I happened to drive through a rural crossroads town in eastern Kentucky today where I had not been before. The words "rural" and "eastern Kentucky" are a bit redundant when used in the same sentence. The little country store was hosting martins in a large wooden house. There were 48 cavities on each side for a total of 96. But the name on the roof was "Motel - 108" which makes me think there must have been additional cavities on each side of the attic.
The owners did not know for sure how long the house had been there but stated it had been a long time. They said that the one support post had caught on fire just recently during this nesting season. The house sloped to one side for a while until it was fixed. But they were pleased that the martins returned once the house was leveled back up. I should have asked more questions but was in a hurry as usual.
Discovered a Large Martin House Today
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scottfreidhof
- Posts: 355
- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 7:13 am
- Location: Kentucky/Morehead
- Attachments
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- Purple Martin House - Johnson County KY(2).jpeg
- (2.42 MiB) Not downloaded yet
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Martintown33
- Posts: 1366
- Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:21 pm
- Location: Laplace,La
- Martin Colony History: Colony started in 1998. 2 s&k modified houses and gourd rack
Cool photo… interesting big Martin house!
Rob
Rob
PMCA member
Laplace, La
Laplace, La
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C.C.Martins
- Posts: 3368
- Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:15 am
- Location: Corpus Christi Tx
- Martin Colony History: 2016- Visitors.
2017- 5 pair. 15 fledged
2018- 18 pair. 85 fledged
2019- 17 pair. 81 fledged
2020- 25 pair. 111 fledged
2021- 28 pair. 118 fledged
2022- 33 pair. 151 fledged
2023- 33 pair. 165 fledged
2024- 40 pair. 185 fledged
2025- 40 pair. 181 fledged
HOSP:
Home colony: mix natural, super, Troyer and excluder gourds, enlarged compartment house. All SREH.
Satellite colony: Oso Bay Preserve: 49 PMCA excluder gourds; 16 room Lonestar Goliad with Modified Excluder entrances.
2019: Visitors
2020: 3 pair, 11 fledged
2021: 10 pair, 30 fledged
2022: 11 pair, 35 fledged
2023: 18 pair, 101 fledged
2024: 39 pair, 181 fledged
2025: 51 pair, 216 fledged
PMCA member
Yes, id say!!!!! Wow, that is alot of house. Wish they knew more of the history, looks to have been there a while.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
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DeeCee
- Posts: 56
- Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2019 2:59 pm
- Location: Brandon, Manitoba
- Martin Colony History: 2019 1 pair 4 fledged
2020 4 pairs 11 fledged
2021 7 pairs 33 fledged
2022 9 pairs 35 fledged
2023 9 pairs 37 fledged
2024 8 pairs 34 fledged
Very cool photo. Thanks for posting it! That is one BIG martin mansion.
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Phil01
- Posts: 346
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 6:42 pm
- Location: Fernandina Beach FL
- Martin Colony History: 52 Cavities offered.
24 unit gourd rack with Troyer Horizontal and Vertical Gourds. K-18 gourd rack all Troyer Horizontal Gourds. Sunset Inn aluminum house with 4 Troyer Horizontal Gourds.
2020- 1 pair, 4 eggs, fledged 3
2021- 3 pair, 15 eggs, fledged 8
2022- 5 pair, 26 eggs, fledged 21
2023- 10 pair, 53 eggs, fledged 27
2024- 26 pair, 125 eggs, fledged 83
2025- 32 pair, 182 eggs, fledged 134
2026- Added a Troyer K-18 all Troyer Horizontal.
PMCA Member
Very cool photo! Talk about HUGE! Wonder how many engineers it took to design that? lol
Phil
Phil
PMCA member
Fernandina Beach, FL
Fernandina Beach, FL
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scottfreidhof
- Posts: 355
- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 7:13 am
- Location: Kentucky/Morehead
Mstan I believe the base of the house was about 8-10 feet off the ground. I was standing on an elevated side street when I took the first photo which might make it appear lower than it was. Another photo is attached to this reply taken from the opposite side of the house.
- Attachments
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- Purple Martin House - Johnson County KY(5).jpeg
- (2.9 MiB) Not downloaded yet
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Mstan
- Posts: 164
- Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2024 7:52 pm
- Location: Missouri
- Martin Colony History: 2023- 2 racks. 24 gourds
2024- 2 racks.28 gourds. 100 fledged
2025- 3 racks. 24 gourds,6 chirpy nest.105 fledged.
Oh wow! That is really neat. Thank you for this pic. When I see that house and imagine all the work and time that went into making it, I can see the love and appreciation they had for the Martins. Thank you for sharing.
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Dave Duit
- Posts: 2146
- Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2003 2:02 pm
- Location: Iowa / Nevada
- Martin Colony History: In 2026, 88 pair with 333 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.
Interesting pic. Thanks for sharing. The nest checks would appear to be difficult on such a structure.
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Conrad Baker
- Posts: 762
- Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:43 pm
- Location: Paulina, Louisiana
Wish I could have one that size in my yard! I noticed in the second picture that pesky little sparrow is waiting to find him a home. Obviously can't shoot the sparrows there, so I was wondering how/if they control the sparrows?
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Birdiegirl
- Posts: 367
- Joined: Sun May 24, 2020 7:03 pm
- Location: Scott County Kentucky
- Martin Colony History: Two poles: 2 T-14s and 8 gourds
2021- 1 pair, 5 fledged
2022- 11 pair, 36 fledged
2023- 20 pair, 78 fledged
2024- 32 pair, 109 fledged
2025- 34 pair, 117 fledged
2026-
Scott- what a great find! The martins sure seem to love it. I may need to plan a visit to Johnson County to see this one in person!
Laura
PMCA member
PMCA member
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scottfreidhof
- Posts: 355
- Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 7:13 am
- Location: Kentucky/Morehead
Not sure about sparrow management Conrad. That sparrow was perched at one of the entrances in the center of the big house. He flew off to the smaller house when I approached for the photo. He was the only sparrow I noticed. The house sparrow population is low in eastern Kentucky probably because the landscape is 80-90 percent forested. I lived in an adjacent county to where this martin house is located for 6 years. Not once in that 6 years did a house sparrow show up at the bluebird or martin houses. The county I live in now is still part of the forested Cumberland Plateau of eastern Kentucky. But the ridge tops are just wide enough to allow for clearing of the forest to create cow pastures. House sparrows thrive better around the cow farms. As a result I have to remove a few sparrows every spring at my current location.