Purple Martin Forum

I agree… The only reason for a colony that size to abandon is predation…. What type of predator guards does he have?
With no access ports to do nest checks and monitor you won’t catch it early, before it’s too late…

Phil

Mrs Linda, If it’s been 4 days as of today you can check tomorrow, that would be day 5…. The reason they say to do that is if you want to calculate when your first egg is laid, then when hatch date will be, then earliest possible fledge date. If you don’t care about those dates for your records you ...

Tom, Of course, no problem at all. It will be nice to see them put to good use and actually have some birds in them.. lol I measured 6 of them and they were like 1/16 small if I remember correctly… I did follow the instructions and put the porch flush with the bottom of the entrance instead of using...

What a beautiful place to work! All that wildlife around you every day! Way better than therapy! And you are right there to monitor the racks, win win! I’ve always liked the look of the natural gourds, each one so unique. I’m sure the visitors are intrigued and a great place to get some exposure to ...

I would get NOTHING done at work with those to watch!
Love the look of the natural gourds!

Phil

Yep, that sounds like they’re getting ready. If you wake up really early, like an hour before sunrise you’ll hear them dawn singing from the cavities. This is usually a sign the female is laying eggs..

Phil

I’ve always thrown piles of pine straw spread out in the field about 40 ft from my housing and let them decide if they want to use it. I’m on my 3rd batch out there. Most have been using it. I prenest with pine straw so they add to what is already there. A few will take some of the pine straw I pren...

Thank you Mrs Linda. Like Thomas said, you still have time, SY’s keep arriving into May here and I think LA is close to the same from what I’ve read. As far as nest building, the female does most of the heavy lifting and chooses the cavity she prefers. The male helps some but mostly guards and prote...

Hi all, Did my second official nest check of the season this afternoon. All cavities have nests built in them. Five cavities with eggs for a total of 22. Three have 5 eggs in them so first eggs 12 April, a week earlier than last year. We’ve had a much cooler winter/spring this year so that kinda sur...

Laura, Tom nailed it with solid advice as always! Day two of bad weather was when mine started to take the flipped crickets this year. You’re going to go through some crickets at first so don’t get discouraged. What seemed to trigger them starting to go for the crickets, for me, was when I flipped m...

First, very nice looking house. Great craftsmanship! I have the 90 degree turn on my sunset inn house and the martins love it! I feel it keeps the parents and hatchlings safe from a predator reaching in and snatching one. Deep compartments help as well. Of course once the young are moving around and...

I still have some of the old Sevin with carbaryl left. Bought a bunch before they changed over, works great. When I run out I’m going to try this “southern ag”. Seems close to the same best I can tell….

I’m on the east coast but my numbers are up. Getting very close to capacity and the wave of SY’s just started.
Good luck this season!
Phil

Yep, isn’t it great when there is peace and all the other birds are enjoying life along with the martins… One thing I’ve noticed is an increase in songbirds since I’ve had martins.. I feel like they feel safer with a colony to watch for predators and sound the alarm when there’s danger close by. 2 s...

lol! Great job Tom! Your persistence paid off! It’s dangerous to be a HOSP in your neck of the woods!

Gorgeous site Jones, absolutely beautiful! As always, very well written post! I always enjoy reading your observations and perspective on nature!
Good luck this season, hope you fill up.
Phil

Of course Laura. I’ve seen them grab the egg shells off the porch and bring it inside the cavity… I think they may be feeding some to the hatchlings, though I don’t have nest cameras to see if that’s what they are actually doing. Would make sense and probably help with bone/beak development in the h...

I start offering egg shells once I see them start nest building.. I put it on their porches and they peck away… I continue through fledging… Not sure if that’s the correct time to start, just how I’ve been doing it… Good luck this season!
Phil

Hi Rob! Oh wow, you’re right down the road from me… lol We sure are. I had my first SY male show up today as a matter of fact… I’m getting close to no vacancies.. If you are going to be in town for a bit, have time, and want to swing by and check out my site give me a call or txt.. 757-377-1208 Phil

Hi Linda! Lol I saw her coming and going for 2 days checking out gourds and the house. I’m at work and haven’t gotten to see the morning activity the past couple days but haven’t seen her come in at sunset. It’s fast and furious at sunset so I may have missed her coming in.. I’ll definitely be watch...