Purple Martin Forum

This was a very mild winter for North Dakota with very little snow. We strive to have our 16 gourds hung by April 15. My colony usually arrives around April 23. I was concerned that the unseasonable warm weather would bring the martins in earlier than normal. We hung the gourds out on Monday, April ...

Thanks Dave; I appreciate the response. I called the PMCA earlier; sadly, they don’t sell the hardware separately, and they could not give me the sizes of the bolts and screws. I did have the little bag of bits, but it has been sucked into the vortex of the garage. It’s an hour drive to town, but I ...

I have four vertical Excluder Gourds, four sets of the inside/outside perches, and four sets of the owl guards. I cannot find the little bag of the bolts/nuts and screws to attach them to the gourds. I need to know the size number and the length of the bolts/nuts to attach the porches to the gourds....

Thanks for the reply, Randy. I called the PMCA; they got the little glitch fixed!

Today, Wednesday April 26, 2023, ushered in my 20th year of hosting Purple Martins in Larimore, ND. At 3:02 p.m. I heard the distinct Purple Martin chattering and calls that scream "We are back!" It's cold, 45°, with heavy cloud cover, rain, some snow still on the ground, and 17 mph winds,...

This caulking sounds useful. Could I see a photo, please.

My colony usually arrives around April 23. Some years they’ve returned as early as April 14 or as late as May 10. I try to have all the clean gourds filled with pre-nests and hung on the rack arms before April 5. No matter when they arrive, they always get snowed on during the first week. :-( Some y...

Hello Neighbor: I am in North Dakota. I've hosted Purple Martins since 2003. First while living on Grand Forks AFB and now in Larimore, ND I use a mix of SuperGourds, Troyer Gourds, and one natural gourd. I have always removed the gourds toward the end of August. DH cleans them out and takes them to...

7:29 p.m., Wed. April 27, 2022 Larimore, ND. I had just settled in with my cozy blanket to watch a Netflix program when I heard that distinctive, never-to-be-duplicated call. It was a big ole ASY male! He zoomed by the deck, swooped up to the gourd rack, and into a gourd. He’s been here before. We o...

I have been amazed by my newly returned (April 26) colony. There has been major construction work on my entire block with large equipment and many people milling all around the pole. I have photos of the birds chattering and flying all around the equipment. Under and over the long arms while the buc...

I have a few Super Gourds that still need vent elbows inserted.

What is the best brand and type of caulk to use for this task? Thanks for any info you can share.

Global weather changes are bringing more starlings than ever to my area. They are staying here much longer, too. “Normally” the starlings invade for a couple weeks in the fall, and then a couple weeks more in the spring, The starlings stayed around my yard all winter this year, scarfing down suet, B...

Matt F - Thank you so much for the informative reply. I know I have the instructions “somewhere,” but after the year we all have been through, my mind was too frazzled to look. It seems all the birds are migrating a bit early. I hope to have all the gourds hung and ready by April 1st instead of our ...

We’re going to re-cable the PM gourd rack; the old cable is rusted. In 2008 we used 3/8” 7-strand stainless steel cable. Is it safe to use 3/16” 7-strand cable? Or should that be 3/8” cable??? I hang 15 Super Gourds on this two-tier rack. How many feet do I need? The pole is 14’ tall. Thanks for any...

Today is ... “the most wonderful day of the year!” As of 10:18 a.m., April 24, 2020, the Purple Martins arrived “home” in Larimore, ND I saw at least five ASY males and a couple ASY females, even more zoomed in right at dark. I was outside when I heard that unmistakable call. There is nothing else l...

I’m in northeastern North Dakota. “My” Purple martins normally arrive here around April 23. They have been as early as April 10 and as late as May 7. Come rain, snow, sleet, hail, or gail force winds, I want the gourds all up and ready before April 15. Today we had it all - snow, sleet, weird soft p...

I’m so sorry for the delay in getting back to this question. I thank all of you for the wonderful information. We’ve been busy getting my current gourds hung today. I try to always have them up by April 15. My PMs usually arrive by April 23. Once the temperatures warm up - it’s 23° F right now and h...

Greetings from North Dakota. I’m expecting “my” Martins back between April 15-30. I know I’ve asked before, and I appreciate all the answers, but I still have questions. I understand Lexel is a great adhesive. But which Lexel formula should I get? I have porches to add to gourds and I’m ready to mak...

I want to thank each of you for responding.

I will be getting the new, smaller diameter cable, and a worm-gear winch soon and installing them this August after the fledge!

I’ve been reading older posts on winches - especially braking winches vs. worm gear. Now I realize I need to oil my old braking winch. I’ve granted DH a reprieve. “We” will be replacing the old winch and too-large cable at the end of August instead of tonight. For now, which type/brand/weight of oil...