Purple Martin Forum

Hi

No, neither bird is a threat to the Martins. The biggest threat to a coloney are Starlings and House Sparrows.

Thank you Lewis for your response and clarification. I understand the need to elevate the porch entrance and I did that very thing on my coloney house when I made my sre entrances for it almost 20yr ago. I elevated the gourd porches to the bottom of the sre soon after I had the first rat broke, in b...

Thanks for the responses. As I said, I've seen plenty of straight-on photos. I did see a video of a brown box house that rats easily entered the sre. A very thick wood-arch piece, which looked to be at least ½" thick, was affixed to the entrance and the rats could no longer enter. Even with the...

Starling trouble with THGs and SGs. No problem with these loathsome flying rats until I installed tunnel entrances with conley sreh(s). I also installed conley sre(s) to house apartments, but the starlings made confetti out of those cheap things. Returned those to crescents and starlings quit trying...

[quote="ck40711"]I have an S&K Tri Pole installed already, but it is attached to a large fence corner post. . . so I have never dealt with putting a pole in the ground. . . until now. I am looking to install a second S&K Tri Pole. I have a ground sleeve, and the directions basicall...

Thanks Kenny. Had not considered the 'brake' part of the winch in use now. May weld-on a big bolt or nut and then use my reversible drill to operate the existing winch. btw: have a lone resident so far. I've been seeing 5 birds for a few days but the other 4 must be from nearby colonies. The residen...

I'm looking for suggestions on an electric winch. Cranking my brake winch is getting tedious. User information would be appreciated. Thanks

Mr. Moser and Mr. Meyer. Your average arrival dates are normally in March. Average arrival date here at my colony is NOW. Huge difference in circumstance?

At 3AM it was 67dg here. One hour later it was 37dg and it's 26dg here in Round Rock at 10AM. Was looking forward to seeing my colony return.....not so much now.

Normal behavior. Resident Martins will scan the sky to invite other Martins to stop by and take a look/maybe take-up residence. Birds that stop/look/leave may just be heading to their own colony.

I use Aspen bedding. It contains no aromatic oils and the birds accept it. Some use just it while others haul in their own nest material and build on the Aspen. The major pet stores carry it.

Went to a Pet Smart to get some Aspen bedding. While at those kind of strores, I always check what they sell for PM housing. Asked middle-aged man that was managing the store on Sunday, if they did or did not carry PM housing. This store did not. The man volunteered that he bought his at Tractor Sup...

I've used Aspen shavings for years. Petco/PetSmart carries the material. No aromatic oils in Aspen and my residents tolerate the product. Aromatic oils irritate the baby-birds' lungs, and could make them more susceptible to respiratory problems later in life. Usually build their nest on top of the s...

I bought a pair of $10 speakers at GoodWill. Covered them in plastic and set them on my roof, pointing straight-up. Ran the wires to my AM-FM receiver/amplifier. Used in a personal CD player set on Repeat and plugged it into my amplifier. Used a plug-in multi-timer to control the power to the amp. T...

I'd be playing the DawnSong straight-up in the air, one-hour before sunrise and a few after, then one-hour before sunset. Patience is difficult, but remember it's only Feb 9th......

I decided to build a new house this year to replace my old commercial housing that was pretty well worn out and shot up ****************************************** Understand the 'shot up'! lol Very nice work on the house! Does it raise/lower? Ventilation is getting natural air movement though the st...

Use insulated electrical house wire scraps....#12. It will last a very-long time and hold any weight the gourd can be. When running it through the gourd, it should go through a plastic sleeve so rainwater won't drip into the nest area. Caulk openings.

I had the same experience as Louise. About 10yrs ago I had my roof replaced. My colony house is less than 20' from the roof. The birds seemed to enjoy supervising the work/all the commotiion.

I've always used/recommended a product like armor-all or similar. It is made specifically for the problems with plastics. It preserves and has a UV block. My plastic gourds are many/many years old and look like the just arrived. Just my thought....

The first resident returned hat High-Noon today. Great to hear/see PMs flying around here once again.