Purple Martin Forum

I don't believe in crippling sparrow or starlings. I also disagree that handling the pest problem is sensitive at schools. Haul your lazy a** to the site between 4 AM and 8 AM and you will find very few observers for any technique you use. For the people who release the pests at a "nice place i...

Picture quality is excellent. Battery life sucks, about 2.5 hours in stand-by less when recording. Sound recording is not high quality unless you make more holes in the case. That may cause problems in water-proofing.

There is a easy way to get stiff wire for traps. Almost any flexible wire will "work-harden" if stretched. I have done this with copper, iron, and aluminum wire. You wrap one end of your flexible wire around an immovable object and the other end on something that can serve as a holder (e.g...

If you "google" "Eugene Morton purple martins" you will find many articles written by Dr. Morton concerning purple martins. If you read all of the article quoted here you will find it is actually an abstract of an article published in the Condor . One doesn't usually list referen...

I not only quit putting rails on porches but also quit putting porches on houses many years ago. When the hawk alarm sounds they are already inside and scramble to the back. They don't need to fight their way back through the hole.

I had all of my tree swallows wiped out a few years ago. Turns out the predator was a flying squirrel. The head was always gone and frequently there was some gnawing at the back muscles.

One conduit should be OK however just lay the two lines together (tie occasionally with string if necessary). This should show if the camera cable has sufficient shielding.

Starlings and sparrows will nest in my boxes but not for very long. In 26 years I have perhaps 4 or 5 of each here. Some I trap or shoot before they start nest building the others were trapped after they snuck in. I drive the "T" posts in about 18 inches. I put the "wide plate" i...

I wouldn't try to "educate" them if I were you. I have over 100 nesting pairs and never have a box that high. Most of mine are about four feet high. It is possible that they know what they are doing.

I have at least one pair that visit the suet everyday but I suspect that there are more than one pair because of the frequency of the visits. The feeder is on the deck about six feet from the living room window.I took the pictures in December 2010 (northern MN). They have gotten used to movement ins...

I have eagles show up everyday during the nesting season. Frequently they use the tree shown to eat their catch of the day. This roost is almost directly above the martin colony. The martins ignore the eagle even when it cruises along the lake shore and flies just above the colony. When the great bl...

It is a female red-wing blackbird.

Yup, Pine Siskin. We also have them year round.

From northern MN

There is no silver band on the bird. The bird obviously is decelerating. Look where the red band is on the leg. The federal band if present would be equally loose fitting and a loose fitting band will be against the feet as is demonstrated by the red band.

I believe the Canadians still use bands issued by the US FWL banding laboratory. That bird could have received a legal band. The MN color bands I use are red and that band looks legit. How could it legally get a color band and no federal band? Occasionally they do get loose while you are preparing t...

There should have been a federal band on the other leg. If this was banded by a licensed bander the bander made a mistake. He/she should not have released that bird until the federal band was on. Bander's rule of thumb..always put the federal band on first.

I continue to wonder why people feel the need for a sloped roof on martin houses. As the picture shows a flat top is perfectly acceptable to the martins and it saves on weight, cost of materials, and ease of construction.

Nice toy & nice design. I used 2" styrofoam blocks for several years but now I use pieces of carpet and white pine needles.You will find that your cup is modified by the martins fairly quickly. It didn't take long for their sharp claws to wear a fairly symmetrical cup all the way to the flo...

I get a nesting pair almost every year. I have quite a few boxes for tree swallows with 1.5 inch holes. That is two small for a the flycatcher but some of the older boxes have had the hole enlarged by wood peckers and tree rats. I have put up new houses with 2 inch holes specifically for the crested...