Purple Martin’s and Starlings

[Rodger Drye]

My Purple Martin’s have finally started showing up. This year will be the earliest that they’ve arrived while keeping records for 31 years. As seems each year I hear my Bird’s before I ever see them. I hear their distinct sound usually while I’m in my shop or other building and I go out to identify them flying around my Colony. That’s the way it happened again this year on March 07, 2020, and I try to wait until dusk to see how many come back in to roost for the night. Initially I witnessed 5 ASY males checking out my Colony and going in and out of different Gourd’s. That evening I saw 3 males actually going in to a Gourd to roost, but the next day I counted 5 again.

Getting off to a good start also with predator control. Been catching the hound out of them Rat Bird’s, Starlings. Have caught and gotten rid of 16 Starlings by trapping them in my repeater trap I built. It works like a charm.! I don’t seem to have as much of a problem with Sparrows as I have in the past, so that’s one good thing.

I’m hoping to have a banner year in Martin’s. Would like to be able to say that I’ve had 1000 or more Bird’s. I know my Daddy had at least that many every year and I’d be Happy to say that I’ve had somewhere near what he used to get. Last year was a Great year for me as I had a total of 615 Bird’s, with 90 producing Pair. Close to 435 Bird’s were fledged including several SY Bird’s that actually nested but did not produce any offspring ( for various reasons ).

Glad to say I finally got my Purple Dot. Look forward to hearing from others of you when your Bird’s will start arriving.!!

Kindly, Rodger Drye

[deancamp]

Rodger that's great news, fingers crossed for your 1000 birds. What are you using for bait in your repeating trap?

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Rodger,

Great news that your purple martins are coming home! Soon your colony will be filled with martins!

So far this year, I have seen fewer starlings than ever before. I have only trapped/shot 6 starlings and all these except one were eliminated BEFORE any martins arrived. I'm sure a few more will "leave this world" in the next month or so as my shotgun sends them on their way!

Our martins are pouring in and I believe I have well over a hundred pairs right now. The warm weather and south winds are helping bring more in.

Looking forward to hearing more reports on your martin colony.

Steve

[Brad Biddle]

That is surely an unmistakable sound.

How many compartments are you offering?

[Rodger Drye]

Hey deancamp,

Actually I don’t use any kind of Bait. The way the trap is designed, it has only one Live or open entry hole. The other 4 or 5 holes are fake and no bird can get in them. Starlings can’t resist entering an open round hole weather it’s their nest or not.
My trap box has a large coffee can that is counter balanced on a see-saw. When the starling or any bird enters it drops down to the bottom and allows only one entrance for the Starling to exit. They exit into a 4” PVC pipe and fall about 7’ or 8’ into the holding pen. They are then trapped because they cannot fly back up that PVC pipe no matter how hard they try. I have about a 4” round hole that I open to remove the Starling. You need to keep an eye on your trap because sometimes you trap a native species and these must be released.

I cannot remember where I got the plans to build this trap, as I’ve had it for a while. However I believe Troyer’s Bird’s Paradise offers one that is very much similar to mine. I Love this trap, it does it’s job.! Thus, keeping Starlings away from my Martin Colony..!!

Starlings used to get in and peck the Martin’s eggs and or peck the babies to death, and then build their own nest right over the dead little bird’s. They will even kill an adult Purple Martin if they can get one trapped in the same Nest Box.
I don’t have any more problems with Starlings. I am Blessed.

Rodger

[Rodger Drye]

Hey Steve,

Yeah, finally got my Martin’s in. I don’t know why, but it seemed like they would never arrive. I guess it was because they were in fact early coming in for everyone. Look at you. You already have several hundred Bird’s and some have even paired off.! Good for you.! I know you’ll have a very successful year.!

I’m glad to hear that you haven’t had that many Starlings to cause you problems. I wish I didn’t have any..! But at least I’ve got that Repeating Trap and it works Great! I tell folks I try not to Hate anything, but if I did, I’d Hate “Starlings”.! They a non Native and are a treacherous Bird to have around Purple Martin’s.!

There were 5 ASY males to begin with, today I counted 11 to come in to Roost.! So I more than doubled my count in 4 days. All I can say is Keep Em Coming - “Yeah Baby”!!!

Keep me posted on all the happenings of your Colony.

Rodger

[Rodger Drye]

Hey Brad Biddle,

Yes I’ve been hosting these little Bird’s for 31 years now and I never get tired of hearing all the different sounds they make. I’m always out talking to them while I’m observing their many antics and doing walk under’s. I just never seem to get tired of them. I can watch them for hours if I had the time.

I will be offering 186 cavities of which 172 will be Gourd’s of various types. Most have tunnels and all have SREH entrances.
This year I’ll offer a Poly Wood T-14 to see how my Bird’s will take to it, just for a little variety. On the Gourd’s I like the Troyer Horizontal’s and my Bird’s like them the Best also. It seems like they are always the first to be filled. How many cavities will you offer this season and what kind are they, Gourd’s or Houses.?

Best of Luck with your Colony.!

Rodger

[Kegger]

Rodger:

I saw a repeating trap video on u tube work similar to yours, so cool!
well I decided to build a wire fence bending fixture first, then I will
tackle the repeating trap. I can also use a few new blue crab traps because mine are
so worn out and rusted. Sounds like you live a fulfilling life. Mike

[Brad Biddle]

Rodger, I am currently offering 102 gourds. That's the same amount I've had up for 13-14 years. I have built 2 additional racks that hold 30 gourds each. My plan is to put them both up this year. That is, if we can catch a break in the rain long enough for the mud to dry out so that I can dig the holes to install the racks. We've already had 26" of rain since January 1. Our yearly average is 52" so we're already 1/2 way there. Rain is in the forecast for the next 10 days as well. My Martins are finding enough breaks in the rain to feed, but their only getting marginal feeding time.

I don't expect to fill up all 162 gourds this year, but I think I'll probably have 130-140 pair. That's obviously just a guess and they could all be full, or none could be full.

All my gourds are plastic. They all have tunnels. I have around 30-35 Supergourds that I added tunnels to. I have 40 or more Natureline gourds that I added homemade PVC and Sintra tunnels to. Those will all be replaced by next year. The gourds are still in pretty good condition but the tunnels are getting fragile. The rest of the gourds, and my favorite gourds are Troyer Vertical gourds. By next season, when I replace the Naturelines, I will have up around 125-130 of them.

I've never offered a round holed gourd at my colony.

[Spiderman]

Good to hear your Martins showed up, you have a really Large Colony.

I've caught 10 Starlings so far this year. I like the Van Ert Trap Box, you only catch one at a time but eventually it will get all of them in my area. Last year I caught 17 Starlings.

I have about 40-50 Martins so far. Had 45 nesting pair last year and allot of SY's that didn't pair up or didn't lay any eggs that were fertile.

Cooper's Hawk caught one of my males off of the rack at 7:45 this morning. That broke up the party over who was going to get which Gourd.

Seems like it is always something.

[Rodger Drye]

Hey Spider-Man,

Glad to hear your catching those little Rat Bird’s known as Starlings. I’ve trapped and eliminated 16 Starlings so far this year. Wow, you already have 40 - 50 Martin’s - That is Great.! Thanks for saying but my Colony is not as large as some folks. I never expected to have this many Gourd’s etc. And I say i don’t want to put up anymore. It is a lot of work and I hope to not put up anymore Martin housing. I’ve figured that if every cavity is occupied and both pair raise an average of 4 fledglings that will give me 1088 Bird’s. Well over my projected count of 1000 that I’m shooting for.
I say my Dad had well over 1000 Bird’s but no body actually knew because he never did any Nest Checks. He was old school and just didn’t have time for it while working a job and all.
He had some huge A-Frame Power Lines right next to his Colony and the Martin’s really flocked to those lines. They liked to sit way up high and watch all the cars going by and spectators down below. He had some old cassette tape he got from somewhere with Martin Vocalizations. And when he got enough Cars going by and spectators he wold play that tape and it would literally make his Martin’s go Wild. It was really an “Awesome Sight” and it made my Dad feel so Good, grinning ear to ear. He was extremely proud of his Bird’s. And that’s before all this new housing and gourd’s were ever invented, circa 1950’s and 1960’s.
All he used was natural gourd’s and these small 6 7/8” Round Holed Plastic Gourd’s. However nearly everyone of his Gourd’s had a Nest in it. I guess location really does make a difference. He lived right on the River and his Bird’s Loved every bit of it.

Good Luck with your Colony this year, Looks like your off to a good start. And keep on Trapping those Rat Bird - Starlings.!

Rodger

[Rodger Drye]

Brad Biddle,

We’ve had a tremendous amount of rain this year so far also. I guess you will be glad when it dries up so you can install those two 30 Gourd Racks. Wow 130 or 140 Pair of Martin’s is a lot of Bird’s. I truly hope you get that many or even more.!


All my Gourd’s are plastic too. They’re just hard to beat. I have S&K Big Bo gourd’s, and Bo 11’s all with ultimate tunnels. I also have Excluder and Super Gourd’s as well as Troyer Vertical and Troyer Horizontal. And I have a few Gourd’s I made myself out of 10” SDR pipe with an ultimate tunnel. I think the Troyer Horizontal is my favorite and I believe the Bird’s like them the best also because they are usually the first ones occupied.

Many years ago all I had to offer was small 6 7/8” plastic gourd’s with round holes. That’s what my Dad used and he was very successful. I’ve since decided that I’ve got a lot more Starlings up hear around me than my Dad had down on the river.
Eventually I changed everything over to SREH. I’ve given away many of those little round holed gourd’s, but I’ve still got a lot too. I hang one up hear and there for Blue Bird’s, but never again for Martin’s.

Rodger

[Spiderman]

Living on the river, there would have been an abundance of bugs which contributed to your Dads success.

I live on a lake and when all the Martins get here It is a sight to see them skimming 2' above the water & catching bugs in the afternoon. Easy food source and open fly ways over the lake has surely added to my success. I have 82 Horizontal Gourds and it is all I want to manage. Clean up after the season is over and storage, preparing them for the next spring is a lot of work.

I do nest checks roughly every 7 days, and that helps to eliminate potential problems early, but that also takes time.

So most of the Fledglings make it to full development before they leave in July.

[Rodger Drye]

Spider-Man,

That’s cool that you live on a lake. Defiantly an advantage for a Martin Landlord. Offering insects, a place to drink on the fly and a place to bathe. Yes my Dad sure did have the best place for a Purple Martin Colony. Right across the road from me is a huge lake 35-45 + acres, maybe larger. It’s actually Mount Pleasant’s water supply for the whole town. It’s a great place for the Martin’s to do their thing. It’s restricted at the only entrance with a locked gate. They don’t even allow fishing over there.
I can only imagine the Martin’s skimming over the top of the Reservoir diving after insects and dipping into the water for a quick drink.
I agree with you that it is a lot of work cleaning up after the season is over. 186 cavities is my limit as well, I don’t want to add any more gourd’s or cavities.

I too do Nest Checks about once a week. I’ve recently purchased a Digital Voice Recorder so as to help me accomplish this task more quickly and efficiently. Hopefully it will cut down on some work time.

My Bird’s don’t leave until August.

Rodger

[PMS in Virginia]

Wow! Very impressive results there in Mt. Pleasant, NC. I am still looking for and hoping to see just one to show up here at my very modest site in South central Virginia (20 miles North of the NC border) Plagued with snakes and hawks over the years I can only dream about a colony 1/10th the size of your blessing. I have since became wise enough to use netting to catch the black snakes and make them promise to leave my birds alone

I have a starling trap just like the one you described. So far this season, 6 of the "scum beaks" have traveled down the chute for their final ride. (3 in succession within a few minutes period)

I have pictures and video of the starling trap and will share with anyone wishing to see the arrangement.

[Rodger Drye]

PMS in Virginia,

I’m sure you will be seeing some Martin’s any time now. When you least expect them is when they seem to show up. Are you playing the “Dawn Song” early in the morning.? That is a small but very effective tool that will assist in bringing them in. I’ll use it for a week or so and I still play “Daytime Chatter” in the late afternoon.

I too have my share of Black Snakes and I also use Bird Netting to catch them at ground level before they ever have a chance to reach my Martin’s. I also use Aluminum Cylinder Predator Guards to prevent Raccoons and such. It all makes a difference and I believe in a strict regiment of Predator Control. Actually every little thing makes a big difference. I took out some huge beautiful trees that were hindering flight pathways. Again IMO if you want to be a successful Purple Martin Landlord you have to perform all aspects of Predator Control. I’ve never had any problems with Hawks or Owls, as I know we have a lot of them in the area. We have an abundance of Cottontail Rabbits and I’ve witnessed Hawks catching them in the daytime, and I hear Owls almost every night, and I imagine they are catching the Rabbits at night.

I trapped another Starling just yesterday bringing my total to 17 so far this year.

I don’t know how to post photo’s, that’s something I need to learn how to do. But if you can post one of your Repeating Traps by all means do so.!!

Rodger