Purple Martin Forum

Thanks to those who inquired. All items have been donated to landlords. May they all have huge success in housing PMSs!

Since this posting I have donated all of the items to a person with a location that has a great chance of success attracting and maintaining PMs....with the exception of the "1 S&S Controller Repeat Trap (new $495) – Needs love/parts missing condition". I am willing to give this to any...

Selling Full Collection of Purple Martin Items ($350 OBO for All): 1 Trendsetter 12 House (New $855) Good working Condition 12 Trendsetter Nesting Trays (New $60) Fair Condition 1 Trendsetter Insert Trap (New $87) Excellent Condition 1 Quick Release Pole Racoon/Snake Guard (New $73) Good working Con...

We are brand new landlords this year. My husband built a brand new PM house with 6 compartments. It is in a great wide open location, no tress around with a huge dugout(pond) right close. We have now dealt with the sparrows (with a sparrow trap) although that is an ongoing issue and the tree swallo...

How many of y'all use decoys? I have 3 houses. Do I put a decoy on all 3? Do I move them around? Martins are visiting regularly but not sleeping in my houses. I use two on my Trendsetter 12. Others have suggested and I agree that it is a good idea to leave them up even after the colony is establish...

Sorry you lost your colony. I would guess you may get SY's still migrating into mid June. They mostly migrate during the day. They normally show up early morning up to just before dark. Toy in PA I think you are right. :idea: Some of my successes in the past were with birds that showed up after the...

Martinfarmer wrote:Wandering PM, if it's no trouble set your timer to run until 8:30 pm. My martins start coming in at 7:30 and turn in around eight

Great suggestion - I will extend it until PM bedtime (8:30 PM)

My colony got wiped out in 2015. Never did figure out what happened. I suspect it was either owls or hawks. I have moved the Trendsetter closer to the house, higher elevation to make easier for PMs to access Trendsetter, great view of the pond and more clearance from large trees. If they were attack...

This was to be a break out year. I had two successful pairs last year. There were 5 nesting pairs this year with two of those pairs have nestlings (6 in one and 4 in the other). They were a delight to watch in the morning and the evening with all of their activity and filling the air with their song...

Chuck, Thanks for the reassuring words. The weather on Friday April 10th was overcast and into the 40's. A new weather pattern came in late Friday afternoon pushing the temperatures in the 60's. Around 5:30 two pair of adults arrived going in and out of the cavities that were used to successfully fl...

Live here in central Virginia and this is the latest we've ever waited for our Martins. Saw a martin land on a box about a week ago and he has left and that's it. All around me is the same. I go to West Point, Virginia frequently and none there either ( about 20 miles SE of me). We've had humming b...

So on March 30th an Adult Male and Female show up. They hang out for two days. On the second day the Male is going in and out of the nesting cavity that was used by my first pair two years ago and it was used by a nesting pair last year - I am assuming it this is the same pair that started my colony...

Don, Thanks for letting me know - very glad to hear that yours are actively producing eggs. My PMs seem like they are a little behind yours - it has been high 60s during the day and 50s at night here. Other great news - another adult pair showed up and built a nest over the weekend. I will do a nest...

Have a Trendsetter 12, got a pair that fledged 3 last year. That was really exciting! This year the male showed up on 4/7 and the female on 4/12 this spring. They have built a nest of twigs with a mud damm. They attracted some other visitors (adults) but they come and go. The pair generally are arou...

Kathy, I see you have a Trendsetter and gourd racks. Which do your PMs prefer? Is the Trendsetter as fully occupied as the gourds? The Trendsetter was put up first year, before the gourds, so my oldest birds started in that house. As such, my first returnees always fill up the house first, then oth...

Kathy,

I see you have a Trendsetter and gourd racks. Which do your PMs prefer? Is the Trendsetter as fully occupied as the gourds?

The purpose of dawn song is to attract other martins to the colony. Late in the season when the SY birds are arriving, any SY pair that establish residence at the existing colony provide the opportunity for the ASY males to mate with the SY female. The SY pair will raise the young, some of which ar...

Oh Chuck! That is AWESOME! What a wonderful, personal expression of love and admiration! Please DO encourage your daughter to pursue her art talent! (Wish I had followed my heart and done art instead of nursing)... Hope you are smiling a big grin this fathers day! 8) Mary - God works in mysterious ...

I may have misunderstood your question, correct me if I am confused. Dawn song usualy begins in earnest when the female begins laying eggs.Prior that, the ASY male is more interested in breeding his mate. Once the egg laying begins, he begins looking for other opportunities to breed with SY females...

So once the Adult Male and female started building their nest there seems to be less vocalization from him and the first year males (not paired yet) have quieted down too. Is this normal?

I was hoping that he and the other males would continue to dawn song to attact other potential PMs to the site?