Purple Martin Forum

Be very thankful your PMs have not arrived. Wish mine had not but doing my best to keep them alive. Had some success at lunch. One male and two females were around and did take the crickets offered this time. One female very weak but did eat two. Will try again after work. Two were missing so hopefu...

Well........ I tried again this morning to get them to eat. Bad idea. Too cold at 29 degrees and they were too weak. They were all in the gourd together and could barely fly when they came out.

Will try again later in the day when temps hit 40 for a high.

48 hours now with temps not getting out of the 30s and they were ready to eat. Uses a slingshot shooting crickets high in the air. Will have to feed again tomorrow. Slingshot works much better than the spoons.

My grandfather refer to them as "Dry Land Fish" here in Kentucky. Brings back some very good memories!

Thanks.

I've been keeping records at my site since 2003. From the first arrival to the big increase is around 25 days. I get one or two, sometimes three birds in, but then suddenly I'll have 8 to 10 show up in one day. I see increases up to about 70 days after the first arrival. The way I keep up my count i...

I wonder how the numbers are affected by new comers to the site. Are martin landlords growing in numbers along with experienced landlords that are just now finding out about this site? I know that in my area there are many PM landlords of many years that have never reported. I added three to the sit...

Not sure how much space you have but I also have Blue Birds and had them before PMs. I put up lots of boxes. Gave the little blue devils lots of choices. By the time the PMs arrive here in central KY, the BBs have their box and settled in. They use the racks even now to perch before the PMs arrive, ...

Don, Read your post this morning and was wondering if the same thing would happen today for me. Well, just got the call from my wife that an ASY male was on the gourd rack singing away. Very same day one showed up last year. Very amazing to me how they do it. Well I posted the report and my season h...

Warning, that feeling doesn't away. I get it every year when I see the first one arrive!!!! That just one of the things that makes it so great when you finially get pairs to stay.

Best wishes! Hope the two come back with some gals for you.

Three Tree Swallows showed up today in Winchester, Ky. My records for the last several years has the PMs showing up within a day or two. Looking to the skies most often these days. Neck is in shape for it!!!!

John, First let me state I do not use houses, only gourds, but Martins are similar in that they do not like change. Is your house in the same position, lined up, same height, same color, etc.? I make sure the same gourd hangs in the same spot facing the same direction each year. A returning bird at ...

Thanks, we are safe but I'm concerned about Bud & Brenda Angus in West Liberty Kentucky. The small town was hit hard by a large tornado late today. Hope they respond to this post. Very bad day for many in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee with possibly more tornadoes developing as we post. Hope t...

Just had a bad one here with high wind damage within one mile, possible tornado. Golf ball size hail for a ten minute period. Damage to gourds and greenhouse. More still to come.

We are taking cover. People just to the east of us appear to have a large tornado on the ground at this time.

I don't believe Purple Martin kill the food before feeding it to their young as do Blue Birds and Woodpeckers. I have witnessed many times parents sitting with live food, showing lots of movement, trying to escape from their mouths just before the PM fed it to the young. I would crush the head of th...

I've only had this to happen later in the year when a lot of pairs have chosen their home and then a late comer arrives. The late comer ends up outside until after dark having been driven away from many attempts at entering a gourd with a pair already inside. Never had the first one show up and not ...

Need to send that picture to Al Gore!
That's a plus for climate change. You could feed several people with that huge thing! Way to go Emil.

That was true for me 4 to 5 years after I got my first pair of PMs but the last couple of years my first PM has showed within a day or so of the first Tree Swallow. It appears the older birds that survive year after year tend to want to come back earlier the next year.

Hey, same here on the thanks to everyone!
I read a lot, learn a lot. Really appreciate everyone helping out the way you do.

Wishing everyone a great and enjoyable year!!

Yes, several times but be sure to use it the way you described. Make sure it is a HS that has nested. Set the trap and watch. It doesn't take long before they come back to the nest. Another way I get them is to wait until after dark, open up the box quickly reaching in and grab them before they know...

Another very early Ky report setting another record with a first time ever February report for Campbellsville.