Purple Martin Forum

Thanks for the info Frank. I will try to start training our Martins. We actually grow our own mealworms as we have Bluebirds that don't migrate, and we were spending a fortune buying mealworms to try to keep them fed during really bad weather. The Bluebirds trained pretty easily. We have a cedar cov...

It is fantastic that you were able to train your Martins to take food at a feeder. How did you do, and how long did it take?

We had terrible weather yesterday (in the 20's and rain/sleet/snow mix. One of the two Martins that showed up two weeks early took off mid-morning and the second one took off in the afternoon. I haven't seen them since but it is still very cold and overcast. It is supposed to warm up into upper 40's...

Thanks Don. I hope you have a good Martin season also. Did you get Martins the first year you tried? I have been sporadic in posting on the Forum as I was working and just really busy, so I may have missed your original postings. I just retired about six weeks ago, so hopefully will have more time t...

We finally got Martins three years ago after six years of trying, and keep a journal of their arrival. They usually get here in Salem, VA at the end of March or first of April, so we were totally surprised yesterday to look out and see two adult Martins (I think they were adult as they were both sol...

Good for you. I wish we would be so lucky. WE have had a trio of starlings dominating our T-14. We have torn nests out repeatedly, sometimes with eggs. My husband, Bill had an idea and this morning he waited until he knew the female was sitting on eggs, then took bird netting and placed it over the ...

Wow. You are very blessed. We were one of the ones that had to wait, and our wait was six years. We just got four pairs to stay this year for the first time. Congrats on your quick success. Martins are so much fun to have around. Enjoy!

I was a little apprehensive about using a gun to get rid of three pesky Starlings that we have. I was afraid it would scare off our first time resident Martins, but it sounds like the Martins would probably stay. We have just waited so long to get them that I don't want to do anything to jeopardize ...

We took the advice some of you gave, and ordered four natural gourds to put up under the T-14 in case we get more Martins. I think we may already have a few more. It is hard to tell when they all dip and swirl around so fast. We have a T-14 unit that we put up last year and that is when we seemed to...

We have tried for at least six or eight years to attract Martins, put up all kinds of housing, built a pond, and finally, on April 14th, the first one, an adult male, showed up. The next day he brought two friends and they all hung out. Then there were six hanging out and staying in our natural gour...

I know I have read something about this type of snake guard, but, do you get this stuff at Lowe's or somewhere like that, and, then, do you just wrap it around the bottom of the pole? What do you secure it to the pole with? Is there a particular way to wrap it that is more effective. I was getting r...

I also believe it would be better to have the Quad Pod closer to the gourds/pond/house. We started out with a plastic SK apartment house that was about 10 feet to the left of the gourd pole, with crescent openings, and had visitors check it out, but never stayed. Then, we had a storm, with strong wi...

I posted a few days ago wondering what kind of experience others had had with the Quad Pod. I got some great info and want to thank those folks that responded. I had the crescent openings and wasn't aware that people had observed PM's having problems entering the crescent opening on the Quad Pod. We...

Here's a picture of our gourds and quadpods. Thanks for your comments!

I am in my 3rd year (or is it 4th) of trying to attract purple martins. I have had visitors (had a pair two weeks ago) but they don't stay. After they came and left, I purchased two more gourds (the SK super combo) with crescent holes, to go with two gourds I already had, also with crescent holes. I...

This will be my third or fourth year of trying to attract PM's. We currently have an 8 unit Quad Pod system that I lowered and cleaned about a month ago. We also have a couple of SK single gourds and a couple of the double gourd style houses that I have not hung back up yet. We have had a few visito...

Thanks for some much appreciated input. I checked out a number of gourds that were suggested and wound up getting several different kinds. I got a Super Gourd, 2 Naturline Gourds, one with the oval SREH and one round, and I also got 2 SK double gourds. I'll let you know, down the road, if I have any...

John, Thank you so much for your help. I will check out the Troyers for now, since I want to get something up pretty fast, then look at natural gourds, later. I will see if we can hook them on the pole with the Quad Pods. It is in an open field about 180 feet from the back of our house, and about 60...

My PM visitors were back for a visit late this afternoon, around 6:30, and both sat up on our roof and just looked around, swirled around in the air a few times and left again after about an hour. I want to purchase a few gourds to put up, to see if it will help encourage them to stay and start a co...

Hi, This is the first internet forum I have responded to, and I am having trouble getting a message to go through. I posted a topic on Monday and submitted it, but didn't get any responses and can't seem to retrieve my message to repost either, so I thought if I responded to someone else's posting, ...