Purple Martin Forum

Well been watching; the parent birds haven't returned so I am (hoping) its because they found their baby or babies. I have been getting so many lookers now though. They seem very excited to the point of going in the gourds. I have at least 25 to 30 birds daily at one time throughout the day. A lot w...

No I'm sure they fledged. Two took off flying higher as they flew going over the trees. The third one flew in opposite direction whereby I lost sight of him. I thought the same and actually ran after them thinking they will come to the ground but they never did. Hi Joel, Maybe they did not fledge bu...

Hi everyone, As I a kinda new I have a worrisome question to ask. This was my first year with a nesting pair. While watching today the three young fledged the nest within a minute or so from each other. Only thing is the parents were not around. When the last one took off there were a few other mart...

Such a surprise today when I went to my local bank. Four fledged young martins were on the telephone wires waiting to be fed by their parents. Just sat and watched. All I could think was "WOW" already fledgling. The babies in my gourds are only hitting two weeks old. Then it came to me my ...

Joel-I recently switched fromround to crescents..I had one with a mud wall so high and close to the entry that I had to leave it round...next year I will have the SERH on them before nestbuilding and avoid that situation..,cheers Winger - what I did for the pair having trouble entering was I left t...

All 24 of our gourds are Bo 9's with the crescent entrances and porches. The martins have no problem entering and exiting them. I didn't make any modifications to the entrances. If you have the porches installed correctly, so that the platform is almost level with the bottom of the entrance, your m...

Wow nice set-up. Something for me to think about.

Unfortunately for the time being my finances will not allow it this martin season. But I can soundly say it will be in place for next season. The gourd photo I posted will be the one replacing mostly, if not all. It's just the continuous struggling of the birds to enter their nest and can't. Flying ...

Joel21, Welcome to the forum. There are many experienced hosts who can provide advice on a wide range of topics. I have BO9's and BO11+ gourds too. We purchased the untimate tunnels with cresent entranceds and wing entrapment guards built on the inside, with a porch. They are all full this year. Th...

Hello everyone, I'm not new to martins but I am new to gourds. I've put some up for the first time this year and have one nesting pair with eggs. I have the Bo 9's and have the round entrances blocked whereby they are using the crescent entrance. I've noticed on many occasions the pair have trouble ...

Thanks for the reply John. What your saying about hard winds really hit home with me. Living in the deep south as I do, with the threat of hurricanes and strong summer storms, I think I will go the route of securing them as to not swing. Again thanks for the reply. Hopefully by the time they leave ...

Thanks for the reply John. What your saying about hard winds really hit home with me. Living in the deep south as I do, with the threat of hurricanes and strong summer storms, I think I will go the route of securing them as to not swing.

Again thanks for the reply.

Hello everyone, Just joined the site but not new to martins. I've had wooded and aluminum houses as a kid but got out of it when I left home upon graduation. Now here I am 30+ years later and have gotten back into it. I do have a question that I need advice on. Its concerning gourds. As I've never u...