Purple Martin Forum

I would go with troyers they are the best on the market today you can trap with the gourds vertical and Horizontal Both very good I have referred numerous landlords in New England and nobody has complained. Buy stainless steal arms is possible in case of owl problems they cant bend them and please m...

Had the problem many years ago drilled out the vents that fixed the problem Yes its condensation. The condensation can cause the older chicks to have bird mess on there tails which can cause a problem when fledging. You did the right thing. And the birds will be fine i see pictures of unvented gourd...

I get yearlings up until July 3 these are birds that have failed or lost a mate. I have never seen a day light owl attack ever. I know your location and its not very open Its prime for owls, The barred and Great horned owl. They seem to be more of a problem when chicks are fledging, I had a minor is...

Hi I am landlord in RI, And manage numerous super sites threw out RI and MA. And reach out to many landlords in Southern New England. I have moved many Martin poles to open locations if your yard is not open that gives the coopers hawk the advantage. You must keep the area as open as possible that w...

HI Randy, Yes you are correct, I too have many of the others that gang up on the hawks.

Hello Folks! I have 30 years experience with numerous colony's And we all deal with the fly over Cooper's looking for a fast meal. Well This is what i want you to do there is a smaller cousin of the Martin he is there best protector. Common in northern states. The much smaller Tree Swallow Should a ...

Martins can pick and choose what locations they feel is safe..... its all location with them. But you live in a location that is now saturated with martins there will be house hunting martins in June that is the time your site would be located. The june birds are homeless and forced to move on the o...

All i can tell you is that (southern) New England is saturated with Purple Martins Your window to get Martins in this area of the country is mid May to end of June I get them as late as early July. The time when most adults have returned and are blocking all the prime locations and homes. Yearlings ...

Hi Malachy, My first colony was in northern RI 300 foot elevation very cold. WE had a storm in May in 2005 and that storm decimated the entire population and left us with maybe a six pairs in RI and MA. Probably one of the worst days of my life the dead toll was beyond words. i have learned from exp...

Martin was seen and a picture of him on March 22 over echo lake searching for bugs. So that answers any questions he was a return from my colony. The lake is very close by too.
I only hope he found something to keep him alive yesterday.

Hi Malachiy, Not the first time i have seen returns back this early.... i have seen one few years back on March 19. In Rehoboth MA. So i try to get stuff out as fast as possible in mid march but the weather so harsh its almost impossible to get everything out if you could open few cavity's and hold ...

Hello Everyone! Just like other northern states the Martins are flying into winter like weather Here in Southern New England i am glad i half my homes up for them my sites seem to be a great rest area and over night sanctuary for north bound birds. I have seen many fly in at dusk and then exit in th...

Hi I am few hundred miles due south of you in a area much saturated with hundreds of Martins in Rhode Island have studied Martins for years At one time Even New Hampshire had numerous colony's state wide the most popular for years was the colony in Weir beach area at Funspot. Now abandoned. There ar...

I would drill out the dimples in the back of the troyer gourds for good air flow and wooden houses as well. Other wise when chicks are older there will be condensation and chicks will be wet. I have seen this even here in the Northeast. You can always block holes in cold spring then open the small h...

Not only will attract twice as many Martins its keeps them out of reach of predators and they will be protected from the elements its a win win move. Often people will donate there old trio houses i remove the inner wall add conley hole. I have only two trio houses left many have been out side since...

The same type of event happen here in the northeast in 2021. Hundreds of Martin chicks perished. The horror to go to sites and not one bird heard or seen 2022 warm and dry spring 2023 there numbers are back to normal.. You hate to see this happen but its temporary the birds will make a strong come b...

Hi CTMartins --- Your neighbor here in RI let have a reality check...... First in the last 20 yrs Purple Martins have made a nice recovery in many towns in CT,RI, and out on Cape Cod. Main reason they had homes placed at Golf clubs along the bays and ocean. They seem to favor lower Elevations too lo...

Hi You Can now!!!! I have numerous Troyers gourds. Very important to vent them. In the hot sun they form Condensation. I dont understand why people hang gourds and dont drill out the holes they place them then post in the form my chicks have all jumped out gee i wonder why? Its a large plastic Jug i...

Sorry, wish i could help just keep a eye out for fights. You do need a saw and other tools to change over the gourds. Its a fall project. Ask around and see if a handy person can help you. I did all mine in the fall and before the birds returned. Its rare that this happen but is more common in cresc...

Yes that is correct you must remove all crescent gourds or your colony will never grow do the right thing end the senseless murder of Martins and not there fault human error. Crescent gourd were a pioneer in SREH not alot of study done mass produced over 15 yrs ago no longer used replaced by ConleyI...