Purple Martin Forum

I have just recently been told that the protocol for managing tree swallow interference has not been available for a while. I apologize. No one seems to know how it got taken off line; but IT IS BACK UP: http://www.drugfreeworkplace.com/~Dan/Emergency/TSEmergency.html Those mentors & teachers wh...

Greetings to all PMCA'ers and fellow purple martin hosts. I apologize for not finding time to monitor the forum this season. The good news is that my martins have returned in good health and good form and it appears that we will have a great sesaon again this year, We did a nest check today and foun...

mwolf00, Quite amazingly, your year-by-year results are very similar to mine... with the same errors and set-backs. It took me 8 years to get a successful PM pair; so it looks like you are going to beat me by 3 years... and I will pray for that. As for your 2008 observations and actions regarding th...

Chapru, You've been getting good advice here! Please be advised that you do not need to wait till next year to be successful getting martins... but you MUST get the TS out of your PM rig. You have been given the "trick" of moving the TS gourd (even if it contains eggs or chicks) to a sheph...

CMF, I am glad for you that your "move the gourd" trick was successful. Hopefully you are now configured to protect your PM rig from further invasion by Blue Birds. Actually, though, I wish you had used a little different geometry. I realize "times a-wasting" and the protocol is ...

CMF, The first thing that jumps to my mind is that you might have made the same mistake I did as a rookie... i.e. mistaking a nesting pair of TS (and their fledglings) for purple martins. I do not mean to offend you... and pay no intention if I am mistaken; but the general picture you paint suggests...

Bill, The slot-shaped entrances sound interesting; but I have not yet tried them. I intend to "re-format" my TS housing for next spring. Meanwhile, since you've not seen HOSP at your place, it does not sound like you need to do anything in a hurry. As a general rule, once the TS have eggs,...

Since the swallows are so site dominant, will they do this to their own? Indeed they will... and competition to the death is probably and unfortunately quite common. I have found 2 or 3 injured TS during the nesting/mating season over the years; and several dead ones. To actually see the injury, as...

Bernie,

The link you provided is not working. Do you have a photo to post or a link that is alive? I'm not sure I "get the picture" but my site would be a good one to test such a thing. I've got more than a dozen TS cavities scattered all 'round our lake.

Dan

Does the guy "attach" the babies to the glue trap by sitting them back on it, or just put the glue trap at the door...or?? Oh, MY! I was afraid someone would ask! In 69 orbits around the sun, (11 with HOSP in my yard) I have executed this "trick" only 2 or 3 times, though I have...

.i f you see a house sparrow nest....rip it out. Geezer, think about adding these recitations: "If you see a house sparrow nest, you have failed to eliminate the sparrows that built it." "If you see a house sparrow nest, you should re-think your ELIMINATION PROGRAM." "If you...

Does it bother you that I added something about nest checks? Emil, I thought your answers were fine. they did not bother me at all; and I certainly did not want to sound like I was belittling you. In fact, my chiding was based on the assumption that most readers know you as a long time poster with ...

So would you rec. cleaning out the 2-3 sparrow nests that I have in my 2 houses or just leave them Think about it! These are NOT your only two options! There are lots of ideas on line about how to manage "the S&S problem." you might want to start your study by using this link as an in...

Will the same Sparrows return even if I get rid of their nests? They WILL !! ...and they will be in a bad mood! ... bad enough to kill martins, or destroy martin eggs. Emil, I think you might have misread the post! The question is NOT about doing nest checks a la martin monitoring. S/he is ripping ...

If you don't have a BB there "hankerin'" to take a martin cavity, then you need NOT worry about blue bird interference right now. You can ignore the BB's and the designated BB housing until & unless you actually see BB interference... i.e. a BB threatening to invade your PM housing aft...

I understand how eager you are to get your TRES committed; but you must remember that their instinct to delay egg laying is normal and desirable in weather like we've had, with cold nights and wet windy weather. I monitor a dozen or so TRES gourds... scattered around a 34 acre lake; and I can report...

I have also had very good luck with glue traps. By the way, they are also available at Lowe's. I have made a couple of "observations" over the years which I'll present here... to be confirmed, refuted, or otherwise criticized. No one has yet mentioned these ideas in this thread yet: 1. Aft...

It sounds like you are doing all the right things, JL. The advice and geometry from flyin-lowe is RIGHT ON! The only other "idea" is to make Tree Swallow housing scarce over whatever territory you control. I would not put the designated TRES housing further than 35 feet from your martin ri...

Trisha, It did not take long for you get the right answer... and quite soon I expect you will see confirmation that BLUE BIRD and/or TREE SWALLOW INTERFERENCE is usually a temporary and self-limiting problem at established martin colonies. The kind of interference that is truly an impediment occurs ...

Norma Jean, I just saw your photos... and had not yet seen them when writing the last post. There can be no doubt you have put out some martin-tempting housing. The tall trees are sometimes a problem. Martins are skiddish about tall trees for fear of predators. A rule of thumb is (if you are able) t...