Purple Martin Forum

I have one of those solar predator lights it flashed red at nite, and i have often seen our resident Barred Owl sitting on top of it searching for prey in the yard. The thing has been up there for over three years now I wish it would quit working so I can take it down.

Great reading about your "flipping " to train other birds that food is on the table. But much bigger birds can learn about free food too. For the past three years there has been a pair of Barred owls nesting in a tree at the edge of our yard. But instead of "flipping" they have l...

Thank you. I will have to give that a try.

I have tried everything to keep the Tree Swallows in their own housing and for the most part they will nest in housing I provide for them the problem seems to be the Tree Swallows like to perch on the perches or the housing for the martins when I put it up and they claim it all for their own. The Bl...

It is slow here in east central MN. too. At my neighbors colony where I have some of my housing they have seen very few martins and they are not staying the night. It has just been too cold, it has snowed here the past three days, and now we have rain with a current temp of 37. Even the tree swallow...

Starlings do not come in to my yard too much anymore but my repeater trap like yours made sure that two of them that did come did not leave.

A number of years ago I put up a V Trap at the chicken barns across the street from our place. I had it bated with bread and other food but no starling s entered the trap even though there was a large flock of them there and it was winter time when food is harder to get. I also had two teeter totter...

I am sure that most of the "well seasoned" or ok, older readers on this forum including me can pick out one species of sparrow from another just from the way they feed or how they behave in general. I know that it is sometimes hard to properly identify the bird you want to shoot is between...

I actually have better luck shooting sparrows and starlings in the winter, the colder the better as they come crowding to the feeders and birdbath with the other birds. The starlings get to be more weary as the winter goes on though...….. the ones I miss

Hi Steve, Great article on Owl predication. For the past two years or so we have a pair of Barred Owls nesting in our yard. They have become quite interesting to watch and they have become quite interested in watching me doing things around the yard. It is amazing how tame they have become, as I hav...

Hi Steve, it is good to hear from you again! Glad all is well with all your martin colonies. As for me and my neighbors colonies not so good this year. Numbers are down at both sites due to a late cold spring I haven't seen many martins at all at my site this year either. Two other houses that I hav...

There is a product called No Rockers for Gourd Racks that should work for you. I dont see them in the PMCA Market Place Catalog but perhaps you can contact the PMCA and they can contact the manufacture of this product and get them for you. I have several of these No rocker arms and am quite satisfie...

Looks like you have your work cut out for you those sparrows wise up real fast and get very hard to get after a while. I don't have too much trouble with sparrows at my feeders it is starlings that I have a problem with. There is a large flock of them hanging around the chicken barns across the stre...

Is there any reason why not you or someone younger could use a stepladder to oil the pulley?

Hi Emi. For the past two years we have a pair of Barred Owls nesting in the woods near our yard. They did Not bother the one pair of martins that I had last year but I did find tree swallow wings and feathers laying on the ground one day last summer. Don't have any martins again this year the Tree S...

Evan, I have three of these houses complete from the perching rods on top to the cement at the bottom of the pole. They were rescued for me by my neighbor from someone he knows who was going to throw them away! They are somewhat faded but otherwise in good shape. If I get more than one pair of marti...

Hi there Barb! Great to see you on here again! :) I thought I would never hear from you again, like a lot of people that used to be on this forum. I hope you will have good luck getting martins at your new site you were a great landlord with your previous sites. I did have one pair of sub adults nes...

Hi Emil glad to see you on this forum again! I know you will soon have many more martins than the "teasers" that you had there. I am hoping that this year will bring me more martins than the one pair that nested last summer, but it was sure a joy to watch that pair raise and fledge four yo...

That is the good news I needed today that summer is coming considering that it is -4 below 0 here and I have been sick with the flue all week.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone left on this forum. I hope everyone will have a great martin year!