Purple Martin Forum

Great save Tom! Great timing too.. I’m glad you were able to help the little guy out.. agree on the cockatiel.. I had one for many years.. I could have sworn that bird was half human, with some of the things it would do!
Rob

Hi Jones.. from my observation they love oak tree leaves, but do go to the closest tree at times too and use those leaves, which is a maple..
Rob

ASY for me..
Rob

Agree, pine needles are a drier material to pre nest with…I’m lucky to have access to pines here, but if you can’t find pine needles in your area, they are sold by the box , online…
Good luck,
Rob

Hey Billie.. I mark my pole before the season, with a tape measure and permanent marker.. I make marks at 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 feet… so when I lower or raise, when the rack hits the particular mark, I know exactly how high it is.. good luck with the storm! I hope all is well…
Rob

Hi Laura… sometimes, inexperienced SY’s will build very skimpy nests.. when I see that, I help them out by sliding pine needles underneath, what they have built.. I even beef up decent built nests, in the same way.. I figure it’s easier to beef up a nest early on, than to deal with eggs not hatching...

Hi mstan.. as you know, the best defense against high winds , is a good strong pole, cemented deep in the ground.. here in se Louisiana, we had a recent storm that contained bursts of 70 mph gusts.. for that storm , I lowered to 9 feet… all went well, I definitely had some pole swaying , but made it...

Yep, flyin.. pellet rifles can sometimes be fickle! I really love my gamo.. . I bought it 4 years ago… Im getting consistent nickel sized groups at 20 yards , using stabilizer bag.. it’s accurate and I like the , one pump, 1300 fps.. I almost bought a beeman last year, but decided to stay with the g...

Hi flyin.. your numerex notos is a great gun for sure! To your question, I use a gamo whisper 1300 fps, 1 pump, with a konus scope set on 3.5 magnification, and gamo red fire, 7.8 gr pellets, and a stabilizer shooting bag.. Glad you have your HOSPS under control.. same here, except for the occasiona...

Agree with Phil’s advice.. glad it worked so well for you! Congrats..
Rob

Yep Tom, fine tuning your gun and scope, and target practice definitely pays off.. and agree, Martin landlords are really the only ones who understand that eliminating HOSPS is a must..as we all know, they are an invasive species and endanger the well being of many cavity dwelling indigenous birds, ...

Thanks guys,, Really very pleased with the shot… re-zeroing the scope using the zoom magnifying, in the off-season, has really paid dividends… needless to say, when I pulled the dead HOSP out, wasn’t much left of his head!
Rob

Man , I have to share how pleased and proud I am, of a shot I made on a brazen male HOSP this morning . I heard a raucous going on at my site so went out to have a look. A male HOSP had apparently taken possession of an unoccupied gourd, that an ASY male had been holding onto as a second residence. ...

Agree Brent, with all the stories and evidence coming in, your missing eggs were obviously the work of subbies. Along with reported increased occupancy rates, I’m wondering if an increasing ratio of males to females could be adding to the more aggressive SY males issues. I don’t have any definitive ...

I’m starting to have the same issue. 1 baby missing from 2 different nests, today during nest checks. Reading y’all’s posts about the SY males, this season, leads me to the same conclusion … I’ve never had an issue with subbies killing and removing babies before. Seems strange that so many landlords...

Hi bbb.. I wouldn’t close the compartments the HOSPS are using. First off, Removing their nests aggravates the males and makes them more aggressive. Closing the compartments off will probably entice the HOSPS to try to take over compartments being used by your martins , or at the very least , enter ...

I’ve never had this happen, but Randy’s answer sounds spot on…
Good luck!
Rob

That does suck Tom.. has to be tough to witness that… but not really anything you can do..
Rob

Congrats! Agree with Tom,, you got yourself a subbie pair.. they are your patrons! Starters of your colony, if all goes well.. remember them!
Rob

Yep terry. I don’t know how nearby martin colonies know, that you have fledglings that are getting close to flying day, but they do! Every year, when my fledglings are getting close to their first flights, scores of other martins , join mine to circle round and round, causing a raucous … enticing th...