Purple Martin Forum

Any Martin enthusiast in the area of Emporia Ks there is a roost of several thousand Martins in the Walmart parking lot off of I-35 and Industrial blvd. Come check it out!!

Thanks Don!

Anybody know of the Wichita Ks Martin roost this year?

Colony in KS for 20 yrs... agreed with the winds.. stay with your plan for the Gemini ( getting ready to order my 2nd one), and consider switching to Troyer Verticals and Horizontals, much better Gourd than the S&K ones.. been there done that with them..I have 20 Bo 11's out of 142 gourds..had t...

Tim Mangan in Pittsburgh Ks is a licensed bander, but I don't know if he would be interested in driving all the way to Colby to band your birds..he checks in here time to time so you might ask....good luck.

Have over 60 birds here now...been feeding scrambled eggs last few days..got them trained to eat off a large board now, so no more flipping..

Congrats Deb! My first was a female also (3/3/17)..she was here for 2 and a half weeks before a male finally showed.. Have around 10 here now..have a great season!

Just saw my first one in KS this morning...had 8 pair last year

Tony, There is nothing quite like seeing that first Martin flying around after a long winter of bare trees and brown grass. The first Purple Martins seem so out of place at first. But soon afterward spring blossoms completely and the whole gang starts to show up again and fill the houses. Is there ...

MichaelH wrote:Good deal congrats hope you have a great season, putting my housing up in the morning my first birds showed up on the 16th march but you never know
Mick

Thanks Michael!!

Congrats on the arrival!

Lots of excitement on this thread...

I have a tendency to agree with Robert on the barn houses..My neighbor put 3 of those houses up and the very first year they were bent severely by high winds..I personally wouldn't add any more weight to them at all.. I would save your pennies and invest in a starter rack of some sort with gourds..

Robert you have a nice setup! I've had a super colony for the several years now and yes it's alot of work. I'm 62 and retired now, so hoping to keep a better eye on my colony. I'm still old school as I am 80% round hole.. I don't have the starling pressure that most have, usually before the Martin's...

Just saw my first of the season..a female entered a Troyer Horizontal for the evening!! A few days earlier than last year!! Cool beans baby!!

Try adding a spring to it...something hits it, it bounces back.

After watching video from Kathy Freeze post on her owl attacks, I've come to the conclusion that if an owl knows there is food present in a gourd or house, it will go to any extreme to get to it for a meal, no matter the guard..but the wire cages would be the best choice over anything..but on her vi...

Wow, 25 pairs is great for where your located! Adding new housing to an existing colony will not deter your martins at all..as Dorn said, you may very well pick up some other martins from a nearby colony if available..

I would personally pull up stakes and hope they find another place to go...I wouldn't want to subject them to having to battle starlings for their home, they would lose the fight at every turn..if there were maybe a nearby colony in the area they could migrate to, that would be beneficial..so sorry ...

Sorry I'm late seeing this Sharon!! It looks great on that pole! With all your hard work, I'm sure you will reap the benifits of getting martins this year, I'm sure of it!! Kinda wish I would have kept my multi-purpose pole with my trios!! Good luck!!!