purple finches in purple martin house
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johnnycoon
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:06 pm
- Location: kansas/pottowatomie
I have a pair of purple finches building a nest in one of my houses. Should i let them build a nest? Will they hurt my martins?Or will they help chase sparrows away?
23 sparrows less and counting in kansas
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johnnycoon
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:06 pm
- Location: kansas/pottowatomie
Well i was just looking outside and a purple martin just went into the purple finches cavity and now theres a fight going on!
23 sparrows less and counting in kansas
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Louise Chambers
- Site Admin
- Posts: 6208
- Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:07 pm
- Location: Corpus Christi, TX
Those are likely House Finches, not Purples - and I would not worry too much about them. You can remove nest daily if you like - the HF will not damage martin eggs or young.
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Carlton
- Posts: 1959
- Joined: Tue May 17, 2005 6:42 pm
- Location: Florida/Deerfield Beach
- Martin Colony History: I moved to South Florida, from Delaware, in August of 2015.
I care for a 6 condo Sunset House as well as two Deluxe Gourd Racks, with 24 Chirpynest/Excluder gourds, along a canal in Pompano Beach, Florida.
At Quiet Waters Park, nearby in Deerfield Beach, I care for a Deluxe Gourd Rack with 12 TVG's. I also care for a Deluxe Gourd rack with 12 Excluder gourds with Modified Excluder entrances. I am substituting 6 Chirpynest boxes for 6 of the Conley II entranced gourds in 2026.
At another local park, Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, I care for a Trendsetter 12, 5 gourds rack with 60 Excluder gourds with Modified Excluder Entrances and 1 Deluxe Gourd Rack with 12 Troyer Vertical Gourds with Starling Stoppers over the Conley II's to keep out smaller starlings.
I had a pair of House Finches nest alongside my martins. Everything went fine after a few chases around the MSS-8. In fact, the HF did chase off numerous HS. The HF do have a messy nest so be prepared when you clean out the condo after they leave. They are fun, cute and have a beautiful song.
Carl
Carl