I am moving to Morriston Florida, on 80th St. I will be putting up the 8-gourd special "Smoking Hot Deal" from Troyer's and playing the dawn song with some decoys in early 2027. I also have a 1/4 acre pond that I built that will help attract them. Also 20 acres of Bermuda hay field.
I know there are purple martin landlords near, and I just wanted to meet or converse with one (or more) to get some tips. I think I may be in a great area, but maybe not. I tried in MN, but I really did not know what I was doing.
Please respond if you are close by and possibly we can meet.
New PM Landlord in Morriston Florida
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bwenger
- Posts: 1059
- Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2005 7:24 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania/Espyville/Pymatuning Reservoir Area
- Martin Colony History: Taking care of 11 active public colonies and trying to start two more in northwestern PA. Also attempting to restart another one in southwestern PA, in Collier Township's Hilltop Park. In 2017, not sure what happened but the ASY male returned and then a couple of weeks later he was gone. It could have been weather related. No other birds showed up. I had a starling nesting at the Public site that I had trouble getting rid of.
In 2018, we fledged 629 martins at all of the sites.
You should have good luck attracting martins at your new location. There is a large colony in Ocala that I know of, plus some others. You could check the PMCA's Scout report for the state of Florida and see if you notice any landlords in your area. I put a 6 gourd rack up in 2025 in Haines City and had 4 pairs. I added 6 more gourds in 2026 and filled up all 12 gourds. Compared to up north, it's normally pretty easy to get martins in Florida.
Bill
Bill
Bill Wenger
Building the Purple Martin population one bird at a time!
Building the Purple Martin population one bird at a time!
Thank you. There is another member in the same town, about 1.2M away. He does file several reports over the years. From his posts, he was able to attract 10 or 11 pairs his first year. I reached out to him, and he has read the message, but he has not responded.
I'll try with 8 gourds in 2027, and add as many as I can as they get more populated.
I'll try with 8 gourds in 2027, and add as many as I can as they get more populated.