Purple Martin Forum

Fish crows. are the reason I stopped hosting martins. We live on a golf course and have lots of crows. Our gourds were 25 feet from our house. They would wait in a big oak tree on the fairway and wait to see the young heads pop out and then strike. Parents could not protect them. Once the found an ...

.. Stingray ... I feel your pain.. My brother lives in Winter Haven, and he has the same trouble with crows at his colony.. It stinks.. Have a good season... Dave Hi Dave, Thanks for your post. I appreciate your reply and feel for your brother. It's been a pretty good season up until now! Regards,

Sorry to hear of your terrible plight with crows. Unless you are prohibited by neighborhood laws, use their super intelligence in your favor: blast a shotgun on sight, not to kill, but to educate. It might take a few blasts since you have stated you have a large murder of them. Also, how close are ...

A few seasons ago my colony had some crow raids. One of my neighbors witnessed a crow flying off with a baby martin. I installed owl guards after the season ended and that seemed to help. This season there has been a pesky crow landing on the gourds hanging on to the guards. I've chased him off a co...

Hi to all, Nothing special; just out on my deck enjoying a pleasant summer afternoon here in south Florida. Mike, Palm City, Florida Hi Mike, Thanks for the post. 👍 It's the little things that bring us joy. For me, there is something special about getting joy from these beautiful songbirds. I've be...

Hi Stingray My birds usually show up around 20th January , 1 male did but left after a week. The next ones a pair of ASY showed up around April 15. They stayed and now have 4 young about 5 days old. I am located in the Port Charlotte area. Hi Kegger, Glad to hear you've got some youngsters. Hope yo...

I have one subadult male. I just recently saw him as he and his mate are occupying a gourd that I had just cleaned out.
It faces away from me. I'd found a dead martin in it a few weeks ago.
Not sure how long he's been here but I'm happy to see him.

I counted 4 Purple Martins this morning, I researched the burrowing owls and they normally do not bother the martins. The owls come out at night to hunt It was getting dark outside so I didn’t clearly see what kind of bird it caught. So glad they are all back and safe. Great news Laura, Glad all yo...

I know...funny title but here goes. For the first time in 21 years as a pm landlord, I decided to try putting out some pine straw for my martins a few weeks ago. Today I dropped the gourds for my first nest check and Sevin dusting. 14 out of 18 have nests and there are a total of 30 eggs in my colon...

... Stingray ... Your story sounds the same just about everywhere.. Martins a few weeks late arriving this year. Ours were about 10 days late compared to last years arrival times.. :grin: :grin: But when they started arriving, they came in big waves.. It's like now, the amount of Martins we have ba...

Hi Stingray! I'm in southwest florida and has first martins show up on February 17th. Have 2 "regular" pairs nesting, and several fly overs. 5 eggs in one next on April 16th. We had bigger numbers last year but I'm new and not so good at keeping records. Hopefully the 2 pairs will success...

Mbigger, I'm glad your birds came back. All's well that ends well My colony is smaller than yours. I have 18 gourds complete with predator guards. My first arrivals did the same as yours this year for about the same length of time. I ony had 5 birds at the time. Like yours, my birds did come back. T...

Thank you for the pictures! They are really helpful! Sawhisker, You're not alone. I've had/have issues with crows. We have a LARGE murder of crows around our area. They are super intelligent birds and opportunistic predators. Before I put up predator guards on my supergourds my next door neighbor o...

Hello Elmo, I like many here I have had hawk problems for years.. My martins still return. Last year I watched as a Coopers hawk ambushed two of my martins. One in the morning and the other in the evening as they were coming in. Very hard to see Coopers hawks like to hide and quickly surprise their ...

Hi Phil01,
Your situation sounds great!
Glad to hear about your numbers and your expansion!
Sounds like you have a nice size colony.
I have a 12 and a 6 gourd rack and hope to see them all filled up this season.
Thanks for your reply.
Much appreciated.

Enjoy!

Hello all, I'm looking for some feedback. I know it's still early in the season. So far, have counted 22 martins at my site. I took down a coconut tree last summer to make our backyard even more open and make the martins more comfortable. I have 18 supergourds and am hoping to fill them all this sea...

Dave Reynolds wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 29, 2026 9:00 pm

…. Good thing you were there…. I had that happen to me last year, but it was a Cooper Hawk instead.. Lucky the Martin got away when I scared the Hawk…. Have a great year..

Dave

Thanks Dave.
Good timing on your part also!
Best to you.

could it have possibly have been a Merlin? Very Similar but a bit larger. Saw one here yesterday Might be migrating back north. They would go after my birds I saw one kill John Hello Tom, Thanks for your response. It was definitely a male kestrel. I see them frequently in our neighborhood and hope ...

Thanks Tom!

Hello all, I just got my first arrivals on Monday. Two birds. This morning as I stepped outside to see one just landing on a gourd a kestrel came after him! The kestrel took off as I approached and the martin went into the gourd. All's well that ends well, but I am surprised to see such a small bird...