excluder gourds, along a canal in Pompano Beach, Florida.


At Quiet Waters Park, nearby in Deerfield Beach, I care for a Deluxe Gourd Rack with 12 TVG's. I also care for a Deluxe Gourd rack with 12 Excluder gourds with Modified Excluder entrances. I am substituting 6 Chirpynest boxes for 6 of the Conley II entranced gourds in 2026.

At another local park, Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, I care for a Trendsetter 12, 5 gourds rack with 60 Excluder gourds with Modified Excluder Entrances and 1 Deluxe Gourd Rack with 12 Troyer Vertical Gourds with Starling Stoppers over the Conley II's to keep out smaller starlings.

Welcome Grant!

I was successful in Delaware in getting the State Park system to allow me to put up purple martin and tree swallow housing.

I now live full time in South Florida and have been able to get my condo board to allow me to have 5 martin houses on our grounds. Broward County has also allowed me to place three houses and a gourd rack on park property.

I have found that jurisdictions, and individuals within those, vary a lot as to how cooperative they are. I am hoping you will find your park system anxious to place housing on their property.

Carl
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Anthony Neira
Posts: 1319
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:12 pm
Location: San Antonio /Texas
Martin Colony History: Started in 1992 From neighbors old 1950-60's colonies. Have 8 Trio 6 Room Houses, 4 MPP Poles, 1 Heath Deluxe Gourd with Troyer Porch, 8 NatureLine Gourds with Troyer Porches, 5 Troyer Horizontals ,& 2 S&K 11" WITH Troyer Porches ready for 2019 Season !

Howdy Grant ! WOW ! :shock: I guess you're use to this weather ! It's always good to read about PMs nesting so far north from me (Tx) so, Best of Luck & keep us updated !! :grin:
PMCA Member, 8 Trio 6 Room Houses, 1 Heath Deluxe Gourd with Troyer Porch, 8 NatureLine Gourds with Troyer Porches, 5 Troyer Horizontals + Tunnels, & 2 S&K Bo 11"s WITH Troyer Porches ! 4 MPPs, For 2019 Season !! :grin: Started in 1992 from Older '50-'60s Colonies.
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MichaelH
Posts: 586
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:10 am
Location: IL/Gillespie
Martin Colony History: 2015 28 cavities 2 pairs
2016 big upgrade 56cavities 16 pairs great year
2017. 76 cavities 36 pairs
2018. 146 cavities

Hi grant welcome to the place to be if you are a purple martin lover,hope your plans to set up colony sites come to light for you ,and a colony at your house is a success I'm sure you will gain knowledge and friends here good luck
Mick
2018 146 cavities.
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litefever1
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 7:22 pm
Location: Amherst, NY
Martin Colony History: 2017 - starting; 12 S&K Bo9 gourds with tunnel & clinger entrance.
New PMCA member

Dear Gene, Carl, Ray, Ed, Mick, Anthony and Dave,

Thank you for the warm welcome and words of encouragement. No word from the State park this week, will try the local town halls next week to see if one of their park departments can help establish a connection.

Thank you for the tip regarding Celeste, believe I've found her Email from a local PM project site and will drop her a line to introduce myself this week.

Have found Buffalo a great place to live.Genuinely friendly, community spirited people.

Grant
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mwren
Posts: 174
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 2:43 pm
Location: OH/Athens
Martin Colony History: I have had my martin colony on the dam of one of my ponds for nine years. The colony has grown each year, but I am now concentrating on helping friends and acquaintances who have shown interests in martins. My colony consists of three T-14's with 8 Troyer gourds attatched to each T-14, a Troyer gourd rack with 12 gourds, and another gourd rack with 18 Troyer gourds for a total of 96 nest cavities. I am having serious predation issues with hawks and owls and am experimenting with various hawk guards and "screens". Established successful supplemental feeding the last few seasons and have had a blast flipping mostly meal worms and some crickets. Faculty from Ohio University are using my colony as a research site to study parasites that target cavity nesting birds. In exchange for access to my bird trail nest boxes and martin housing, they are banding all birds involved in their study.

The forum is a great place to learn and to meet other "landlords" ! Good luck at your new location near Buffalo!
Mike "Bird" Wren
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Rodger Drye
Posts: 671
Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2014 10:07 am
Location: NC/Mt. Pleasant
Martin Colony History: Have been hosting and providing a sanactuary for Purple Martins for 30 years.

Hi Grant,
Welcome to the PMCA. Yes this is the place to be if you Love Purple Martin's.!! A lot of good folks willing to help and advise anyone with interest in these magnificent Bird's.!!
Good Luck with your Colonies!!!!!!!!
Rodger
PMCA Member
Have been Hosting and Protecting Martin's for 30 years.
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Patrick W. Dusek
Posts: 167
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 9:35 pm
Location: Sugar Land, Texas

Good Luck and welcome. Patrick in Texas
Spring time yet???
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taxidermy lady
Posts: 2988
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 10:21 am
Location: IL/Ellis Grove
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!

Yes a warm welcome! (We all could use some warmth)!!!!! :) Goodluck!
Sharon from southern Illinois
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litefever1
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 7:22 pm
Location: Amherst, NY
Martin Colony History: 2017 - starting; 12 S&K Bo9 gourds with tunnel & clinger entrance.
New PMCA member

Thank you everyone.

Need all the warm welcomes we can get up here today. It's colddddddd

:grin:
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DebA
Posts: 1941
Joined: Tue May 04, 2010 7:43 am
Location: Pratt County/Kansas
Martin Colony History: Start 2009 with one pair. Upgraded from S&K houses to two Trendsetter 12's with gourds beneath in 2013. I have experienced job, pet, and parental losses since '13. The Purple Martins lift my spirits and remind me how life continues forward by flying their little selves from Brazil back to my yard. As one forum person once told me, chin up DebA, look at the martins. Danger all around but yet they soar in the sky without a care in the world.

Hello from Kansas! We are supposed to get to 60 degrees today but just a tease because we have an ice storm a'comin this weekend. All of this cold has ordering crickets on my mind. Welcome to the forum and good luck with establishing your colonies.
Deb
PMCA MEMBER
Pratt County, Kansas
2016 34 PAIR
2015 27 PAIR
2014 23 PAIR
2013 13 PAIR
2012 6 PAIR
2011 4 PAIR
2010 2 PAIR
2009 1 PAIR
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ToyinPA
Posts: 2227
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:07 pm
Location: PA/Avis
Martin Colony History: The 1972 St. Agnes flood wiped out all the Martins in my area. One day, in 1997-98, 5 or 6 Martins landed on the power wires crossing my back yard. I had no house for them. They kept coming back day after day. We got a martin house a few weeks later & they have been coming back every year since. I average 12-15 pair per year.

Welcome. I wish you luck starting a colony. I'm central PA. I'm glad we don't have any Martins back here yet. Right now it's snowing, freezing rain to follow & possibly sleet.

I had to deal with 10-11 straight days of snow/freezing rain & cold last year right after the first few arrived. My Martins were so hungry & cold they almost flew inside my back window I was flipping crickets out for them.

Keep reading & taking notes. Those with colonies in the north will have the best advise for you.

Toy in PA
PMCA Member
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