Purple Martin Forum

Well, while we're on the subject, I also have a bunch of S&K Bo-11 gourds. Is there any kind of trap that works with those?

Thanks everyone for the info and pictures. I've been frustrated with not being able to trap in these new horizontal gourds. This will be a big help.

That's what I was looking for. Do you know if PMCA sells them? I didn't seem them after a quick check of the PMCA marketplace.

One more question. Do they make a "plug" for the Troyer entrances? It looks like that piece from the trap that slides down over the entrance would make a great plug when you just need to temporarily plug one up. Do they sell anything like that separately that you know of?

Thank you! That's just what I needed. A picture AND an explanation! I'll get one ordered.

Does anyone have any pictures of how the Troyer tunnel trap works? I'd even settle for a good explanation if there are no pictures. I'm having trouble understanding how it would work with my Troyer horizontal. All I see at the marketplace is a plastic plate and a trip wire. Does the plastic plate fi...

For those of you that live in the North Alabama area, WAFF 48 in Huntsville will be running a story this afternoon about the huge Purple Martin site in Rainsville, AL. My sister is an anchor for WAFF and I gave them a tip about this after I returned from Martinfest last year. They have apparently go...

Thanks for that info! I was at a friend's tonight looking at his Troyers and noticed the PVC vent pipes. I plan to have an S&S trap up by next season. I think I'll get a few to try out. I didn't realize I could put an excluder plate over the conley. I'll look into that. Thanks again.

I'm thinking about trying some Troyer horizontal gourds. I noticed the PMCA shop sells them with either a round or Conley entrance. I only have experience with crescent. However, I thought I'd read that the Excluder II seem to be having good results. Does anyone make a Troyer with an Excluder or cre...

I did a nest check today. My 4 babies should be 19 days old. One was dead and it looked like the parents tried to get it out but only made it to the tunnel. It had been dead several days, probably died right after my last nest check. I put sevin in there right after they hatched so I didn't see anyt...

We have had some very cool nights this "spring". I lost a nest box of Carolina Chickadees to the cold a couple of weeks ago. Now, I think that my single pair of Martins may have had a nest failure due to the cool weather. They have 6 eggs that should have hatched on the 21st or 22nd. So fa...

Hello...tcg I have had only one pair for the past three years this would be the forth year but either my martin is two weeks late or something happened to him. :-( That's part of the problem with only having a single pair. A friend of mine in Decatur had 8 pairs last year, so he was pretty sure at ...

trees to below bird house height. But I still have fruit trees within 50' of the house, which are somewhat higher than the house but don't "tower" over it," that I'm not willing to cut back. I'm in the same predicament. I have a fairly large river birch that provides shade for my hou...

Last year I had my first pair. I was really looking forward to 2013 to see if my colony would grow. Apparently, it did not. I seem to have a single pair once again. They have returned to the same gourd and have built a very large nest, quite a bit larger than last year's. They have brought in green ...

Last year I secured the snake netting around our poles with surveyor string and cable ties, but it was a pain every time I had to take them off, as I had to tie/untie cut/replace the string and cable ties. I use a velcro strap that I picked up at Harbor Freight for a couple of dollars. It's about 2...

If you are talking about the DL 350A brake winch it has a loud and quite hearty clicking sound when you raise your gourd rack or house, but no click when you are lowering it. But it is a good sturdy and safe winch i don't know that i would want to trust any other as much. Yep, that's the one I have...

John Miller wrote:Maybe you have the type of winch where you cannot disengage the brake...

I can't find any lever to disengage the clicker. I'm quite happy with the winch except for the noise it makes. They may all be like that though. I just don't have a lot of experience with other brake winches.

When I'm trapping sparrows before the season starts, I tend to raise and lower my housing early in the morning to insert or remove traps. I'm sure my neighbors are disturbed by my winch's clicking, which is pretty loud, especially if you're trying to sleep. Is there such thing as a "quiet"...

John Miller wrote:TCG...but you won't look as good at Mardi Gras this year.

Well, there IS that!

During the nesting season .. feathers and long thin dried out weeds. By the way, if you don't have white feathers just lying around, you can go to Hobby Lobby and buy a white feather boa for nearly nothing. My wife picked one up for me a while back and I just occasionally pluck a few feathers off a...