Purple Martin Forum

I posted a couple of days ago about my 10 year old Trio house being in questionable shape and I was thinking about replacing it with gourds if I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Today my 2013 Martin Market Place catalog arrived, conveniently! I'm hoping for input on what to get. I want to take dow...

I'm in Midland, Tx. I'd be happy to have some help figuring out the best thing if there is anyone in the area. It's pretty far west Texas.

I'm trying to decide what to do about my martin house. It's about ten years old and the pole now sticks on the way up and down, which seems like a danger to any baby birds in the housing if it gets stuck and then slides down too quickly. I'm not a mechanical person-- is there a simple fix for this? ...

So you all think I'm safe putting the trap back out, just using bread this time? I was afraid the good bird might actually hurt himself while in the trap. Is that not a concern? Heading out now to try again!

I have a PMCA repeating trap I put out today first time this year. I checked it all day and nothing. Then five minutes ago checked it and had two HOSP and a mockingbird all in less than an hour. Of course I let them all go but now I'm concerned. Any suggestions to keep the mockingbird from coming ar...

I sat out there for 30 minutes and saw a few martins fly over but no one stopped like they live here. And the babies aren't there anyore peeking their little heads out the holes. The last martin adventure was early this afternoon. One baby was on the ground, trying his best to fly but he just couldn...

Thanks -- I'll try the trap again. I've about given up on trapping because they just seem to be endless. I've wondered if the males HOSPs are smarter -- I only catch the females, except for one male I got rid of last week, and as I said, I've about given up trapping because it seems like for all my ...

I checked today and have newly hatched babies in both of my occupied compartments. I'm nervous to even try to open the door for fear of disturbing the nests but there are three or four at least in each. I had read that in hot weather you can put blue ice packs in the next compartment over, and since...

There were definitely nests, but as far as I had seen, no eggs. They had put mud up next to the doorways, so I hadn't wanted to open the doors to really get a good look in case it destroyed their work, so there could have been eggs I hadn't been able to see.

I don't know what to do. Before we left town for the weekend I cleaned out the sparrow nests from my house and put it back up. The wrong way. Backwards somehow and didn't realize it. Now I got home and realized what I had done. I turned it back right, but I could tell some of the martins had switche...

Thanks to everyone. You are all really so helpful! And I can start trapping as soon as my new trap gets here, without fear that someone is going to come ask for my permit!

And the sooner the better, because those sparrows are thick in my yard today and just making me mad.

I hope I'm not driving you all crazy with all my questions. I really want to do this right! I was just reading on another website about trapping HOSP in Texas and it said specifically that in TX a trapper's liscence is required, even for non-native birds. Anyone else from Texas who knows what this m...

Okay, I just ordered the repeating trap some of you recommended. I was out there all afternoon watching my two doors that were set as traps, and it was like the sparrows had figured it out! They were going in the other doors, but they avoided the two with the traps. Finally after I came in they are ...

I got my traps in a few days ago and started trying to trap sparrows yesterday. I got the kind that you put in as a replacement for existing doors. The problem I have is they trigger so easily that 3 of the four cavities that I thought I'd trapped a sparrow in, turned out to be falsely tripped. They...

Thanks -- I homeschool so I think our afternoon activity is going to be setting up pine needle nests and material near the house.

Thanks -- it was definitely sparrow eggs, based on the picture and also I found two in sparrow nests I removed yesterday. I appreciate the help!

I read the information on this website about providing nesting material and was not clear about one thing. Is it better to put the material directly into the compartment for the martin, or is it better to put material in a place for easy access, hanging nearby, for martins to use when they want? Or ...

Both yesterday and today, I have found sparrow eggs smashed on the ground near my martin house. Do martins do this, or is something else going on? I am cleaning out sparrow nests daily so maybe there's just no safe place for them to lay them. But they are small white eggs with brown speckles. Those ...

What would a martin nest look like? I'm cleaning out sparrow nests regularly but don't ever seem to find martin nests, although clearly martins are all over my house. I'd hate to think I'm tearing out martin nests at the same time. Yesterday I did leave in a nest that was the same grass and weeds th...

No, I said I do want to kill them but my question is, is it too late to trap them. Perhaps I was too wordy.