Bad luck establishing colony

[scubaduderon]

Hi, Ron here. I haven't participated in some time so hello all. My wife Donna and I live in rural northern Illinois along the Kankakee river, very near several large natural areas. We have been trying to establish a colony here for the last 2 years but have had no luck. We have lined the apartments with pine needles and have a few decoy birds and have used a morning song recording all to no avail. A few PM's have landed and looked into the holes, but none have moved in. Do you have any suggestions that may help us?

[scubaduderon]

[randyM]

It's a good sign that you have had visiting martins in the past few years, perhaps some of the second year birds that visited your site last year will visit your site again this year and decide to stay and nest. Many times is seems as though it takes new housing 3-5 years to get the first nesting pair of martins established. With the visitors you had in the past you should soon be able to establish a nesting colony if your housing is set up correctly. From what I can see, your site location looks like it should be a good site to attract martins. Do you have any tree swallows or other birds nesting in the housing that may be chasing visiting martins from your site?

[Brad Biddle]

Are there as many trees on your house side of the pond as there are on the other side?

[scubaduderon]

Thank you for your reply. The Martin's have looked over the apartments each year, yet have not stayed. I have defended the apartments from other birds, mostly English Sparrows, in ways I have read of here. Any that had tried to nest were dealt with quickly. Is it possible we are having trouble tbecause there are many natural cavities nearby? We see PM's flying over the river eating bugs almost daily.

What you see on the far side of the river is actually a very narrow island, with more river about the same width beyond it . Past the very far side of the river is a natural swampy area of some size. Hundreds of acres at least, going along the river. There are also hundreds of acres of natural area to the east of us. Lots of mature trees.

[flyin-lowe]

I'm not doubting you intelligence but being newer on here I need to ask. Are you certain the birds you are seeing are martins? Only reason I ask is because you mention the natural cavities and you have seen them daily. Are you talking about this year or in past years? There is a very slim chance, like 1% or less that martin in your area would be nesting in natural cavities. If the birds you are seeing are in natural cavities they are likely not martins.If you have seen them this year then they are not martins as they are not this far north yet. My first year trying I mistakenly thought I had a pair of martins, they turned out to be tree swallows.

That said, if they are martins it is a good sign that you are at least getting visitors so you know there are some in the area. It can be tricky, especially this far north to get a colony started. The first colony I started was at my old house and I had what most would consider ideal conditions. Active colonies near by, a 900 acre lake across the street from my house and an open yard surrounded by hundreds of acres of open farm ground, very few trees. It took 5 years to get my first pair to stay. I moved to another house in 2012 and once again I have an open site, large bodies of water nearby and again it took another 5 years to get established. Returning martins from last year more times then not will return to the site they nested at last year. The young martins that hatched in your general area last year will be looking for new housing this year but they like to be in colonies so sometimes it just takes several years for the first pair to decide to stay at a new colony.

I am one that thinks at a new colony it is best to leave your housing closed up early until you see martins in your yard. This will help keep competitor birds out.

[scubaduderon]

Thank you for the reply. It is too early for Purple Martin's here in Momence il. I just want to be on top of things this year so I'm seeking help here.

We are mostly surrounded by thousands of acres of farmland, but along the river that there are woods and marshes. We have seen many Purple Martin's along with Tree Swallows. Also there are several people who have Purple Martin houses with active colonies within a few miles of us. We also see many kind of birds all year round, including hawks and bald eagles.


Thanks for your thoughts, I just want to maximize our chances of establishing a colony this year.

[Jeff Robinson]

What is the closest large tree to the pole? Is that a close one where you can see the branches in top left of picture?

Expanding on Flyin-Lowe's comments, even with a yearly full colony and early returns, I still plug all holes I can't control, at least until I have enuf birds to control things on their own.

I'm personally not a big proponent of placing decoys on your setup when trying to start a new colony. Every now and then, a martin or two demonstrates a complete aversion to the decoy.

Good advice otherwise - as long as you don't have any large trees close, your time is nearing! Wish you the best!

[Rodger Drye]

Hi Ron,

Try not to be discouraged. It can be easy to get down on yourself when trying to establish a Purple Martin Colony. I’ve been hosting Purple Martin’s for going on 31 years. My Dad got me started back in 1990 when he gave me various types of Steel ( Tubing,Pipe, Etc.) that I could weld a Martin Rack out of. He had literally thousands of Bird’s and a great location to go with it. It was unreal just how many Martin’s he had. Of course living right on the Pee Dee River didn’t hurt. He had so many Bird’s at his location that the town of Albemarle, NC made an official state certified “Bird Sanctuary” out of his Colony site, complete with state sign and all, that they erected in front of his Colony.

As I stated I’ve always had or hosted Purple Martin’s.! However I and my Dad could not figure out why I couldn’t attract Bird’s in the quantity hat he had. I used the same Gourd’s as my Dad and opened the housing at the same time as he. In fact I did everything exactly like him. However, I only began to attract a few nesting Pair each year. I kept saying to myself and my Dad kept saying “You’ll be getting more next year”. Some years I would get more and other years I would get less. I always had Martin’s, but not nearly as many as my father.

I did not give up as I was always happy to get as many as I did.!! Unknown to me was the fact that I was not really educated on each and every and all the aspects of ways Landlords should be able to attract Purple Martin’s. My Dad was I think now just extremely lucky. He had bunches of Bird’s the first year he put up his Gourd’s, and a Great location right there on the big ole Pee Dee River with all kind’s of farm and pasture land around.

Then back in 2014 my wife got me an I-Pad Air for Christmas. I didn’t even know how to turn the thing on. But I learned. I got on the PMCA and this Forum and started educating myself on literally every aspect of the Purple Martin - and I mean EVERYTHING...!! I read every thing about these Bird’s as well as looking at other Forum’s and Sites. I talked to people and I asked questions, determined to start having more Martin’s than just a handful. I began to learn a lot of things that I was doing wrong. Small things as it would be to others. But one thing i learned was these little Bird’s were very particular.
I cut down several trees that were in their flyways. Started a whole regiment of Predator Control... Starlings, Sparrows, Snakes, Hawks, Owls, Crows, Raccoons, Coyotes, Cats, and basically anything that would hinder these Bird’s from peacefully Nesting and Raising a successful Brood. I researched everything about these Bird’s, and to make a long story short. It started paying off for me. I started hosting more and more Martin’s each year. With last year 2019 standing 90 Pair with a grand total of 615 bird’s. I always felt like my location had a lot to offer Martin’s I just had to fine tune a few things.

Anyway so don’t give up. Educate yourself on every aspect of these Bird’s. There may be one some little something that is preventing you from getting the Bird’s you want. Suggestion - make a list of things no matter how small that you might consider trying to attract Martin’s to you site. I had a couple Big Oak trees that were right in the flight path to a huge lake across the road. They were beautiful and I did not want to take them down. But I bite the Bullet and I think that was another reason I started attracting more and more Martin’s. NOW. I don’t Regret one moment for taking those trees down. It helped me get my Bird’s.

Sorry this was so long, I got started and couldn’t stop. Just please do not stop trying to attract Purple Martin’s, you’ll be rewarded in the end.!

Rodger