Purple Martin Forum

I'm sorry to hear about the death of your BB!!! That's exactly why when I put up a trap for starlings...I put an escape hole in the downspout just big enough for a BB to escape! I'm not home all the time to monitor my trap & I have wrens, BBs, chickadees, & titmice that are constantly lookin...

I was out by the last gourd late this morning & Mama SY was making a lot of noise. I realized that 2 babies were in the grass below their gourd & when I picked them up...were dead! :cry: I lowered the gourd rack & checked on the others & there were only 2 inside. I later saw another ...

I have a late SY's nest that I'm worried about!!! It is supposed to be 106 here tomorrow & it was 102 today just west of DFW! The babies are at least 1 1/2 weeks from fledging & an ASY pair abandoned their babies that would have been 5 days older over 10 days ago! I will be really amazed if ...

Thanks for sharing...it will come in handy when all of mine are gone. (I can get a PM fix...LOL!!!) My last regular season nest is about ready to fledge but will have 2 late nests late June early July if they make it with our "TEXAS HEAT"! I have already lost 2 & possibly 3 of 5 babies...

Do you have any kind of snake guard or netting in place??? At least at my place, once I see one snake...there are bound to be others lurking!!!

I didn't get dive bombed until recently at my site...it seems that they are less tolerant of me once the fledging is getting close!!!

I wish we could do something about the SY predation but I don't think there is anything we can do even watching our sites 24/7!!! Not going to happen here! I lost my only SY pair's 1 day old hatchlings in my modified castle...2 gone...3 dead! I also lost 3 of 6 ASY's pair of week old hatchlings in a...

It is getting crazy here too!!! Fledging daily now!!! Are those gourds Bo9s or Bo11s??? Also, where did you get the round vents for your T14??? I was thinking I could use them in the door stoppers on my modified MSS12 & 24 to 12 Trio Castle. With the temps in the 90s...I need to add more venting...

I wonder if you had put them up before the season started...maybe they wouldn't be so upset by them??? If it were me...I would probably make a perching pole for them & put it about 30 ft away from your housing. Just a thought! I have had 5-7 martin decoys up ever since I moved my site to the mor...

I'm not from your area but I had 2 new pair show up & have just recently laid 5 eggs each. If your SY male is successful in attracting a female...you just might have your first pair. If not...he might be back next year with his fine deep purple suit on & start your site!!! That's what finall...

It is a crazy season but hopefully we will all have enough food for them this year! I lost at least 7 fledglings last year to heat & lack of food in early July! :cry: I am hoping for all of us Texas LLs!!! I have my first nest fledging later this week & 2 new nests that are just laying eggs!...

WOW!!! You have quite a setup!!! I didn't see the owl until I went back & looked closer! Glad your cages are working for you!!! Does your housing come down to do nest checks? # of pairs? I put up predator lights last season when my site became more active with 12 pairs...so far...no owls! I will...

What area in Texas are you??? I tried for 6 years & put up every possible kind of housing...I even grew natural gourds & put them up & it still took a long time to start my site! There is a lot of housing in my area & most are metal houses but the first ASY pair that started my site ...

I modified my Trio MSS-12 with 4 clinger tunnels & two 45 degree 3" PVC elbows with clinger entrances & all nesting compartments are claimed. It has 6 tunneled compartments & 2 double wides with the partition taken out. It leaves 2 single compartments for spare-o-door traps. All nes...

Dave, that's great!!! How many compartments are you offering? Have you increased it since you had 100% occupancy?(Read your profile!)
Hope everything continues to go well for your colony!!!

Sorry to hear of your losses...I hate losing any of my babies or eggs!!! I've had trouble with SY predation this season for a first time!!! :x It won't help you now but if I were you...I'd put up an old Trio Grandpa & put several spare-o-door traps in it(close the other holes) & one by one e...

Great news & report about your martins!!! I know how exciting it is to have growth! I had 11 successful pairs last year with a late nesting ASY pair that lost all their babies to heat! I also lost at least 3 fledglings that were late & too weak to fly! Hope we all have a better year with the...

We don't have TS here but if it were me...I'd use a couple of your gourds & hang them on poles away from my martin housing & let them set up house & keep them away from my set up. I had BBs that used my set up for hunting & I think the male was very aggressive & kept the investig...

Sounds like you are having a great year!!! Rain starts again tonight here just west of DFW & glad for it! I have had SY infanticide here for the first time & am not happy about it! I guess it is just growing pains but there isn't anything that I can do to prevent it! 8 babies gone so far but...

Congratulations on having a good year so far!!! We're supposed to get rain again starting later tonight or tomorrow! YAY!!! Here just west of DFW...I've had a good increase of ASYs...from 12 to 18 pairs this year but only a few SY males until last week when a couple more showed up. NOT GOOD!!! The o...