Purple Martin Forum

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Coolest thing I've ever seen. Gonna do this once a year, at least. This roost is in North Fort Worth at Heritage Trace and 35w at the Wells Fargo. Park at the bank drive through.

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yes. Martins will sometimes remove dud eggs, weak chicks (runts) and dead chicks. I've never had a failed nest. I've had chicks die later from mites and heat. Nest abandonment is the more likely in my opinion. Many younger martins change their mind and decide not to commit after the eggs are laid. I...

Adding pine needles definitely helps out the birds. But I wouldn't blame that for not getting occupied, especially on your first year. Doesn't look like the house can be lowered. That will be a pain. The house doesn't have starling resistant entrance holes. That's almost guaranteed to be a problem. ...

I doubt the eggs are infertile. A more likely reason in nest abandonment. I have 5 eggs currently that were abandoned by an SY female. Happened to me last year also. For some reason, SY females change their mind sometimes and decide not to commit to the process of hatching eggs and raising chicks. M...

The first video features the "fire drill" at the end.

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never mind. Ive no experience with t14s.

I have drainage holes in the bottom of each nest. If I put it at the bottom of each nest, most would leak out in my opinion, especially since gourds swivel. Each time a martin steps in it, I imagine a powdery residue clouds all over the nest. This method treats the adults and chicks. The fact that i...

https://images.north40.com/images/2157572/BA_ytex_garden_poultry_dust__2157572__.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg You have to go to a feed store to get it. You can't get it at Home Depot or Lowes. I only used a half teaspoon on the last nest check, dumped just inside the doorway of each gourd. I used ...

The US government labels House Sparrows as an invasive species, and an agricultural pest. They bother grain silos. So they are in the same category as carp, feral hogs, and fire ants. Shame on those who don't advocate their eradication. The PMCA also "does not recommend the use of any pesticide...

If I find them, I'll put them back in a gourd and some of them take flight on the second attempt. But what about the ones I don't find or catch? Do they have any chance at all of taking flight by themselves once on the ground? Also, has anyone just tossed them up in the air as high as possible and t...

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...