Purple Martin Forum

I keep decoys on the upper perch on my Martin house to actract the Hawks and try to to save the Martins. Do you think that this will help. I have had my decoys knocked over several times and I know it was not by the wind.

Is it too late to get Matins? I just helped a neighbor up the street from me move his gourd rack which was surrounded by two big trees. We moved it so that it would be about 50 ft from the trees. So just wondering if "scouts" are still looking for homes? Next question - when do we start f...

I have bird feeders all around my place with all kinds of birds feeding all of the time. Will this chase away Martins? This is my fifth year and only one pair of Martins. I have in place Martins decoys and I played the Dawn song and daytime chatter CDs Guess what I got a pair of Martins today I hop...

I have bird feeders all around my place with all kinds of birds feeding all of the time. Will this chase away Martins? This is my fifth year and only one pair of Martins. I have in place Martins decoys and I played the Dawn song and daytime chatter CDs

Andy, One other thing to think about. It is really easy to bury a low voltage lighting cable under the sod, after a rain has made the ground soft. All you need to do is put a slit in the sod, with a staight bladed spade, and shove the cable in with a piece of lath. Run this to your nearest power so...

Can someone post pictures showing how they hooked the charger wire to the metal pole.

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 would not recommend that, and I never tried that. Some problems could occur if a child falls onto it, or even an adult gets against it. The CURRENT could be extremely high (maybe 1000 times the amount that an electric fence charger puts out), and could KILL. Also, it may not work, a battery requi...

Last year I had my first pair of Martins with five babies and I think a snake got them. Instead of using an electric fence charger, can I use just a 12 V battery by running two wires that is insulated from the pole so that when a snake crosses the wires it closes the circuit.

Dale
Godley Texas

I have a question. Last year after four years of trying I had my first nesting pair of Martins with five fledging. We also had four or five other Martins flying a round but were not nesting. One afternoon I went out to check on them. They were all gone. I don't know what could have happen. They were...

This is my 4th year and I just got my first nesting pair. I have five eggs.

Hey Rocky Top, Several on the forum recommend against pulling nests out (sparrow "rage") plus they are still around and just start rebuilding again. Instead, let them build the nest and when it is pretty well established, then set your trap. Reason, once they are 'committed' to the nest b...

I put my martin house up three years ago. Last weekend the first martins have been looking at my house. For the last three years, I have been trying to keep the sparrows away by removing their nests. My question is should I leave the sparrows alone while the martins are present?

What time of the day do you stop the dawn song and start the day time chatter CD.

Where should I place my speaker? On the very top of my PM pole running speaker wires from it to my house? Ten to twenty ft from the PM house?
Help!

Dale

I put my house up to late last year and did not see a single martin. Do you thank that decoys and CD's Work?

Dale

Dale I use white bread and white millet sometimes but the bread seems to work better for me. That trap looks kinda hard to build , wouldn't the Brad Biddle sparrow trap or the Blaine's repeating trap be easier and you can get easy directions to build those. Bruntdog is the master of these videos: h...

I am trying to make a teeter totter sparrow bate trap like one on you-tube. What kind of bate would be best to used? Just plain bird seed.

Dale

Should I just the calcium in a pan next to there house?

Dale

I save egg shells year round to help the female martins in their calcium intact to ensure strong eggs. Be sure to clean the egg shells, then microwave for two minutes. I crush the shell after microwaving and save them in a container in the freezer. When the martin arrive in the spring I start offer...