Purple Martin Forum

Thanks for the reply, BernDog.
The subs took a lot of interest in my gourds as well, and entered them immediately upon landing. On the second day, two subs spent about five minutes in one of the gourds which gave me a lot of hope.
Hopefully we'll still get some action this year.
Dave

Well, we’re headed to mid-June, and I’ve had a number of PUMA visitors but no occupants in my new housing. While everything is still fresh, I want to debrief my actions and thought process this year in order to hopefully make next year more successful. Feedback and critique are welcome from all! Mar...

Dan ,Toy is right a lot of people have wasted a lot of time trying to get a Martin colony started but trying to mess with blue birds and trees at the same time. Unless you live in a rich Martin area , don't mess with the BBs and Trees wait until you have your colony established first then you can h...

I'm about 30 miles away, in Bangor PA. We had four sub PMs stop by last week and check out the housing. They visited twice that day for ~30min, came the next morning but never stayed after that. They have been flying over in the mornings and afternoons since then. My initial thought is they found a...

I'm about 30 miles away, in Bangor PA. We had four sub PMs stop by last week and check out the housing. They visited twice that day for ~30min, came the next morning but never stayed after that. They have been flying over in the mornings and afternoons since then. My initial thought is they found a ...

Four subs stopped by in eastern PA today. My setup is a T-14 w/ four THGs, and they went in and out of the gourds a number of times. They arrived at noon, stayed for 30 minutes, including some overhead flight, and returned two hours later for a short time. Hopefully they'll come back tomorrow. Wish ...

I asked Andrew Troyer the same question at the PM Information Session in Philly last month. He said that ventilation is not needed in a T-14 because of the wooden construction, and that his experience has shown no difference with ventilation vs no ventilation. Of course, he also said that some folks...

I have the same question. I've been using the Songbird Magnet which only has the Dawn Song, and have been playing it throughout the day as well. Is it worth it to broadcast daytime chatter instead, and where can I find a copy to download?
Thanks!
Dave

Great to hear, Gary. I'm in Bangor PA, not too far from you. My new house has been up for a couple weeks and I've been playing the dawn song, but haven't seen any PUMAs yet.

Good luck to us both!
Dave

Registered!
Very much looking forward to it.

Well, the pole is up, but I probably won't raise the T14 and gourds for a few more weeks. (I'm waiting for a pair of visiting bluebirds to move in to the box nearby.) We have some pretty strong winds going on right now which has me wondering...what steps should one take during high, gusty winds or i...

Holy cow, this bird stuff is complicated!

I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned from this forum in the last few months. Thanks All!

This post had good timing. I just moved my BB box closer to my PM pole. A pair of blue birds have been coming around every morning for the last few weeks but they haven't moved in yet. Regarding tree sparrows...as I understand it, the only hope for tree swallows is to wait until they take up a gourd...

I took advantage of Saturday's gorgeous weather to install the stake for my 3" pole. We Pennsylvanians don't call it "Rock-sylvania" for nothing. I pulled this 80# monster out of the hole, along with a few other loaf-of-bread size rocks as well. Monster_1.jpg Kid_in_the_Hole_1.jpg The...

Hi All,
What are some good nest cam options?

Thanks!
Dave

Mine's going up this weekend too!

I've had feeders out all winter and have a pretty good songbird population in my backyard. (Titmice, house finches, downies and red bellied woodpeckers, lots of blue jays, etc.). How will these influence a potential colony? Does having a lot of birds around signal safety to the martins, or do they p...

Thank you all for the feedback! I will digest it tonight into tomorrow. And unfortunately, no, removing the tree in the middle is not an option...yet! :) It belongs to my neighbor, but he's been talking about how nothing grows in our soil. He also loves birds, so maybe I can sweet-talk him into allo...

I revisited my proposed location based on your feedback, and swung it closer to the house. I remember reading somewhere that martins are ok within 30' of a human dwelling, so that's what drove the distance to the house. I think I'm going to take a chance and place the pole 35' (instead of 40') from ...

Thanks for the guidance, Craig. I literally just found this youtube video a few moments ago...can't believe I missed it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfQy7yJm5Ys