Purple Martin Forum

For the past two weeks I’ve been going out about thirty minutes before the martins come in because a Cooper hawk had started attacking at dusk . In my experience it’s best to be away from the poles because the hawk more than likely dose not know you’re there . The hawk will already be inside the col...

I've been going through the same thing for a month . Like clock work the hawk would come in just before dark. The martins would'nt even see the hawk most times . My loud clapping would disrupt the hawk attacks . I did loose one bird when my pet chicken distracted me one evening . I have since used a...

They will make it , unless it stays that cold for about four days . Try flipping them superworms or crickets if it stays cold for a few days. (under 50 degrees) Don’t give up!!

I arrived home and went from 5 to 12 martins . The past two days have really brought the martins in!!!

I've had a lone female since Feb. 7th , but today when I arrived home I had 5 martins, two males and three females . I had told my daughter I was expecting more martins today . This date is about the average when I get my first Martin every year . I hope everybody has a great year !!

Kathy

No , I don't freeze them . You can keep them alive for a long time if you give them some moisture .They are expensive at the pet stores , so I order them from Amazon . My martins love them !!! Once I know the cold weather is over for the season I give the super worms to my chickens .

My female Martin is doing great considering the below freezing temperatures . I fed her on three separate occasions yesterday and once this morning . I did not have to feed the martins the two previous seasons . I flip my matins super worms and they love them . I was relieved yesterday when she saw ...

Just go home , looked out the back yard , and sitting on a Martin house is a female Martin ! She flew around for a little while , then went inside one of the houses . I have a lot of gourds , but she chose a house. It's 47 right now so I'm sure there are no bugs . I'll keep an eye on her. I'ts alway...

About 2 weeks ago at around 2 in the morning we had a storm past through . This storm had a 92 MPH wind gust that wasn't to nice to my Martin colony . I knew it was bad and I didn't have the courage to go outside to look over the damage . My daughter was out there at 3 in the morning releasing any t...

I like to spend the evenings watching the martins and looking out for hawks who like to do sneak attacks on the martins right before dark. Over the years I've saved many martins just by being outside with them as they come in for the night. Nothing had happened all yr until tonight . I was watching ...

Thanks for the replies; The female has now been joined by a male , so now there's two !!

I had a female Martin fly out of a gourd first thing this morning. This is probably the 4th time since 2002 that a female has been my first martin . So my season begins a few days earlier than yrs past. I'm not surprised due to the warm weather we have been having . I hope everyone has a great yr en...

I'm in the metroplex (DFW) . It came in about 5:30 this evening , but I'm sure it had been hear earlier in the day . it was returning to spend the night . I'm 45 yrs old , but I was jumping around like a little boy when I saw it. It's always exiting to see the first Martin of the year..

I had one male Martin show up here this afternoon in Arlington . He is staying in one of the houses tonight. I hope everyone has a great season !!

I love the site . I like seeing the martins in a semi arid environment . I see there was a baffle on the Martin pole, but I believe you will need some snake netting , especially considering the location . I imagine their are a lot of snakes in that area....

Something happened this evening that I have have never seen before. I was working on my deck , when a few martins came in from feeding . They sat and were socializing for about 10mins. ,and then a Cooper's hawk showed up . I saw him as he came into the yard at Martin house level . I stood up and cla...

Red taled hawks are a threat to flegling martins. I have lost some in the past to red tailed hawks. The flegling martins tend to stay perched in trees , and become easy prey for the big hawks.. I have stood outside and thrown tennis balls at red tailed hawks to discourage them from coming close to t...

Steve , don't give up trying to feed those martins. All it is takes is one Martin to take a cricket and the others will follow. You have to keep trying . When I first tried to train my martins to take flinging crickets and super worms I became so frustrated that they would not attempt to catch anyth...

I'm very fortunate that my birds are trained , if not they would have perished already . I'm also fortunate that I dont have more birds. I'm sure a lot of martins have died this week all over the south, this weather has been crazy cold for an extended period . The weather is suppose to warm up next ...

The weather here in north Texas has been miserable for martins for a week now. We had a lot of snow this morning until the early afternoon .This weather reminds me of when the Super Bowl was held here a few yrs back. I waited till about four this afternoon to wake the martins up. I know a lot of peo...