Dawn Song

[sawhisker]

I am in central Arkansas and have yet to see any purple martins. I am hoping it is due to our chilly, rainy weather as of late. I was relieved to read on the forum that I am not alone in this boat. This is year 2 for my house so I am trying everything I can to maximize my attempts to attract Martins to my house. I read that playing the Dawn Song is helpful. This may be a silly question, but what time of day should I play the recording? Morning only, mid-day, evening, any time? Thanks in advance for any advice!

[deancamp]

Others will disagree with me, but i say play it all day long. If they are in the area it will draw them in to have a look anytime of the day. I don't think it hurts, so why not? Most activity would be early to late morning and then less, but again evening.

[ShawnK]

I'm with you Deancamp. It does draw them in. I think it helps to shut it off when they land and let them investigate.
Sawhisker,
I would consider using mirrors if you're not already in conjunction with the dawnsong. If you end up not getting a pair to stay this year you may also consider playing the dawnsong when this years young ones are out flying in your area. Once this season's are born and start flying about it may be helpful for those to know you are there for the potential of returning to start a colony the following season.
Shawn

[Whippy]

I played mine a lot. Started in the morning at no set time and let it run into the afternoon. I had a remote as well so I could turn it on and off at leisure. So if I thought it bothered them once there, I'd turn it off to let them do their thing.

For me, I discovered placement was also important. I started with the player on a window ledge about 20-30 feet from my gourds. I noticed the Martins would come in and look into that area without putting much effort into the gourd rack. I then moved it to the base of the pole, set it on a small table and pointed it straight up. I then started to get Martins landing on the rack and looking around rather than flying by looking around.

I had that going plus the added benefit of having a 6 room Trio across the alley that always had two pair and all the other rooms closed. So the ones that couldn't get in there came over to have a look at mine. At the time they were 40 feet apart. I've moved the Trio this year to my yard and opened all 6 rooms. Today I have a few new females having a look at both accommodations.

Playing the dawn song with a couple of decoys in my first year helped a lot. I just didn't have a set time that I played it nor was I afraid to play it at any part of the day. Right or wrong I'm not sure but it did collect some looks.

Coolwhips

[flyin-lowe]

In nature they start singing the dawn song well before daylight. I had my auto player set from 4:00 am until about 9:00 to replicate that. If I was outside around the yard I would manually turn it on. If there are some martins within earshot of it they will usually come and check it out no matter what time of day. I had some martins that seemed confused and or annoyed by it. One year I had one on the ground flogging (for lack of better terms) my CD player which was at ground level in a trash bag. Once it has drawn them to your property it has done its job. So I would turn mine off if I was around and saw them so they wouldn't be pre occupied by the player.

[Archer]

It will attract them whenever they here it. I played mine all day. It worked.

[Dave Reynolds]

..... I say Play it. Play it... PLAY IT. ,,, All day long if it doesn’t bother you or your neighbors.... It will definitely pull them in if they are in the area... I have used it for years.... and finally got a pair to settle in last year..

Dave