Purple Martin Forum

Hi all I went looking for an alternative to supplemental feeding our Martins, I stopped at the local Fleet Farm and in the Poultry area I found a bag of Boon worms, if you see the pic the Boon worm is much larger and is high in protein, which is much better come egg laying time, plus it's easier to ...

The Best choice is plastic (gourds) or wood and I always get the asked the question why wood? Simple its a natural self insulation material, Aluminum is easy to work with and will never rot, but its also a conductor meaning it will conduct cold and heat, in Florida when temps reach 90 plus aluminum ...

Glue traps work and will always work to dispatch a sparrow but what happens when a Martin enters and is now a victim of the glue trap how do you get them off the trap? Well the answer is simple, first don't panic and don't peel the bird from the glue, gently take the bird and spray Pam cooking spray...

most hardware stores carry them

Here's a pic of the Zilla heating pad I use in my nest boxes uses only 8 watts

My 2 cents worth for Wisconsin landlords, do not keep your houses up at your highest level, keep them about 8-10 feet off the ground if possible that way with a step ladder you can easily manage your housing, I had an adult male trapped in a cavity, there was no way to lower my house do to the massi...

Just been totally crazy with the weather I have 2 adult males in a winter storm along with all the other Wisconsinites I'm only able to feed by tossing crickets and eggs, problem is 50 mph winds don't help, visibility with snow fall is maybe 200 yards everything is frozen, houses will not go up or d...

Hi guys I have the same problem here in Wisconsin, I have 1 asy male, I hand toss crickets morning, noon, and night just before sunset this is very trying and takes up time but we need to do what we can, I haven't had a 40 degree day since last Thursday, the last 3 days the temps never got out above...

My last 3 birds are about to fledge in the next day or so, but my season is still going strong, check out some of my pics from this morning I still have 30 or so birds left, My location is Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Greg Z.

My Season is still going I have 3, 26 day olds from a renest, I live in Wisconsin and I hope the weather holds out, This is the longest that I ever had for any martins, I also have 3 pairs still hanging around, it seems like there waiting for the young birds to fledge, next week the weather is actua...

Hello to eveyone having sparrow and starling problems; my theory is that the extreme winter further north has driven those pests southward to more mild weather, I come from Wisconsin and our winter was cold and snowy, making it harder for those birds to survive, so they tend to migrate south where i...

Hey Bill can you post any pictures? I have the same problem this year, I have been trapping these "flying rats" and I don't need anymore in my houses.

My guess is that there migrating, up here in Wisconsin most of us havent seen any sub adults yet and the cold weather may be dictating that.

Hi Steve, Very sorry for your loss, a lot can be learned from your expierence, I had a tornado come through my area 3 years ago that took down 2 Barns, my trees that were only 3 years old all bent over, but my Martin houses stood firm, I use all metal poles or wooden 4X4's Aluminum poles will bend e...

I have a 13 inch plainer, I plain all my boards down to 5/8 of an inch for thickness, this helps reduce the weight, but does not compromise insulation values, I also have a straight board to work with, thus causing less chance for splits or warping, I happened to buy a used plainer for under $200.00...

Hi Trish; The same thing is happening to me since about Thursday this past week, I had as many as 5 birds show up and they are making a lot of noise!

Definetly Martins!

HI Tom: great news for us here in Eastern Wisconsin, If u need a hand with nest replacements you could give me a call, keep your fingers crossed and hope the weather stays nice all summer!

Hi: I live in the Sheboygan Falls area, the subbies arrived the last couple of days and more are still arriving, you guys further north still have until about the 2nd week of June or so to get your Martins keep your fingers crossed!

Hi Kerry, yes there are some landlords near you, there is one at the intersection of hwy 67 and MM, Elmer Kuhn has been raising Martins for over 40 years at his farm, then there is one just north of him on hwy 67 just past the marsh area, there is also an Amish farm just north of New Holstein of hwy...