Purple Martin Forum

If everything is well ventilated, the nests should dry out in a couple days. I don't think a temporary wet nest is a big deal. It's difficult to change a nest, and can easily cause more harm than good. I would only change a wet nest if I saw a severe parasite problem.

I just got my first SY pair, much later than normal. I think the cooler weather is to blame. This was the coolest April I can remember in my life.

The mother somehow can sense that the chick was flawed. Sometimes they know before the egg even hatches. "A mother always knows." It was better for her to remove it and increase survivability odds on the remaining chicks. I'm glad you posted this. I've been led to believe that SY males are...

I believe the answer is yes. I have martins of various ages. The only reason I have older martins already is because they abandoned someone else and came to my sight. The older ASYs arrive much sooner than younger ASYs. Seems to me the older the martin, the sooner they arrive. My older ASYs arrived ...

If you're not a good shot, you might consider .22 rat shot. It spreads like a shot gun. Hard to miss your target. Not sure how much damage it will do to housing though.

As soon as he finds a mate, he'll bring her back to your site to investigate. You said he spent the night. That's the best sign you could ever hope for. He might have to wait for an SY female to get a mate since all the ASY females are already loyal to another site. Good Luck

I'm in the Dallas/Denton area. My SYs don't usually show up until early April and don't come in strong until mid to late April. I have around 20 ASYs, similar to you. Everything seems right on time to me. I wouldn't worry.

I'm seeing increases in numbers. I'm way ahead of last year.

I'll say this. Gourd racks handle high winds much better than large houses. The reason is simple physics. Gourd racks have spaces between each unit creating a "swiss cheese" effect that wind passes through much better. Also, gourds swing which takes pressure off of the pole. Large houses h...

I think you're ok. Not enough for a racoon to get a grip on. Racoons are very heavy creatures and would need more than that for climbing traction.

Your martins from last year are only 2 years old now. I think 2 year olds show up just a little before the juveniles, so it's still early. I'm south of you and only have my oldest martins currently. I read somewhere that you should have at least 6 to 8 units to start. Not sure how far you'll go with...

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And that's fun too, right flyin-lowe?

I've no experience with steel poles, but I would definitely choose a 3" aluminum over a 2" in a windy area.

All my neighbors have bird feeders too. I used it to my advantage. I left my martin housing up all year. The bird feeders attracted them, then they saw my irresistible martin gourds and tried to move in. I shot them all with a pellet gun. I wiped out the house sparrow population for probably a half ...

You don't need to continue the dawn song after a successful year. You're already "on the map." I only add pine needles, nothing else.

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I think adding gourd tunnels might be your best option. That way the crow couldn't reach them.

I had a neighbor refer to my gourd rack as the "Taj Mahal," I guess because it's so big, fancy, and upgraded to the max. How about "Trump Tower" or "Mar-a-Lago?" I like those names.

I would put them up now because the first birds to move in will be house sparrows. Hopefully then you can exterminate them all before the martins arrive in your area.