Visitors but no takers

[hhudson26]

We set up our house late last year (end of April) but had a number of visitors, a few of which looked pretty serious. I’ve had a few visitors now this year, too, but don’t seem to get any takers. is that pretty normal? We’ve got an SK barn house with compartments enlarged.

[deancamp]

Not unusual at all. Took me over 10 years to find the right location at my place and an ASY male that wanted to call it home. Sounds very promising that your first year putting a house up that there were numerous visitors. Keep doing the right things and it will happen, just need the right bird. Dawn Song, prenest, decoy, etc.. Make the house look as if there are Martins nesting there already. Keep us posted on any and all activity. Good Luck!

[hhudson26]

Not unusual at all. Took me over 10 years to find the right location at my place and an ASY male that wanted to call it home. Sounds very promising that your first year putting a house up that there were numerous visitors. Keep doing the right things and it will happen, just need the right bird. Dawn Song, prenest, decoy, etc.. Make the house look as if there are Martins nesting there already. Keep us posted on any and all activity. Good Luck!

Wow, ten years! Thanks a bunch for the info. I haven’t done any prenesting so I’ll give that a try. Thanks again!

[dsonyay]

We set up our house late last year (end of April) but had a number of visitors, a few of which looked pretty serious. I’ve had a few visitors now this year, too, but don’t seem to get any takers. is that pretty normal? We’ve got an SK barn house with compartments enlarged.

Sometimes it takes a couple seasons.. dont give up. I lived in Slidell La and put housing up and within a couple weeks had two pairs.. for the next 5 or 6 years I did pretty good. Them We moved home to Broussard La and i set up the housing and it took me about 5 years to get pairs to nest.

Weird thing is the location in slidell was not ideal for PMs. But the location in Broussard is perfect… so oddly enough Broussard location took the longest.

[hhudson26]

We may have a taker. One male has been hanging around a few days now and seems to have taken up residence in one of the compartments. He tries bringing others back during the day but no luck for him yet. We’ll see what happens!

[birdman in buckhead]

Chances are SY birds have not arrived at your location yet, so your chances are good the ASY male will attract an SY female. This happened twice at my colony (after other ASY pairs had settled in) - I named him "Chester the Molester" - name taken from a magazine those over 60 might remember, LOL!

Good Luck!

[flyin-lowe]

Assuming the male you have is an ASY male I would bet if he doesn’t attract an ASY female, he will surely attract an SY female. Hopefully he doesn’t decide to move on before the SYs arrive. In the mean time it wouldn’t hurt to post some pictures of your yard and housing. We might see something that can help your chances.

[Zheeeem]

Our first year we had zero visitors. Our second year we had a few regulars, but no successful breeding. Our third year we had 4 cavities with babies. Our 4th year 12 out of 14 cavities were full with babies. So patience is the key.

[hhudson26]

Thanks all. Attached are a couple pics of our setup.

[flyin-lowe]

Definitely wide open…. How far is it from your house? Researches feel martins find security in being near human activity and being close to a house considered a good thing.

[hhudson26]

Definitely wide open…. How far is it from your house? Researches feel martins find security in being near human activity and being close to a house considered a good thing.

It’s roughly 100’ from the house.

[flyin-lowe]

That's close enough to serve the purpose.

[deancamp]

Thanks for the update. Be patient and let him work. It will happen so try to enjoy the whole process. Easy for me to say, huh.

[hhudson26]

I think we have a pair! Came home from work this evening to see our boy sitting on top of the house with a pretty little girl. They flew around together for awhile and then at dusk tucked themselves into one of the compartments. I think I heard some Barry White music coming from inside there.

[deancamp]

Haha, there is still time for them to pull in more pairs this year. I'm pulling for you!

[Jones4381]

I think we have a pair! Came home from work this evening to see our boy sitting on top of the house with a pretty little girl. They flew around together for awhile and then at dusk tucked themselves into one of the compartments. I think I heard some Barry White music coming from inside there.

Awesome!

[Kegger]

made me chuckle this am, thanks

[birdman in buckhead]

Great news! Just curious, is the female SY or ASY?

My birds prefer rock ballads, especially Journey/Steve Perry, followed by the traditional smoke!

[hhudson26]

Great news! Just curious, is the female SY or ASY?

My birds prefer rock ballads, especially Journey/Steve Perry, followed by the traditional smoke!

Wish I could tell you but I don’t know the difference in the females between SY and ASY. Only the males.

[birdman in buckhead]

Agree. ASY and SY females are the hardest to differentiate. My limited opinion is the ASY females will have a darker chest and belly with more gray/brownish feathers. SY females have a lighter/whiter chest, belly, and neck, with no (or hardly any) gray/brownish feathers. Two good sites:

https://www.purplemartin.org/purple-mar ... ification/
http://www.chuckspurplemartinpage.com/martins.htm

Good luck!