Purple Martin Forum

I always wonder how they make their housing selection. I have a T14, a THG rack, and a TVG rack. They invariably fill the THG rack first, the TVG rack second, and there are always substantial vacancies in the T-14. I always wonder if it is the location, the particular type of owl guards I have on th...

That's a tough call. You have some things working for you, and some working against you. Removing the large pine on the right, and the tree in the forefront on the left would enhance your chances, but removing trees is a lot of work and there are no guarantees. Placing the pole in the center of your...

Hi Doug; It is a strange year. Even my garden seems to be paying the price. Plants are beautiful, but they are not bearing like they should. I just picked my first zuchhini yesterday, and usually I have bushels of them by now. I have been blaming it on the smoke from the wild fires, I think it is bl...

Did a nest check today and found one gourd with 5 babies missing from the last check, at which time there were 6 babies in that gourd. This time around there was 1 fat healthy baby. No dead babies, and no signs of predation. The most lost out of any other gourds was 1 or 2.

Any Ideas?

Hanover Bill.

Barb07; Unfortunately there is no easy solution to the HOSP problem. They are the bane of the Purple Martin Landlord. Outside of shooting or trapping there is very little you can do to discourage them. Your idea of blocking their particular gourd may work, but one always has to be aware of the "...

CTMartins;

Patience, patience, patience. Those are the best three words of advice I can give you. Just keep at it, and it will pay off. Took me 5 years to get a nesting pair, and there are a lot more out there who took longer than that.
Best of Luck;
Hanover Biil.

I have been trying to trap a clever HOSP for 3 or 4 days now using the Haskel trap which I have found to be very effective on both HOSP's and Starlings. I finally got him today, but sadly that's not the end of the story., and I hate to admit this, but he got away from me while I was transferring him...

Thanks for all of the encouragement guys. I will keep at it. How do they say it, patience is a virtue.

Hanover Bill.

Tom; Thanks for the advice, I will keep at it. I imagine the more you use it the easier it will get.

Bill.

I am having difficulty with these smaller Starlings breaching all of my entrances. I successfully trapped one only to have several more show up. I have never had a Starling problem before. I think I am dealing with a double edged sword. I am supplemental feeding due to the lousy weather, and the scr...

I am trying to trap a pesky Starling using the Haskel Trap in a Troyer Horizontal Gourd. I remember having trouble placing the wire previously. I find it very difficult to place the wire using one hand inside and one hand outside the gourd. Try as I may I can't find the hole to insert the wire by ju...

As always, thanks for the great advice to all of the respondents. I will incorporate some of those ideas to deal with my Starling issue.

Hanover Bill.

As my SREH entrance holes are doing little to discourage these new smaller, more streamlined Starlings from entering my housing I am wondering about the consequences of tearing out their nest and destroying the eggs. Do they possess the same revenge gene that male HOSP do when their nests are destro...

With this seemingly smaller version Starling that is showing up, is there really an effective SREH available today. I have watched a smaller version Starling enter and exit every opening I have to offer with relative ease. That includes Crescent, Conley II's, Excluders, Excluder II's, etc., etc. Not...

Hi Toy;

Nice to see you posting. Yes the weather is a major problem. What ever happened to the springs we had when we were younger. I remember beautiful Aprils, and even nice weather in March. Seems like those are gone.

Hanover Bill.

Seems like I am saying the same thing every spring, "ready to hit the panic button". I had one ASY male show up on Apr. 1st.and that's about it. He has made a fleeting one or two visits since then, but no additional birds. Are they extremely slow getting north this year or what? I am readi...

Will a Crow take a live fledge if given the opportunity?

Fledging is almost complete at my site and it has been a successful season aside from some losses due to inclement weather in early May. Over the years I have lost the occasional Martin to a hawk attack, but never anything more than one at a time. That all changed last night. On my morning walk arou...

RandyM; Good idea stocking up on what nature provides for supplemental feeding. A couple of years ago when the 17 yr. Cicadas emerged here I filled several coffee cans with them, and froze them. They sure came in handy the following spring, the Martins loved them. Keep up the good work. Hanover Bill.

Rob; I guess I have a unique process for determining their air worthiness. I get a pretty good feel for it after feeding them for a day or two. Next up is a flight test. I have a large field, about 3 acres, which drops off from my site location. It is wide open all the way to a tree line, and ideal ...