Purple Martin Forum

Thanks Dave.

Hi, I have a Trio Musselman that I have converted to 6 double compartments with excluder doors. I would like to add Dri-Nest subfloors for a couple of reasons: of course to raise the nest for better drainage, but also to give the martins better traction getting out of the compartment. My question is...

Would the pole guard "A" that is listed in the PMCA shop be the correct one to get?

Kathy thanks for the info. It can't be repeated too often. I have absolutely no qualms in killing any HOSP I can. I have seen too many times the damage to native songbird populations these pests can inflict.

Over this winter I found where a squirrel has gnawed off the points on a couple of aluminum excluder doors. I have ordered replacements, but have not installed them until I can get a predator pole guard. I have an older 3 piece telescoping round Trio pole. Has anyone else experienced this? I will po...

I have absolutely no qualms in killing a sparrow or starling. I've seen firsthand too many times the harm they cause to the purple martin and bluebird populations.

Also this morning after I got home from work (about 7:00), I went out back and lowered the house and gourds to see if I could see any telltale signs of an owl attack like blood, pulled ajar doors, etc. but saw nothing unusual. With me just seeing the hawk right by the colony I now lean towards the h...

@ about 2:40 pm I went outside to check on things and startled (actually we were both startled) what I believe to be a sharp-shinned hawk (going by photos I saw on the web). It was similar in size and color to a dove, in fact that is what I initally thought it was until I got a better look as it fle...

Come to think of it Louise I guess if a hawk doesn't have young yet to feed, it could just defeather and eat the prey right there on the ground. Because of my work schedule (12 hr. shifts) I don't know whether the attacks were during the day or nocturnal. Thanks for everyone's advice, I'll work on t...

Matt, thanks for the links. Louise, wouldn't a hawk be more prone to carrying off it's prey instead of defeathering the victim on the ground close to the gourds? BTW I haven't found any more signs of an attack.

I've lost at least two ASY males. This morning there weren't any additional signs of a successful attack. My Trio has the double deep compartments so there is more than the usual amount of protection. Wouldn't the surviving birds be more careful in their choice of roosting spots now?

Thanks for the replies. There were a lot of the long feathers left. I would almost guess that the owl was on the ground while it was eating because the grouping was so small. I have had martins for around ten years and this is the first concrete evidence of owl predation I have seen. I hope the mart...

Just checked on my colony after working a couple of night shifts and found two groups of remains (feathers and a beak) on the ground. What predator would defeather their victims on the ground like this? Is it probably an owl? Both birds were ASY males judging by the coloration.

I have found dead martins in two of my excluder-doored supergourds. I doubt the culprit was a starling because of the door design. Both birds were sy males judging by their feathers. Both had the backs of their heads bloodied. Was this the work of sparrows or competition for nesting spots between ma...

I have absolutely no problems killing HS's. I have seen too many instances where both martins and bluebirds were killed by these "illegal aliens".

Awesome pictures Ron! I can see where this can certainly happen, but my bird was up there by himself.

I figured that it wasn't extremely rare, but I find it odd that in over 40 years of PM watching this was the first time I had witnessed this. I would guess that it is play, martins seem to me to be playful and enjoy life. In fact, martins are the only birds that in my opinion fly just for the thrill...

I just saw something I've never seen before and wanted to ask if anyone on the forum has seen similar behavior. An ASY male was dropping a leaf and would let it fall 20 or 30 feet, then dive and catch it, gain altitude and drop it again. I watched this happen at least 5 times. As long as I have been...

Here is a picture of my Trio with SuperGourds set up. The house has been modified to 6 double deep compartments with excluder doors. The SuperGourds are hung from the Trio's floor using heavy-duty zip ties (that I change out each season). The gourds have starling resistent doors I bought from Sandy ...

Just how far will two ASY male martins carry their battle for the rights to a gourd? A couple of days ago (warm weather unlike today) I was outside doing a little lawn cleanup work when I hear a battle going on in one of my SuperGourds. I could tell that a martin was involved by the chirping from on...