Help!

Martinmelody · Sun Mar 29, 2026 3:15 pm

I finally had a male adult purple martin show up. He hung around the house off and on each day flying around the house and sitting on a nearby power line. Sometimes he would fly with other martins up very high overhead. He came back and slept in the same gourd every night for a week. Now he has not shown up for 2 days at all...not even to sleep in the gourd at night. Is he gone for good? What did I do wrong?

Dave Reynolds · Sun Mar 29, 2026 3:48 pm

Not to Worry…. He will be back…. For sure….

Dave

Martinmelody · Sun Mar 29, 2026 4:34 pm

Hope so! Thank you! He arrived on my birthday. A great gift then he returned himself!

flyin-lowe · Mon Mar 30, 2026 1:42 pm

It is unlikely you did anything wrong. Martins are communal creatures that prefer to nest with other martins. That is one of the hard parts to getting a colony going. Once you get a few pair your numbers will start to increase but getting a pair to nest by themselves, or that happen to atttract a couple other pair are what it takes to get going. I don't notice it much at my current colony, but my original site, it was very common for the first couple of martins to show, to leave for a couple days then come back and get to selecting cavities. Many people have reported seeing this, so it might just be out scouting around or it could have just been passing through on it's way to it's home site.

Martinmelody · Mon Mar 30, 2026 7:45 pm

Thank you. I sure did enjoy watching him during the day and as he entered his gourd for the night.

Birdiegirl · Tue Mar 31, 2026 11:53 am

Hi Martinmelody,

I truly don't think you did anything wrong- the season is still pretty early. Apologies if I missed it, but do you already have an established colony, or are you looking to start a new one?

If you already have a colony and are awaiting return, I completely understand how the 'watch and wait' is soooo hard! I am a younger colony (5 years) and had the same scenario as you did this year. A lone ASY-M arrived about a week ago and it wasn't until yesterday any others joined him. During that first week he wasn't around much... and I was only sure he stayed in the housing one or two nights. The other nights I think he was either in the trees, or he snuck in on me. It seems that without other birds on site to impress, the drive to socialize with others and/or stay out feeding takes precedence. As others migrate back, I bet you'll see him hang closer to the housing- and hopefully bring friends.

If you are looking to start a colony- your best chance to do that is when the SY's start arriving in your area. The returning ASY's are returning to the site they nested the previous year. The SY birds are returning with an open mind

... they aren't already 'tied' to a site- and they will be looking! There's a lot of info on this forum about how to lure SY's in- but won't go into that in case that's not your situation.

Good luck this year!

Martinmelody · Tue Mar 31, 2026 1:08 pm

Hello Birdiegirl!
Thanks for your encouraging words. I have only ever had 1 pair of Martins that stayed and had ba bies. I think something happened to their original housing cause they came very late in the season and when the last baby refused to fledge...a whole colony of
Martins came to assist. It was the most enjoyable thing to see! They did not return the next year. I have moved to a new house and have tried for 4 years to attract Martins.
I think I had the house too close to the fence cause I saw 1 or 2 Martins fly over but none even checked out the house/gourds to my knowledge. So now in the new location which is very open is where the Martin came and stayed for a week but haven't seen him since. I am playing the dawnsong and daytime chatter. I guess he got tired of being alone and moved on. Maybe I will get some of the younger birds when they arrive. Keeping my fingers crossed. Any suggestions would be appreciated. So frustrating!

Birdiegirl · Tue Mar 31, 2026 1:45 pm

Oh gosh- isn't it interesting how martins come from everywhere to encourage newbies on fledging day? An entertaining group effort, for sure.

Hang in there. It sounds like you are trying the right things- the Dawn Song/chatter recordings are proven helps! Have you considered using martin decoys on the housing? They are widely available and easy to install- meant to catch the eye of a passing martins and entice them to investigate housing. We leave our decoys up even after martins settle in for the season. If an aerial predator shows up, they can be the 'slowest birds' left when the real birds fly off.

Please keep us posted!

Martinmelody · Tue Mar 31, 2026 1:48 pm

I will add a decoy tomorrow. Saw some at Tractor Supply. Thank you!

Bird Brain · Tue Mar 31, 2026 9:14 pm

As soon as he finds a mate, he'll bring her back to your site to investigate. You said he spent the night. That's the best sign you could ever hope for. He might have to wait for an SY female to get a mate since all the ASY females are already loyal to another site. Good Luck

Martinmelody · Wed Apr 01, 2026 4:44 pm

Dave Reynolds wrote: ↑
Sun Mar 29, 2026 3:48 pm
Not to Worry…. He will be back…. For sure….

Dave

You were right! He came back with a buddy. Thanks!

Martinmelody · Wed Apr 01, 2026 4:47 pm

Bird Brain wrote: ↑
Tue Mar 31, 2026 9:14 pm
As soon as he finds a mate, he'll bring her back to your site to investigate. You said he spent the night. That's the best sign you could ever hope for. He might have to wait for an SY female to get a mate since all the ASY females are already loyal to another site. Good Luck

He came back today with a buddy. But they were trying to fight off 2 sparrows that showed up on the house this morning. My husband is out there now to help take care of the sparrows. Thanks!

Dave Reynolds · Fri Apr 03, 2026 8:06 am

... Martinmelody ... So glad he came back... We all have the same experiences with starting a new colony. Never knowing if they will come back or not.. But you are in great shape now that he has come back and brought another Martin with him.. He is set and so are you..

Enjoy the season and keep us up to date with how things are going ...

Dave .

Martinmelody · Fri Apr 03, 2026 3:41 pm

Dave Reynolds wrote: ↑
Fri Apr 03, 2026 8:06 am
... Martinmelody ... So glad he came back... We all have the same experiences with starting a new colony. Never knowing if they will come back or not.. But you are in great shape now that he has come back and brought another Martin with him.. He is set and so are you.. Enjoy the season and keep us up to date with how things are going ...

Dave .

Mr. Dave....he came back this morning with 2 females. Both inspected house/ gourds. One flew away after a few minutes but the other female stayed all morning in and out of gourds. This afternoon they have been flying together over the house. Finally!!!!! My Dad has passed away but he always had Martins at this location. He would be so proud of the continued Martin tradition. Again....many thanks for your encouragement!

Birdiegirl · Fri Apr 03, 2026 8:22 pm

So happy to read your update! You are well on your way- congratulations! Enjoy every minute.

jhcox · Sat Apr 04, 2026 12:02 pm

You can also put small compact mirrors in accouple of the cavities. So when they investigate a cavity they see a martin already in there and they will feel that its an established colony. That along with the Dawn song and daytime chatter and the decoys should increase your chances. Also smearing mud on the entrance and porches help too. good luck.