Purple Martin Forum

Thanks Dick. It was a wonderful event. It is always great to meet so many enthusiastic Purple Martin lovers. Hope I can make it down again some day.

We usually have 2 good size roosts in Minnesota each year. One is very consistent and located in a large corn field near Willmar. The second is very unpredictable and seldom uses the same roost site 2 years in a row. It can very in distance up to 60 miles (as the martin flys). We have seen staging a...

I have my first pair of Swifts this year. They laid 4 eggs and should hatch around August first. I built the chimney from used bricks in 2011. I was able to attract swifts by playing the CD but none seemed too interested in the chimney until this year. I put a nest cam in and am anxiously waiting.

Dick, good to hear from you. I had a good season. 44 pair and fledged 198 from 208 hatches. I sure would like to make it down to the Tulsa roost again. Maybe next year. AvianStewardess, Thank you. Bill, if they aren't stopping hear they may be stopping at one of the other roosts in MN. One is usuall...

Thanks Laverne. Sorry, I don't have any pictures. I am with you 100% on the excitement of PM roosts. I was fortunate enough to find Minnesota's first roost in 2006 after 2 years of searching. The problem we have here is that there is so much suitable habitat for roosting in the area. Radar narrows i...

I found the Aitkin roost last night. This roost has shown up on radar since 2004. It is located on Sisabagamah Lake, 5 miles east of Aitkin on highway 47. The access is on the north side of the lake. The martins are roosting on a cattail island about 1000 yards out from the dock. They were already s...

I kept thinking that one of the hatchlings in this nest was being attacked by blowfly larva because of it pale color. I kept changing nests but never could find any problem. Now that it is a little older, we can see that it just has a little color problem. Sure hope it is a male and keeps its color ...

Congratulations Larry. They could not have found a better representative. Don't worry about making a mistake, everyone does. Just have fun and enjoy the experience.

Dick, I am so sorry to hear about Tom. I can not imagine how stressful this must be. My prayers are with you and for his safe return.

Thanks for the update on your colony, Ken. It is just wonderful to see how fast your colony is growing. Keep up the great work. Thanks for sharing the pictures of your colony.

In the mid 60's the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resourses put out a book called WOODWORKING FOR WILDLIFE. It contained a plan very similar to this house. In fact it was the first Martin house I built. It was made of 1/4 inch plywood and lasted 20 years. (Better plywood back then.) They have just rele...

Try supplimental feeding. I was loosing 5 or more Martins a day to Cooper's Hawks. We had a 5 day cold spell and I lost many birds. I tried putting dead Martins out in the yard and sure enough the Cooper's came and got them. I do not know what I will do next year. I may have to try getting them to t...

The receiver was purchased from Advanced Telemetry Systems in Isanti, MN.
This is the web site. http://www.atstrack.com/ The model we are using is the ATS R410 Scanning Receiver and a Yagi antenna. I have no idea what the cost was.

Hi Dick, Glad to hear your roost is doing well again this year. I believe the transmitters have a battery life of 120 days. The Working Group has a programable scanner to receive the pings at each of the 24 frequencies. The frequency range is 148.000-151.000. If you could find a scanner Kelly could ...

I have had similar experiences. I live approximately 50 miles (as the crow flies) from a large roost. Last year, on certain days, I could estimate the time Martins should arrive at my house based on the rate the radar ring was enlarging. Many times I would hear Martins overhead and on several occasi...

For those who have not met Lucette.

I watched the martins come into the Big Swan Lake roost last night. It was spectacular. It appears to be larger than the Avon roost was at its peak in 2006. Although a boat would get you much closer, it can be viewed easily from the public access with binoculars. The birds started coming in at 7:30P...

Ron,

Exquisite is an understatement. Thank you for sharing your pictures.

Yesterday was hatch day in a compartment that I have a nest camera. After 3 of 5 eggs had hatched, I noticed a very small hole in egg #4. The ASY Female then proceeded with 10-15 precise pecks with her beak, completely remove the shell from the baby bird. I sat there in awe as she made it look like ...

Hi Conrad. I would stay away from the trees but don't be afraid of the wires. I think wires are a hugh plus for a martin colony. My martins use the wires exclusively, even though I have lots house perches available. I have all my housing staggered so they can take full advantage of the wires. They l...