Purple Martin Forum

Rafke, Are you sure that last martin is a SY male? To me, it looks like a ASY female that possibly might be egg bound. You did say that your martins were starting to lay, and unfortunately egg binding is something that can happen in all birds. When it happens, their abdomen might appear swollen and ...

Laura, Personally, I wouldn't close any compartments. Having options is a good thing. It sounds like you've got some SY birds showing up now. With a couple ASY pairs already established at your site, I think the odds are VERY HIGH that you'll snag several SY pairs yet. Last year my first SY showed u...

As a follow-up to my last post, his name is Ryan and the title of his post was "I can't believe it, but I have one hanging around" It's a very interesting and long thread.

Hi Laura. I'm not certain, but I believe males will sometimes bring in nest material to attract a mate, especially at a new/younger colony. Search for a guy named Ryan on this forum. I think that's name. If I'm not mistaken, he's from Canada and has been trying for many years to start a colony. A fe...

I agree wit C.C. If you do enlarge the entrance, I wouldn't do much. I think more than likely, he can enter just like the female I have does. The only reason I'm considering changing the entrance is because I'm worried about her being snatched by a hawk while she struggles to get in at night. Last y...

I have a female that has the same problem. I noticed her last year really struggling, and she's back in the same compartment this year. She's nesting in a goliad house, and her entrance is a S&K tunnel with the SREH I added to half the compartments. Last weekend when her and her mate were sittin...

Thomabear,

I believe it's a tool that's used to determine possible hatch dates, fledge dates, etc. If I'm not mistaken, it's sold on this website.

Interesting, MJM. Are you applying the Poultry Dust under the nest the same way you would seven dust? I was planning to try it this year instead of Seven dust. Personally, I believe I've seen some ill effects on several martin fledglings from the use of Seven. In 2020, I found three fledglings on th...

No problem at all. I'm glad to help! I think the pool noodle idea might work as well if you don't have any extra tunnels. I had initially thought about dividing off the porch so they couldn't see the other holes, but I just liked the idea of the tunnels. I believe it gives them extra security from p...

-7227974481698480892 (1).jpg -8451134694711315859.jpg 1493952682775957884.jpg 4983030163215589024.jpg -3492749860634940024.jpg -5519781863586437520.jpg Here's a few pics. I tried loading a few pics with the panels lifted so you could see the inside, but they wouldn't attach for some reason. I hope ...

Birdiegirl, it can be done. You don't actually put the tunnels on the side panels that lift up. You'll need to put them on the ends of the barn (in other words the ends of the house that don't lift up with no holes). If you've already converted your house to 6 compartments instead of 12, then you cu...

Nice looking setup, Birdiegirl. I would agree with Dave. Conventional wisdom would say they would usually choose the house with higher elevation first, assuming they have equally clear flyways. I think you'll be fine. Even if they do choose the T-14 first, they'll spill over to the S&K barn as t...

I'm located just East of Jefferson City. I don't know if they've necessarily left for good, but they're definitely not hanging around the housing much at all anymore.

Thanks for the reply, Dave. I believe putting them back in the nest is not an option at this point. To be clear, these two birds are at a minimum 31 days old, so they're definitely at or beyond fledging age. All nest except three are empty now, and these nests are weeks from fledging (I misspoke yes...

So 25 of 27 nest have fledged now, so I went out tonight to treat the remaining two nest with sevens dust that are due to fledge in a couple weeks and I found two fledglings on the ground. They should absolutely be able to fly as there's virtually no sheath left on any wing or tail feathers....maybe...

So, I just posted about my success this year and I think a big part of that success has to do with this post from Brad. Last year was my first year with martins, and I had four pairs. This year, I made a huge jump to 31 pairs with 27 pairs successfully nesting with 35 available cavities. I have a ne...

Well this is my second year attracting martins, and it's been a great one thus far. Last year, I had an ASY pair, and three SY pairs for a total of four pairs. During the off season, I added two new gourd racks and a Goliad Jr. house, plus I put up electric fence predator guards on all the poles. My...

Thanks for the replies everyone. SS, that makes sense that martins hatched in a house unit may favor a traditional style house over a gourd. Conrad, when you say high winds, just how high are you talking? I currently have two tri tel poles with six gourds on each, and the S&K house is on a tri t...

Well, I sat and watched the martins come in to roost tonight and I have good news. First, I have 4 ASY pairs and three single ASY males currently roosting at my setup. Second, not a single bird roosted in the S&K house. Three of the pairs roosted in the gourds, one pair in the Goliad house, and ...

Thanks, Brad. So from your experience, they don't seem to prefer nesting in a house or gourd with an offset nest chamber? I guess there's some other reason why they prefer that S&K house.