Purple Martin Forum

Tried to post some pics but they wouldn't take

Ed, I used the paper napkins to see if the water came up through the holes. I use pine straw for nest material, but even that gets matted down as the season progresses and can get wet. Joe: My name is ross blanchard - I made the origanal posting about this subject over on the Purple Martin.org Face...

My question is, do you think putting a piece of traction tape over the drainage hole and then re-drilling the hole through the traction tape would have the same effect? Any other thoughts as to what might work? Tim Tim - If you by traction tape you mean the anti-skid tape with sand on it, then I th...

Matt F. the problem isn't centifugal force. It is water surface tension on a slick globe surface. It sticks like glue. Even dew ends up at the bottom of the globe. Uneven drain holes don't have to use the wick effect - water just flows in.

I concur. The area between the liner is a collection are for all kinds of varmits. Bats & roaches while in storage. Small bees use them as hives while they are occupied. You can add spray foam but you must pay close attention to your rack arms(extra weight) if you have added tunnels and insulati...

Scott is correct. All the venting in the world will not fix your water problem - A 3/8 rod or bolt w/lots of Lexal around opening keeps it from leaking. Also, on real stormy day wind can force water under the collar and it needs to be sealed. There needs to be a way to isolate the hanging rod or wir...

I haven't seen any consistent differences of results with gourd styles either, and we even set up our gourds for comparisons that way for a number of years. We started with Carrols (8", round hole), have compared them to crescent SREH Naturelines, crescent porched SREH Big Bos, same thing in a...

John, I use longer tunnels on all of my gourds, and I never have a problem with fallouts. Even when my gourds were on wires, I never had a fallout problem, and I never did hang my gourds swinging from front to back since I started to use tunnels about 8 years ago. Now all of my gourds are stationar...

Fantastic input - It has really helped me get my mind around this problem. I consider myself to be a knowledgeable backyard birder. I have 4 martin racks that contain a total of 24 plastic gourds. For 28 yrs I dabbled with wooden houses and Naturral gourds. 8 yrs ago I converted everything to large ...

AGAINST LOW ENTRY HOLES. I think it is a real problem when the nest level is equal to or above the entry hole. I see some of the new gourd & house designs make this likely to happen.If you have a female that is a real builder then it is going to happen. 2wk old Martins in this environment are ea...

I agree with Ron - The sparrow must die. It will persist & any eggs or babies are done for!

Beautiful pics. These are like some of your older pics that really got me interested. Are you in your front end loader with camouflage?

So very beautiful. Our martins at Equality, Al aren't building yet but they appear to be getting in the mood. Would you share the type camera that produced those wonderful photos? Bill I am using a Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG APOMacro HSM II - Telephoto Zoom Lenses It should work on any good SLR came...

Some Closeup pics ASY male guarding his mate at one of the sanitary nest piles. http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj142/blanchar40/Purple%20Martins/6apr1016.jpg Full Load http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj142/blanchar40/Purple%20Martins/4apr1019.jpg Keeping it simple cause I'm beatiful http://i2...

Over the years I have used all the noise makers, laser lights, whistles, horns & I patrol my colony constantly when there is any kind of Martin activity. I have hinged 2 2 foot 2X4's together to make a clapper. This makes a sound just like a rifle shot. If you have a lurking hawk it helps to ope...

I mounted 4 lites on a 10' 4x4 in the middle of a 4 rack colony. My experience has been similar to Emils's. I have had a resident pair of RedTails nesting in the area for years and they only become a problem during fledging time. However, the female has decided to try and rip the cap of off each one...

For the last 3 yrs I have kept an empty gourd available for jumpers. When I can't determine what nest the jumper is from, I put the jumper in the gourd and attach it on the pole under the gourds where I think it came from. An adult, usually a male will start to feed it. I assumed it was the parents ...

I have 4 whistle gourds & 8 natureline gourds. 100% occupancy the last 2 yrs. The whistle gourds are always the last ones selected. However, they have had a 100% fledge rate and the environment around these gourds seems stable and not as hectic as the environment around the Naturline gourds. I p...

Your observations on egg shells versus crushed oyster shells. This year I tested both by placing 2 pans elevated and putting oyster shells in one and egg shells in the other. Also, placed a sampling of each on the ground in different locations. Females proffered the elevated egg shells by a very wid...

Your postings and pictures have changed my perception of how an albino is accepted in a martin colony. Great job. The learning process never stops with these wonderful creatures.