Discouraged in TN...

[phillip26r]

This is my 3rd year to attempt to attract PMs. Last year I had a pair of ASYs stay for a few days, only to be run off by the starlings. I converted to SREH for this year and added a couple of natural gourds with round entry holes below my house. My house has the expanded compartments, too.

This year I haven't gotten even a sniff. I'm about ready to just give up, take the whole damn thing down and just enjoy my other birds. I have a pair of EBs with 4 babies that will fledge in about a week. I have a mockingbird starting a nest, and a brand new pair of orioles. Not to mention about 50 goldfinches, indigo buntings, and rose breasted grosbeaks.

I grew up around PMs and I really want them at my site, but they don't seem to have any interest.

[John Atteberry]

Hello phillip26r,
Now just throw that attitude away and perk up with a cup of coffee, play the dawnsong, and watch the sky! Some landlords have waited for years to finally get martins! It has been only three for you and having that pair last year was a good sign that your site is worth looking at and staying! But the starlings ran them off but this year is still early for you! The subbies should be there shortly so just hang in there and be happy! Never give up or you might miss on having a big colony let alone alot of martins! Just don't give up!!! Keep us posted on your season too! Thanks John!

[Dale Davis]

phillip26r, I am with John on this one. Please don't throw in the sponge yet. If you had a pair there last year for several days then the potential is there. Just keep those starlings and sparrows run off and hang in there. The reward is well worth the effort.

[Guest]

We had a house up for at least ten years before getting any martins whatsoever, so it may just take more time. In fact, we had the old house up, and I basically had gotten to the point of paying it no attention and just letting sparrows live in it, then suddenly, martins arrived WITH sparrows already there. Needless to say, my sparrow tolerance has now changed, and the martins appear to be thriving. Wish I could say something to make you more hopeful, but my own experience is that sometimes it takes much longer than we think it should.

[phillip26r]

I can't help but think it's the SREHs. The pair that was here last year was using the round holes and that was before I expanded the compartments too. Maybe I should go buy another house that hasn't been modified?

[Julio]

I can't help but think it's the SREHs. The pair that was here last year was using the round holes and that was before I expanded the compartments too. Maybe I should go buy another house that hasn't been modified?

The SREH are not the issue, if they like your site the SREH are irrelevant. Don't take your house down be patient. If you don't have any birds this year you will certainly get fledglings and 1yr birds that will inspect your housing guaranteeing pairs next year. Best of luck.

[cchild03]

I am in the same mindset as you, and our stories sound very similar. Every day, I give myself a little pep talk to hold out a little while longer, but it's so hard.

Last year was my first year to put up a house. In mid-April, I had six PMs stay at my house for several days. They even slept in the compartments at night. They disappeared after about four days, and looking back now, I'm thinking that maybe they were just migrating through on their way further north (they were all adult birds). It was pretty cool during their stay, and maybe they sensed it was even colder up north at their nest site.

After that, I had no activity whatsoever at my site for over a month. I religiously cleaned out sparrow nests from a pesky couple that finally disappeared right when I was preparing to do some active control, I encouraged a bluebird couple to build in my bluebird box rather than in my PM house, and I generally just tried to provide clean accommodations for any PMs who might be looking. In late May and early June, a lone subbie male began visiting every afternoon. He would circle the house, calling, and sometimes landing. He never attracted a mate, and he never spent the night. July rolled around, and another sparrow couple appeared (luckily, we don't have many in my neighborhood). While pulling out their nest one day, my telescoping pole fell down, practically taking off my finger in the process. I ended up in the ER with 18 stitches in my finger. That was my lowest point! From that day forward last summer, I stopped maintaining the PM house altogether. The sparrows never came back, which was strange, but no other birds--PMs included--visited, either.

That brings us to this year. My finger was healed, and I was more determined than ever to establish a PM colony at my site. In the winter, I bought four Big Bo gourds and hung them under my house. My aunt has had a successful colony in Louisiana for years, and she thought the gourds might pull the PMs in to my site if nothing else would. Her birds will take a gourd over a house compartment any day.

So far, I haven't had a single visitor to my new, improved setup. I've seen two or three PMs circling my property at high altitude, but they never come down low enough to take a look. Now I'm battling starlings. This is a new problem for me, and just when I think I've taken care of them, more appear out of nowhere. I got so frustrated this past weekend that I plugged all the holes in my house and just left the gourds open ... for some reason, the starlings have no interest in the gourds. Since plugging the holes, the remaining starlings have disappeared ... maybe they moved on somewhere else, though I'm not sure I could be so lucky. I watch my house religiously, and if I see any PMs showing interest, I will unplug the holes.

I'm going on and on, but I just wanted to share my experience with you to let you know that you aren't the only one feeling frustrated. I wouldn't be too quick to change out your SREH ... I have round holes in both gourds and the house, and I had visitors last year. But this year ... nothing! (Now that starlings are becoming a problem, some type of SREH might be a good idea for my site.)

I've learned so much from this forum, but I especially enjoy reading the posts from others who are trying to establish colonies. I guess misery loves company.

The adult PMs have really just begun to arrive here in Kansas over the past couple of weeks due to our cold, miserable April, and I'm still holding out hope that the SYs just haven't gotten here yet. Maybe my SY visitor from last year will return with a mate.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck! Just know that there are others of us out here who feel your pain. Keep us posted!

Candace in Kansas

[phillip26r]

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement.

Candace, I hate to think about how mad I would have been if it had been me instead of you that had to get the stitches.

Sometimes I just look at that ridiculous looking thing up there (let's face it folks, the housing isn't pretty when you don't have martins) and I just want to blow it up with a bazooka!

I'll leave it up until I get martins or it gives me a trip to the ER, whichever comes first, lol.

[Dennis D]

It is way to early in the season for you to give up hope for this year. you still have plenty of time. It took me SIX years of reading everything here, having other landlords over to look at my site, etc. before I got any martins to stay. Then I went through the phase where I just had a male and the females would not stay. I cut down trees and moved the housing. I put up mirrors and drove my neighbors crazy with the dawnsong blasting all day. (I'm sooo glad I don't have to play that anymore!) These are the things you must do if you have a questionable site or there are not many martins in your area. But most of all you have to be patient, and you have to work on your site. If you can't be home all day you must trap sparrows and starlings, so when you do have martins show up they can be comfortable. You have to decide how important is it to you to attract these birds. It is not easy for most people. Best of luck to you all.

[cchild03]

Too funny! I was laughing as I read your last post.

When I returned to work after my injury, my coworkers couldn't believe that I was so determined to attract "some bird" that I actually almost ended up with one less finger in the process. My husband also thinks that I've completely lost my mind. I'm glad there are others out there who understand.

There are many days when I also want to just blow the thing up. If it wasn't there, I wouldn't spend so much time obsessing about it. I'm a busy person, and this time of year, my productivity takes a nose dive because I'm always running out the door every time I think I might hear a PM flying around outside. And when I pull up my driveway and see a starling or sparrow anywhere near the house, the next few hours are pretty much shot as I develop a strategy for getting rid of them.

I know some people have tried for 8, 9, 10 years ... I don't know if my health or patience will hold out that long.

I'll keep my fingers crossed (even the one with the nice, jagged scar) that you will attract PMs before any trips to the hospital.

[Guest]

This is my 5th year with no martins, I also live in Tn. near TN/Al line and I do not have martins, I have had some visitors, for a few hours, thats about it. I have not had a starling problem or a sparrow problem this year I have starlings they will from time to time land on the pm house. they sit a minuet and then fly off. I have the crescent openings on the pm house, and two gourds with crescent openings. I have not seen a martin even land on the pm house, they will fly around it and then sit on the power lines then they leave. I know I will have to start with first year pm's so far none will stay around. The inside of the martin house and gourds are as clean as the day I put them up. Each year I clean them and close them up for the winter, then before martin season I open them up put in new nesting, make sure everything is clean, turn on the dawnsong cd and wait. Nothing,
I had three young ones on monday come by and leave, come back in a hour, and leave have not seen them since.
discouraging

[John Atteberry]

Hello Phillip,
I would then open up a couple of round holes just in case a martin would show up and then when they pair up and have eggs, then put the SREH on then! That way they would get in for sure! Give it a try, I think it will work! I heard similar reports of this working! Just make sure you have traps or shooting in place for those S@S birds! Thanks John!

[Guest]

Phillip26r, I've been trying to attract martins for 8 yrs. I just bought a brand new pulley system for all gourds I have 3 martin houses in the garage and also a web cam. So I do have some money invested in this and not a martin to show for. I have a total of six speakers outside playing the dawn song from 5 am to about 8:30 pm. This plays all day 7 days a week. Did have some adults show up but just resting and moved on. So look to the sky and he will be your guid.
Just remember me when when you get upset because I feel your pain too.

[Guest]

PHILLIP26R
THIS IS COTTON OVER AT DARDEN BY DOGWOOD LAKE, I HAD 2 PAIR THIS AFTERNOON WHEN I GOT IN FROM WORK. FIRST REAL HOPE I'VE HAD ALL YEAR AND THEY ALL WHERE SY BIRDS 1 PAIR STAYED THE NIGHT SO I GUSESS TIME WILL TELL. COME BY SOME AFTERNOON AND WILL TALK ABOUT WHAT WE MIGHT CHANGE.BUT DON'T GIVE UP, THIS IS MY 3RD YEAR HERE ,PEOPLE WOULD MAKE TO MUCH FUN OF ME IF I GAVE UP & I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN.

GOOD LUCK
COTTON

[Guest]

Dangit, Phillip---You stole my post!!! I was going to start a thread titled DESPERATE IN DELAWARE, and ask who else was still waiting.

But I'm not really desperate, and I'll tell you why. If you have been reading all the posts this year, and I know that you have, you can tell that the majority of landlords have followed a rather predictable path to occupancy. The first year you have either no birds at all, or else you get lookers after fledging. Then the next year, you may get a subbie pair, but usually something goes wrong. In my case, I had pair failure after they had built a nest. Others have had S&S problems, because most people don't seem to get a handle on them for a couple of years at least. Or maybe a snake got 'em, because you didn't know you needed a snake guard. So, in between years 2 and 3, you get serious about this. That's when you start buying every trapping device known to man. You get the house ready like a professional. You make the checklist in your head. Pine straw, check. Eggshells, check. Dawnsong playing, check. Decoys, check. Perches, check. Up the house goes, but this year, you've got the holes closed. No sparrows are gonna nest in your house! Then you come on here, and you read the posts, because you know there's gotta be something else you can do. Dark cavities? Down come the houses and gourds, out comes the spray paint. The nest will swirl around in a plastic gourd? Down come the gourds, again. Can't have our martin babies twirling around in there like a Disney teacup ride! HAWKS??? OMG! Off to the hardware store for dog fence to make guards. And on and on it goes, until finally, FINALLY, you think the house and gourds are ready for occupancy. Meanwhile, the weather has been crazy down south, the martins are stalled in Texas, the subbies are still sunning themselves down in Brazil, and you're left wondering if they will EVER get here. And by then you've worked yourself up into such a state that every day that goes by without a bird visiting your site seems like a year and a half, at least. And then, one day, just when you've almost given up hope, when your family stops even pretending to be interested in your little hobby, when, yes, you really just want to take a bazooka to the whole thing....one glorious day, you walk outside to go to work, and you don't even glance at the house anymore, it's just too painful--and then you see something out of the corner of your eye. Is that....it's just a decoy....NO, I didn't put a decoy there...OH....MY.....GOD!!!!!!

And the martin is just sitting there looking at you like, "Hey, what's up? Name's Marty. Nice setup you got here. Mind if I perch?"

Don't ever give up!!!!!!!!!!!

:o)

[phillip26r]

PHILLIP26R
THIS IS COTTON OVER AT DARDEN BY DOGWOOD LAKE, I HAD 2 PAIR THIS AFTERNOON WHEN I GOT IN FROM WORK. FIRST REAL HOPE I'VE HAD ALL YEAR AND THEY ALL WHERE SY BIRDS 1 PAIR STAYED THE NIGHT SO I GUSESS TIME WILL TELL. COME BY SOME AFTERNOON AND WILL TALK ABOUT WHAT WE MIGHT CHANGE.BUT DON'T GIVE UP, THIS IS MY 3RD YEAR HERE ,PEOPLE WOULD MAKE TO MUCH FUN OF ME IF I GAVE UP & I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN.

GOOD LUCK
COTTON

Thanks for the encouragement, Mr. Cotton. I'll look you up one day. For what it's worth, those subbies probably had to fly right over my set up to get to you!

As for people making fun of you, I had a neighbor threaten to put Toby Keith in my CD player so when the dawnsong was to come on it would play "Who's Your Daddy". It's great to have friends, huh?

[carlymac]

Phillip,
What part of the state are you in?
I'm in Hendersonville, about 15 miles north of Nashville and I believe most anybody can get martins in Tennessee in time. I'm very lucky as I'm on a large body of water (Old Hickory Lake) but that isn't nessesary to attract martins.
I too grew up with martins and decided to put up a house 4 years ago, with the mentoring of Thurman Seber I had a pair the first year. I've since moved to a new house, last year and tried to bend the rules by putting the martin house where I wanted it....well after the first of May I realized it was not what the birds wanted, so I moved the housing to an open area and had birds within a week. Now is prime time for subbies so hang in there. Believe it or not we are in a great martin area and I believe if you are patient and follow the martin attracting rules you'll be successful. If you are in my area I would be happy to visit your location and give you any advise I can.

Keep your chin up,
Carl McCoy
[email protected]

[phillip26r]

Carl, I'm in Lexington, about halfway between Nashville and Memphis. You know, God's country!

Thanks for offering to help. I'm sure there are better set ups, but I had PMs last year, so maybe I'm panicking a little to early.

I appreciate the encouragement I've gotten from this board!

[Linda Reynolds]

Phillip, I am sorry to hear about your disappointing season. I sent you a private message containing our phone number. We are located in Adamsville, directly south of you on 22. If there is anything we can do to assist, just give us a call.

We currently offer 46 gourds and have a full house. Will be very happy to send the extras north to Lexington. As of Sunday, our earliest nests contained 15 nestlings, 63 eggs and all other gourds contain nests, green leaves and are ready for eggs. Subbies are slow to arrive and not in mass as in previous years. Our earliest martins survived the cold weather due to vigorous supplemental feeding. However, we did lose some of the earliest eggs that simply did not hatch. Those birds that lost eggs are now re-nesting.

Give us a call if you need anything......

[phillip26r]

Thanks, Linda, I did get your message. I appreciate your offering to help!

I was in Adamsville last week. It's a lot like here - nothing much changes!