Purple Martin Forum

Anthony, if you will check the history of Lake Texoma, you will find that the hydo-electric dam was built using a large amount ot German POW labor. That lake was, at one time, the largest man made impoundment in the US. There are plenty of Purple Martins in that area. A beautiful part of Texas.

Welcome from Burgaw, NC. We're about to fill up (2 twelve compartment Lonestar houses) I think that when the subbies show up that we should be full. Good luck with your additions. That was good advice not to remove anything until the off-season.

Chickadee is absolutely right. I feed year round and my big feeder complex is only 30 ft. from one of the houses. A side benefit that I've observed is the extra traffic gives the Coopers Hawk more choices to make and takes some of the pressure off the Martins. Because there are frequently large numb...

With the birds being about 3 weeks later than normal, I was pleased to see 2 ASY females emerge from two of the four open cavities at first light this morning. After breakfast, I unplugged the remaining doors. At lunchtime we had about 20 birds in and out of the cages and checking out all the housin...

Emil, I agree with your assessment of our war decisions. I think that the reason that we get into some of the scrapes that we've been in is that the decision makers sit on their butts in D.C. and don't participate in the heavy lifting and risk.

You hit that nail right on the head! When I read the article that specified the "acceptable" kill level for a wind generation site and the number of birds, primarily raptors, that had already been killed, my jaw hit the ground. I think that's HYPOCRITICAL writ large. Thanks for your observ...

Robert, I've been using four of the lights for 2 years and have not had an attack. Previously, before I installed them, I would have a barred owl show up and try to scare the birds out, but not since the lights were in place. Of course the barred guys are not anywhere close to being as aggressive as...

Andy, the set up you describe should work fine. Of course battery life will depend on a lot of variables, but I'm sure that you can work around that. As for the location on your kid's play set, that's about the same distance I've always had from my speaker to the first house. I only run mine until t...

If you have or know someone that has a gas powered edger, it makes the perfect tool to cut a small groove that will accept your underground feeder cable. Good luck with your project. If you do install the electric fence charger, invest in a flasher that will alert you if something goes wrong on your...

I would have to side with Emil's position on this topic. Having tried the netting and had it defeated a couple of times, the fence charger is the way to go. The netting is cheaper for sure, but the peace of mind that comes with a well installed fence charger is priceless ( I couldn't resist that) A ...

I've also been using cages for several years. My biggest problem was Cooper hawks, but I also had visits from Barred owls on a frequent basis. While they're not nearly as aggressive as Horned owls, they still presented a problem. Like you, at first I agonized over the effect that the cages would hav...

Emil is on the right track. Those kits work really well and if done correctly, will last a long time. I had one in the ground for over 20 years and it was working when I sold that property.

Emil is on the right track. Those kits work really well and if done correctly, will last a long time. I had one in the ground for over 20 years and it was working when I sold that property.

The 2x4 galvanized wire works well for me. I put 4x4 holes on each side, but they don't need them. They will fly right through the 2x4 holes with a little practice. The first year I had to attach the cages directly to the houses, but it made nest checks very difficult. The next year I attached them ...

This is a great bird to have around if you are plagued with bag worms, especially up high in large trees. They will feast on a nest. They're the only bird that I'm aware of that eats these pests.

I would be careful about poking holes in the egg shells. It's an open invitation to ants, which you really don't want in your nesting areas. I've found that 20-25 minutes in the freezer will prevent hatching.

Msaltzman, like you, I started with an S&K, modified it the 2nd year, added a Lonestar Goliad. The next year, I gave my S&K to my neighbor and added another Lonestar Goliad system. You can look at my numbers and see the progression. Living on the coast we get some pretty strong winds and rai...

Welcome, Joez. Good luck on attracting your first birds. If you are successful, you might want to consider a predator guard on your pole. There are plenty of rat snakes, etc in the J'ville area.

Gobbler, congratulations on your success this year. As a former commercial beekeeper, I would recommend that you consider supporting 2 hives. One hive, believe it or not, is harder to keep viable than two hives, plus you will double your fun. It's a great hobby and a real plus to your local communit...

Malcolm, one thing that you might consider when you put this into operation, is to buy one of the little battery operated devices that clip onto the hot wire and will flash a red light if you lose power or something malfunctions. I think that I paid less than $10.00 for mine It sure gives me peace o...