Dead purple martin ... vacant houses

[Guest]

I am a newbie at landlording purple martins. Late last summer, we put up a plastic 12 room house on a tri-pole. We placed it about 100 feet from our house and about 20 feet from a honeysuckle hedge. There is over 100 feet of open area on the remaining sides. The honeysuckle hedge is about 40 feet from the town creek in which a Blue Heron resides along with some big unidentified fish and turtles. Seems like an ideal spot ... I also read somewhere that pm don't mind poles and strings hanging down in front of the entry way while other birds hate that. The pm will use a side angle entry to get in...so, I fixed the rooms with wires in front of the entry ways to ward off other birds.

This spring we attracted some pm and they started building nests. I have seen them flying over the creek and near the creek. When I walked under the house a couple of weeks ago, one flew over and over while I counted the number of rooms that had grass coming out of them. Tonight I was wondering why I never see them coming in and out of the house at any time of day or evening. I brought the house down the pole and found a dead pm in one of the rooms with very little grass in it. Must have died while building the nest.

My question is...should I clean all of the rooms out now? There doesn't appear to be any life in them but I am not sure if they are coming back to use it since there was a dead bird in the house. Or, should I leave it alone until fall?

[RC Moser]

Well, you never mentioned what type of entry holes you have? This is important. If round I suspect the PM was killed by starlings? Do you see any signs of damage and was it a male or female? Second Martins usually use very little grass to make there nests (a least the ones in my area don't), Mostly leaves, small twigs, Pine needles. Some make a large nest, some make a small nest, but the nest is flat, not grass filled all the way to the top.

I have found throughout the martins season (from the first scout to the last baby fledged you have to monitor your house or houses for intruders. Mostly English Sparrow and Starlings. Starlings will take a occupied cavity out right and will kill the bird that occupies the nest cavity. PMs really have no defence against a starling except to excape with their life. Landlords can defend against the Starling by using some type of SREH's.

English Sparrows will constantly badger and harass PMs, Pick their eggs while they are out and evidently take over the cavity IMO. You or the martin has no defence against the E. sparrow due to the fact the E. sparrow can get into any Type of SREH.

There is a remote change the PM just died from natural causes, But with small colony the odds are he or she didn't. There is also an out side change an owl got it, but I dought it cause you usually only find Feathers or body parts, or nothing.

[Dale Hrncirik]

I would clean out the nest with the dead bird and leave the others alone for at least another month or two. What kind of entrances do you have on your martin house...round holes or SREHs? Starlings are notorious for killing adult martins while nest building or while incubating. If you have round holes, then you should really consider better options. Also, you will have much better luck if you hang a few(2-4) large gourds under your housing. Good luck next year!

Dale