Hi Everyone,
Here is a new T14 modified house i made for a neighbour up at our cottage in Ipperwash Beach on Lake Huron. I said I would make him one becuse his can't be lowered without tipping it on its side to maintain it and keep sparrows and starlings out. It's pretty big with 22 units with each unit being deep enough to protect the martins safe from the hawks. (12")
He hasn't seen it yet and doesn't know what it looks like, so Dave B. if you're on this site this is the house you will be getting on Saturday! Just in time to get it up for our April 1st scout arrivals. (It will be late this year) Get your tools out!
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photo taken in my basement
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I have a 24 unit at my house with nothing in it for the past 2 years it's been up. It doesn't have the doors staggerd as well. I thought with staggering the doors there would be less fighting amungst the martins until they get settled into the units. To my surprise when I built this one, it looked 100 time nicer.
I'm also thinking of dropping it and staggering the doors as well. ! have some time before I will be starting to play the dawn song. We will see.
Martin Colony History: Start 2009 with one pair. Upgraded from S&K houses to two Trendsetter 12's with gourds beneath in 2013. I have experienced job, pet, and parental losses since '13. The Purple Martins lift my spirits and remind me how life continues forward by flying their little selves from Brazil back to my yard. As one forum person once told me, chin up DebA, look at the martins. Danger all around but yet they soar in the sky without a care in the world.
thanks rrMartins,
I have had lookers, one stayed for a couple of days but flew off. I back onto the river and have just under 1/2 acre of Land. There is another established colony about 5 miles away (as a bird fly's) at a golf course. I have two 24 units and last year put up 4 gourds trying to get that one pair to just stay but without any luck.
I have followed all the rules (distances from houses, bushes, keeping the sparrows & starlings at bay, playing the dawn song at 5 am. I get tree swallows and have moved them into their own house 50 ft away from the martin house. But nothing so far.
If I don't get anything, I'll be taking the houses down and move them up to the lake where they'll get use.
I have feeders in the back yard. getting cardinals, Gross Beaks, and wood peckers. Do you think that is contributing to my back luck? Should I stop the feeding?
The river is right behind my house with wide open space from an old gravel pit to the est of me. The river has been dammed up about 3 miles east that now is called Fanshawe Lake. On the other side of the river there isn't any development.
Here is a link on Google Earth showing where I live and the surrounding area. https://www.google.ca/maps/place/1707+C ... cb7d1f8320
if you zoom in you can see the two martin houses. Let me know what your thoughts are.
I would not give up. I think if you had lookers, and the lake colony is doing good, I think you will attract them. How high off the ground are they? Do you have any gourds hanging underneath the T14? Never give up. Gives you a good reason to build another house for the lake.
Martin Colony History: In 2024, 82 pair with 350 fledged youngsters. 110 total cavities available, 82 Troyer Horizontal gourds and a homemade PVC / metal 28 compartment unit, 1 fallout shelter. Hawk and owl guards included. Martin educator and speaker. President and founder of the Iowa Purple Martin Organization. Please visit Iowa Purple Martin Organization on Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1627283871068161 Emails send to [email protected]. Subject line include Iowa Purple Martin.
Great job. Interesting to discover you on this forum. I'm at Tavistock about 45 minutes away. I share your story of patience. I think this will be year 6 for me. I have had visitors every year but no takers. They have been arriving between May 28 and 30th without fail and staying about one week. I now take that week off work to observe the action.
You mentioned those dreaded words "tree swallows". As much as I love them and call them my conselation prize, they are my nemesis. As I spent more time in the backyard that last week of May, I have learned that they are chasing and harassing my PM visitors. Even with relocating my TS boxes well away and applying the Drew protocol when necessary, they are wickedly territorial.
Love to share stories and drive over to see your setup. Let me know if you're interested. The private messaging is disabled for some reason so will contact forum administrator now about that.
Thanks Dale,
I would be interested in meeting. Maybe a fresh set of eyes will be the trick. I don't get a lot of visitors that I can see but not home for most of the day. The closest I came to keeping anything was a pair stayed 2 days, then left but that was before most of this subdivision was built. (I was the 3rd house in the area and the remainder of the site was wide open field)
I took the house up to Ipperwash today and the lake is still frozen as far as the eye can see.
Dave B. wasn't home so I left the Martin house on his back porch. I'm sure he will get a heck of a surprise when he pulls in the driveway!
Defiantly don't give up, my story was exactly like yours. I would consider my site ideal, very open in all directions, numerous colony's within a few miles of me,ponds and lakes not very far in most directions and it took me six years to get a pair to stay and nest. Every year of those six years I had visitors that would stay most of the day some days, build partial nests but not finish, it was frustrating but I keep putting the gear up every year, killing the sparrows and starlings and playing the dawn song faithfully every morning, finally I got a pair. I believe if you hang in there with your efforts and do all the things you can to make your sites ideal you will get your colony started. They have very strong site fidelity in their DNA that takes a bit of convincing to change.
Thanks Donnie for the encouragment. I'll be trying again this year and maybe this is the year. I'm doing the same thing witht eh sparrows & the Starlings.
I do get Red wing Blackbirds to the feeder as well. Would that discourage the Maartins from staying? The go to the feeders get food, then leave.
I never dealt with red wing blackbirds and martins together but I don't think they compete for the same housing so I don't think they will hurt, but maybe someone else on here does have some experience with them and can confirm.
I can confirm what Dale mentions above, tree swallows are aggressive towards martins when they have staked out a compartment they wish to use. Its funny, the martins are so much larger then them but they seem to get pushed around by the little guys with ease. I have alot of trouble keeping them out of my gourd rack, I remove their nest as frequently as I would a sparrow and they just keep coming back to rebuild and hold on to their claim...they can be buggers.
Thanks Donnie,
I move the swallows into a single house about 50 ft away from the martin houses. Should I keep them there or should I just get rid of them all together?
