Purple Martin Forum

I guess I am being dramatic, but when I compare the past to the present, it makes me wonder if my area of the country could be the "Canary in the coal mine" concerning the martin population. As some have suggested, my martins may not stay around because of predators. I have not seen that t...

Once I had to restart my colony. An SY pair arrived in the middle of May. When it came time for the female to "feather her nest" she made multiple trips up to a limb on a large pine tree to get bits of bark or something. The next year a bonded pair arrived early and went directly to the sa...

My colony was started about 43 years ago. The nesting martins were constantly harassed by gangs of wandering martins. At times, toward the end of the season, there would be up to a hundred martins on the house and the power lines. Due to competition, at the beginning of the season, several martins c...

I think I remember reading that the main problem with heat was that insects get under leaves of trees to escape the heat and the adult martins can not find food for themselves or the young. The only source of moisture for the young was the moisture in the insects. I have never had any luck with jump...

[quote=C.C.Martins post_id=302818 time=1651541692 user_id=19868] I'm with you on poles, iv decided ill go to one level on the house. Phase it out in 2 seasons. That pole stinks to high heaven. Im done with ladders. 30 mph winds, im 56 years old and im on the top wrung of a ladder removing sparrow po...

I have not seen any hawks. Neither have I seen any tree swallows. They sound easier to deal with. Handling the pole is getting harder.

I have five mature pairs. They have spent very, very little time at my site. They are nesting. Over my 43 years having success, I have never had a group do this. I miss seeing them sailing around, their chatter and checking in often. I am not enjoying them. They are leaving it up to me to keep a wre...

I had no idea the drill had a reverse. Too much time spent at the office. All set now. Thanks all.

I want extra drainage and I am installing the porches. There are dimples to show me where to drill but my new drill absolutely will not penetrate that material. I told the hardware man I was drilling through plastic. But no luck.

I want extra drainage and I am installing the porches. There are dimples to show me where to drill but my new drill absolutely will not penetrate that material. I told the hardware man I was drilling through plastic. But no luck.

I have new S and K Bo Nine Plus gourds. I bought a new $8 1/4-inch drill. It only made the dimples a little bigger. What kind of drill will penetrate this material?

A rooster used to chase my wife every time it saw her. It bothered no one else.

I'm getting me a rooster! Thanks for sharing.

As to stalking, it is best to concentrate on the male. I made the mistake once of running off a female. The male just found new females as fast as I could run them off. He would sit a good way off and just sing. He eventually gave up. I enjoy this game up to a point. I dread losing control.

I agree with the poster's observation. I have posted a couple of times how effective stalking sparrows away has been for me. I, with the help of an avid bird feeder and blue bird house monitor, have greatly lowered the number of sparrows in our area. I can no longer shoot them here in town and I don...

My martins carry loblolly pine straw to the nest from my mulched shrubbery.

Also in my hands the screws for the Bo Nine gourds did not function well. A couple of them would have fallen apart if it had not been for the access cap.

Post season, the Bo Nine PLUS gourds showed very healthful looking dry nests. The centers of their floors, where their one drainage hole is located, was raised. So I drilled 4 additional holes. They have relatively flat, smooth floors. They have thin, but protective, walls and floors. Their interior...

Interesting to know others have seen them roosting on the racks. Do fledglings have trouble getting into the new starling resistant entrances?

I have seven gourds and had six active nest, now three are active. The problem is there is so much fighting over a roosting spot at night. Several of them are spending nights roosting on the three pronged perch. They get as close as possible to the pole. I envision that one of you gifted engineer-ty...