Purple Martin Forum

I have an English Sheperd (old fashioned collie) that is amazing at protecting my Martin colony, my Koi Pond, and our chickens. From anything and everything. Especially ariel predators. The Martins love to bomb her while chasing a frizbee in the yard however. She takes a lot of abuse at fledging tim...

Just about when "all was well" early on, and egg laying was in full gear......everything changed here. Repeated cold and rain pretty much put a halt to egg laying and I fear the eggs that were laid probably couldn't handle multiple nights in the low 30s. We had many days of wind and cold r...

I have been looking for a sign of a "Buddy offspring" because I sure will miss him coming in so early. So I am hoping. If you would meet Buddy you would know him. He is truly a one of a kind bird. Heck I can even tell his voice from the others at my site. When the same bird, comes home to ...

Call it Pennsylvania weather too lol Snow again today here. About a week of "almost no flying insects" here too. I have a lot of birds here. Probably 20 or 25. It's a pain to keep them fed. I main rely on soaked mealworms topped with "Nekton I tonic" powder supplement for insect ...

I came home yesterday to a lot of Martin singing way up in the sky. After 2 weeks of solitary confinement Buddy finally had some company. Another male and a female came in on heavy west winds with temperatures barely topping 50 degrees. They were in pretty good shape but very hungry. We all had a cr...

Thank you all for your very kind replies. Buddy is doing great! was singing and doing the ratchet clicking this morning. Perhaps he visited Western Virginia on the way up. I wish I knew. All I know is I usually am pretty close knowing when he arrives. Although Buddy is not tagged, much of his histor...

We had coffee and crickets this morning. He seems to be doing well. Gave me a few good chirps too!

BTW He ate the crickets and I had the coffee in case you were wondering..

It sure is nice to have him back for another season. The weather looks great for one of the first times.

Doug

Well he's back again.

A knock on the gourd rack pole after work this evening and out he flew.

I guess I will see better tomorrow morning how the old guy is doing. My records would indicate this is his 13th year in Fombell PA.

Unbelievable!!!

Thanks Bill and congrats!

I always look for your first arrival as mine is usually right behind it.

Doug

When it comes to Martins surviving cold spells the key to keeping them alive is food. They are actually more resilient to temperature than most think. I have kept Martins alive in temperatures below zero with highs in the teens for long periods of time. But if they don't eat they will certainly die....

Mother nature is dishing it out once again in Western PA. (as usual) Since mid March temperatures have been too cold for my lone Martin Buddy to feed, so he has relied on my services for the most part. Finally another male joined him on the 25th and we had a few borderline days for them to feed. A s...

Yesterday evening about 7:15 Buddy swooped in for the night. But low and behold a second Martin was in the sky celebrating his arrival. He checked out his gourd on the top of the neighboring Gemini Rack and then took to the sky and called out loudly and fed until almost dark. So Buddy is no longer a...

It's been a rough week for Martins in Western PA. A solid week of cold temperatures. We have had lows in the teens a few times with highs in the 30s. Good old Buddy is doing fine but he's been here solo in this cold for way too long. He's like a pet to me and my wife at this point. He has gotten use...

Sugarcreek, It's easy to tell them apart when there is only one there for a few weeks and he always returns to the same gourd and rack. lol Then there are the few others that arrive next to their particular spots. one on the front of the T-14 that keeps 2 females, and one aggressive one to the front...

I bumped this thread up because this was the year "Buddy" first made his appearance at my site as a SY sub adult. The '"dethroning" occurred in the same gourd he has faithfully returned to each year. (It's got a SE facing pond view) Thought some might find it interesting because ...

This morning Buddy is quiet but appears healthy. He ate a good dozen crickets early this morning. Weather was in the upper 20s but sunny. Today we should have sunshine and almost 50 here. Low of 35 so the next few days will be mild then warmer. I attached a photo of him this morning sitting on his s...

Well good old Buddy ate a bunch of crickets in the snow and heavy NW winds today. Thought I saw him yesterday in the rain but couldn't confirm as I had to leave for the day. A whistle and a knock on his post today brought him out to celebrate another arrival. He almost touched my hand as he flew all...

Took me 28 years and I may have a more suitable location. The weather up in your area tends to kill off populations of Martins before they can really get going. With that said anything is possible. I had a rough go of it but now with supplemental feeding folks in my area can get them in their first ...

Thinking the John Dailey version may have a funnel on the cap that runs down into a large cavity lol

Up here in the north it seems the ventilation to prevent condensation and dampness is the main need for venting and these vented caps are very helpful. A Troyer horizontal gets real bad up here if it's not vented well. So 2 elbows in the back and a vented cap are on all mine. I have bought several e...