Purple Martin Forum

i'm not too good at ID'ing the females, but it seems all of mine are not ASY. I believe I have an SY male now. it is hard to tell, only a few purple feathers on his neck, but i'm almost positive. i'm near buffalo.

you're saying all 11 nests have eggs? so far, i've had martins 3 yrs (this is the 4th but they just started bringing in material) and every yr, i've had at least 1 pair build 2 full nests with green leaves. they didn't lay in the 2nd, but it was built.

would it be possible to add letters to the 'cavity number' data entry section on the martinwatch form (and call it 'cavity ID')? not a huge deal, but if i get more than a few gourds filled it's going to get me confused using 'pole 2, cavity 5' when it was 'pole 2, cavity P'.

Defed.. To make a subfloor for my gourds, I cut a circle , the size of the bottom of my gourds, out of 1/2 thick rubber door mats. I drill some holes in them for air flow. To insert in the gourds, I fold them together, like a slice of pizza, slip them into the access port, then they open up and lay...

i am going to attempt to print some filler blocks for the bottom of my troyer horizontals to keep the nesting material up off the bottom a little....something like a grid pattern. i know i can do it in a simple circle easy enough, but i'd like to try and make it match the shape to fit real nice - it...

,, When my Martins babies are in that 22 days old range, I have all ready checked them around 17 times thought the year. So I don't lower the rack any more, I just use my binoculars to see what is going on.. Not worth losing a baby because they might jump early.. Just me though.. Dave .. . Sorry ab...

i filled mine, but i still like to cover it to try to keep water from seeping in and freezing.

i cut the top off a plastic 20oz gatorade bottle and stick on it. fits perfectly.

,, When my Martins babies are in that 22 days old range, I have all ready checked them around 17 times thought the year. So I don't lower the rack any more, I just use my binoculars to see what is going on.. Not worth losing a baby because they might jump early.. Just me though.. Dave i only check ...

Yes, the usual rule of thumb is 22 days… sometimes I stop at 20, just depending on circumstances… if there are chicks in other gourds over, 20, I always use plugs, just to be on the safe side… Good luck Rob you plug them even if you don't open them? i believe my oldest (only nest on that rack) is 2...

i thought there was a recommendation of something like....up to 22 days, be sure to plug so they don't jump and never after 22. because of a weather event during laying, i'm not 100% sure how old they are, as i think they are about 3 days behind what the '1st egg' date says they should be. i have an...

i can never remember (should probably write it down)....what is the latest age for nest checks, both for blocking the hole and for when you should not even do it?

thanks!

as stated, i have taken some out and put them on a towel in a bucket to do nest changes. they don't care too much.

Honestly, aren't those tiny little spots on the back a little bit silly? Perhaps there were instructions in the box that they came in detailing what all I needed to do to "fix" them, but I didn't see any. i don't think there are any instructions w/ them. i never knew that they were meant ...

i'm up north so not terribly humid. have never had wet nests (so far) but i did notice last yr that as the chicks got older, my camera would fog up more and more, especially in the morning until it warmed up.

it appears I've lost 2 females as two nest each has 8 eggs but you can tell both have 4 new eggs and 4 older eggs in each and a start over... i think i have a similar situation. we had a bad stretch of 3 cold (50's-60s) days w/ non stop rain. barely even saw any of them during those days. i had 1 n...

Did they return? I’m in the same boat. Had visitors last year and first one this year visited a few days ago. He was clearly trying to get another PM to check out the place. He left and has not returned yet. I play dawn song all day and have a decoy. it can be tough to get that 1st pair....and even...

i'm up to 6 pair. i installed my gourd cam on one that had green leaves. for some reason, my wifi to the camera is not good this yr (nothing has changed since last yr) so after installing, i didn't get to see much...but i did get a cpl recordings and could see that the pair was not happy about it. i...

hopefully next year (or maybe the yr after), i will be able to let them nest here again. i've had to banish them as they are too aggressive against visiting PMs. i've tried all methods of the protocol w/ no luck. 2 yrs ago i had 1 pair (none returned the next yr) but got 2 new pair the next yr (none...

in reality, i'm sure PMs don't mind our activity, but they sure make a fuss about it when you're messing w/ their gourds! i usually try to wait for a time when they are gone to go out and do whatever.....but somehow, even if i haven't seen them in 15 mins and there is no sign of them anywhere in the...