Purple Martin Forum

Hello, Since it's hard to start a new colony it's likely that most scouts wind up joining established colonies (if they join a colony at all; unattached "bachelors" are common). These could be super colonies or just backyard houses that have only a few pairs of martins. However, scouts do ...

For sale separately or as a group are four Troyer horizontal plastic gourds. Two have aluminum clip-on perches and caps with air vents; the other two have caps only. They’re probably twenty years old but in good condition. $30 each for the two with caps and vents; $ 25 each for the “plain” ones; $90...

Thanks, Stingray - I appreciate your experienced advice.
SEC

There are five or so decoys on the house now, and I may just leave them as is to confuse any hawks. As you say, a split second could count!
SEC

Thanks, Rob. I do intend to get a guard for ground-level predators, but right now I'm focused on potential attacks from the air! Stuart

Thanks, Thomas. Luckily we don't have large snakes up here, but we do have aerial predators and also racoons and squirrels. SEC

As of this morning a pair of SY birds is checking out a PM house I monitor on a nearby golf course. If they stay it will mean success after five years of trying! The house is near a patch of woods that has many birds, probably including owls and hawks. I plan to put a predator guard around the house...

Just now I read with great interest the 2010 thread on the pros and cons of misting houses to cool them down. I recommend it. My question is related, but different. Would it be worthwhile to point a garden hose sprayer straight up and create a fountain effect around ten feet up that PMs could fly th...

Hello Forum, Several days ago I opened the compartments of a new Trio MSS12-R located on a local golf course, across the street from houses but also near a woodsy area. I have it all tricked out with dawnsong playback, mirrors, dirt on the porches, pine needles inside, and four decoys. The good news...

Thanks, friends -- I appreciate the advice!

Best wishes,

Stuart

Dear Friends, I just put up a new PM house on a golf course in Evanston, Ill, about a mile from Lake Michigan, and am wondering when to expect subadults to arrive in this area. The closest established colony is about a mile away, on the lakeshore; a few of their adult birds returned on May 1. It's a...

Thanks to both of you. Following Dave's advice I successfully positioned the cable in the grove behind the teeth and then out the exit hole. Everything is secure now. So glad to know there are friendly and knowledgeable people only a few clicks away! Best wishes for a successful PM season. Stuart

Dear Matt, Thanks for your kind and helpful reply, and the photos. However, my problem is that the winch kit arrived with the cable loop detached from the wing nut and washer. It was protruding from the winch housing, and eventually came completely loose. I've pushed the threaded end back into the h...

Dear Friends, I'm working with the Trio Winch Conversion Kit, which includes a short "Brake Cable Tensioner." The instructions show that it goes inside the winch housing and then comes back out, and I see the entrance and exit holes. But I'm not sure how to thread it into the housing and t...

Dear Friends, Thanks for all the replies – I appreciated them and will benefit from your advice. I didn’t want to load up my original posting with too much info, but the situation is a bit different than some of you assume. The established 36-hole castle, which was about half full last summer, is in...

Hello and Happy New Year, This year I’ll resume trying to attract purple martins to a house that’s in a good, open location, and near water. I’ll continue to play the dawn song, keep out sparrows, etc. I know there are martins nearby, because about a mile away is a 36-unit Trio castle that last summ...

Thanks, Red, for your helpful post and advice about the multi-purpose pole. The compartments in the existing house are already enlarged, so yes, if we added another similar house we would have 12 compartments total. Cheers, Stuart

Thanks Courtney and Mark. I will suggest getting one of these poles for next year's martin season. Cheers, Stuart

Mark, thanks for your advice. I'm aware that martins generally ignore human activity near/under PM houses. However, this is not an established colony, and I worry that a pair of early morning SY's who like what they see and want to become the first residents will be frightened off when a dozen golf-...

Hello again… This is related to my earlier post about possibly moving a martin house. It’s a 12-room Nature House Pioneer, 10-15 years old and in pretty good shape. However, it’s on a three-part telescoping pole that’s a bit heavy for this older martineer. If we decide to move the house and pole, ca...