Purple Martin Forum

Yesterday I removed 4 dead birds and this evening I witnessed 14 come in right at dusk. I was about 50 feet from my house / gourds trying to keep an eye for a coopers hawk that I'd seen earlier. Had 5 come in and land on the roof of the house instead of darting quickly into a hole. I just knew the r...

Just lowered my rack and found 2 males and 2 females dead. All 4 were in the most south facing gourd. I had already placed a healthy bed of pine straw before they got here but it wasn't enough. They had no chance with this crazy weather here in Louisiana this year. Had 9 pair last year so hopefully ...

I have a wood duck box in the water about 150 feet from my martin housing. Late yesterday I noticed a barn owl peering out the hole. Is there harm in allowing him to stay or should I "encourage" him to move elsewhere? I've not had any owl predation in the 5 year history of this colony.

Thanks guys. I did reference the Dan Drew protocol when I realized I may have trouble. I know hanging a BB box on a tree isn't ideal for the bluebirds but it would be ideal for the martins if they vacate the house! I was unable to observe any activity today but did find nesting material in the BB bo...

I'm trying to establish a new colony since moving to Natchitoches, LA. I raised a brand new trio MK12 with expanded compartments and hung 2 gourds underneath. Within minutes I noticed a bluebird sitting on the house. I'm unable to adequately monitor the site yet and soon saw evidence of nest buildin...

A few weeks ago I saw a sparrow follow my male BB into his box. The female was going nuts and I knew what was happening. I ran out to box and placed a plastic bag over the hole and yes, both birds flew in. I carefully let the BB escape. You know the rest of the story. One .22 round saved! The sparro...

I'm restoring a skipped generation here. My father never hosted martins but his father did. I remember as a kid watching them on Sunday afternoons right off his back porch. One day my brother and I took his water hose and were in the process of spraying them good when he fortunately stopped us. That...

During a nest check last week I discovered a new egg in my 9th cavity for the year. This effectively tripled my pairs from last year! Later that same afternoon I watched as a martin entered that hole. I was watching him with my binoculars trying to get a good look at the new parent. Then to my shock...