Purple Martin Forum

Wtih some rain and wind coming in tonight I decided to lower the house about half way around 6 PM. Took the time to check the nests and insert a sparrow trap. Two nesting pair of Martins. 4 eggs in the house and 5 eggs in the gourd. There seems to be a bachelor still hanging around in one of the gou...

Good luck. I'm in my third year and last Sunday multiple pairs of SYs showed up. Two pair and one bachelor have been here all week. One pair has been busy making a nest and were bringing in green leaves. I have not observed the same nest building by the other pair. The bachelor has been trying hard ...

This morning with the dawn song playing an SY male with a female arrived and have been spending time together in one of the gourds! They've been flying above the site and then periodically coming back to the gourd and going back inside for a few minutes. Hope they stay and recruit a few more friends!

Just read your blog. What is the latest report since your last forum post? Are you still seeing SYs arrive? What part of Missouri are you located?
I'm in my 3rd year and still hoping to get that first pair.

What's the latest on this topic?

I'm still hopeful here around Kansas City but not seeing as much action as I did last year.

What is the latest opinion on SYs and the timing of things this year? Is the cool wet weather going to cause the season to go a little further into June? I am in my 3rd year of trying and have only seen a couple of ASY visitors this year. I have not yet noticed any SYs at my site. I am in the Kansas...

I'm in the Kansas City area and this is my third year. I have kept notes the last 2 years and the SYs that have been at my site were here the last 2 weeks in May into the first 2 weeks of June. So far this year I have had an ASY male visit last Saturday followed by what looked like an ASY female las...

Congratulations on the nesting pair! From what I've been told you should be able to discontinue the dawn song. These birds that are building the nest will do the singing for you now. I'm in my 3rd year of trying. First year I had a pair get as far as laying 2 eggs but the female disappeared a few da...

Thank you for the responses.

I'll try to post some pictures when the weather and my work schedule allow.

Here in Kansas City we are cold and snowy but the Martins will be back soon! This will be my third year trying and I had many more visitors in year 2 than year 1. Last year I added the "Create a Rack Gourd Arms" below the house. Does the angle at which the gourds hang matter to the martins...

I agree. They were back again this morning. Don't know if it's the same pair or a new one and don't know if they are just visitors from another colony but he was going into the same cavities as before and trying to call her in but she was not as interested. It makes me feel like a landlord for a few...

I have wondered the same thing.

I have had on and off visitors for the last couple weeks. There was another pair this morning. I don't know if it's the same SY male and female or not but He goes for the same cavity each time and attempts to lure her in but she's never quite convinced.

Just when I had given up on my 2nd year an SY pair visited this afternoon for about 30 minutes. The male was attempting to convince the female to check things out.

How long will martins attempt to nest? I'm in the Kansas City area.

For whatever reason they have moved on.

I have had twice as many visitors than last year so I feel good that the martins can find me. Hopefully next year.

Are both male and female drawn back to the same location each year or just the male? Does site fidelity only occur if they successfully mate and raise their young there? This is my second year and have had more visitors than last year but despite some nest building activity from an SY pair and an so...

The previously mentioned SY pair has mysteriously moved on.

Now there is a very interested ASY pair that have been checking things out. They haven't spent the night yet but were here several times today including a lot of gourd hopping.

Hopefully they'll commit tomorrow.

Since my earlier post the ASY pair was back without the 3rd wheel SY male. They were in and out of gourds for about 15 minutes. He was vocalizing a lot toward her from the gourds. They departed for the night so they don't appear to be staying the night on site just yet. Hopefully tomorrow they'll co...

I have the same thing going on the last couple of days in Kansas City.
ASY pair visited this morning and again this late afternoon. The male was very interested but the female was not as willing. There was what I'm guessing was an SY male hanging around with them.

Sunday was busy there were some additional SY visitors briefly circling and the male was very vocal to try and bring them in. Haven't seen them much yesterday or today but it's difficult to keep an eye on things due to work. This evening I tapped on the pole to see if there was any activity. Nothing...

The pair have been around for several days now. I observed one of them bringing in nest material. I observed them circling overhead at sunset but didn't observe them enter the house after dark. I'll watch for them Sunday morning.