Purple Martin Forum

Thank you, I appreciate you responding. We talked to a lawyer, he was not able to help. I did call PMCA and spoke to a very nice person, not a Joe, but she didn’t offer information. I will call back and as for Joe. I contacted both the Federal and State of DE Fish and Wildlife. The State got back wi...

We use netting bunched up both above and below the predator guard. For years we only used it above the guard. One year we lost birds, so we started to do both top and bottom of guards. Every year the netting on our poles catches snakes, mostly rat snakes. My husband then takes them to a swamp far fr...

We live beside our development’s water retention pond. When we moved here 10 years ago, we asked for permission to raise two PM racks, each rack has 12 gourds. They told us to place them outside our fence beside the pond. We did and have maintained that side of the pond since then. Our state conserv...

I had a Tree Swallows problem years ago when I was starting a PM colony. At that time, I learned to prevent the problem from the start. Many on the forum helped me .TS are relentless (so are Bluebirds) when they decide on a place to nest on a PM rack. Here is what I learned to do. I keep gourds clos...

Thank you, Linda. This request was actually for a neighbor. My husband managed to get it working. The repair required a ladder and a rope. The stack of grourds was stuck. My husband and another threw a rope over the gourd carriage which was on the top of the pole and tugged it loose. Beware, the gou...

The pulley system is stuck. Help. Martins arrived.

The pulley stem is stuck. Help. Martins arrived.

I am an experienced landlord. A few years ago we discovered missing eggs from a gourd. We have always used a large baffle/predator guard with deer netting on the top. Following that year’s loss, we added netting to the bottom. The poles are set in a clear place. We check gourds weekly and today we h...

Better late with my reply than never..no snakes this year. In addition to all the other protections that I mentioned, we sprayed the area around the pole with Serpent Guard. We had two racks of 12 gourds with 100 % occupancy. Many of the birds have already left. It was a very good year. Most of our ...

A couple years ago I had a black snake problem. We had a baffle from Troyers and snake netting above it. After the snake invaded our gourds, we placed the netting abundantly on top of the baffle AND abundantly under the baffle. Last year there was no problem. We had Martins for some time at two loca...

I live in Delaware and probably have all cavities on two racks occupied. I have 24 gourds. I have done 2 nest checks and have 1 egg. This is behind for me and a neighbor in the next development who also has 2 full racks. Has anyone else noticed this in our area?

Thank you all for your responses. I have two racks, totaling 24 gourds. So far with no subs appearing, at least I think not, I have around 18 pairs. I am never certain until I do a nest check, which will be soon. I am a very happy landlord!

I had Martins in a previous location for years and never had a problem with snakes. This new location is another matter. I had water at both locations. Last year we had a real problem with black snakes. We had the guards and netting on our setup. We check the gourds every 5 - 7 days and record activ...

Every year it seems as though the Martins go North and West before they come east to the coast, specifically Delaware. Has anyone else observed the same thing and does anyone have an explanation?

My experience is that if TS are sharing the PM poles that the have already set their sights on the nesting box. I have had all three birds for sometime and know the difficulties of TS and BB possession of PM gourds and this is how it works for me. My TS have not built their nest yet, also, but they ...

At my previous home I had a real problem with TS. I eventually had to lower the gourds and wrap them in a drop cloth. It was only then that the TS took to the nearby shepherd’s hook with a gourd. When I saw them defending their new location, I unwrapped the gourds and raised them again. In our prese...

Duke, WD 40 and tightening worked. Thank you.

Duke, Thank you. Appreciate your advise! Will try. Judy

I have a question about the DL 350 Brake Winch, too. We have two with cables on two poles. They both lift grounds as normal but when you lower, the handle has trouble engaging and you can’t lower the grounds. The handle just hangs loosely. If you push the center in you can get it to work with much e...

Thank you, SpiderMan, will look for netting. We just may have that. The snakes head got caught in the netting. With birds, you are always learning. My new location (3 years) has brought lots of challenges! As I said before, I have 6 years experience at my previous location. We were on the water, wit...