No interest in my cavities

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Kim, it is my opinion that power lines are definitely a plus. Seldom do I see a hawk sitting on a power line. For purple martins, they love to sit on the power lines, they feel safe from hawks on the power lines, the hawks cannot hide above them.

[kim w.]

Emil
Thanks for clearing that up. That's what I thought and was confused. Even though the trees are over 100' away, I could always clear more If you think that would help. The photo I posted is looking east. I do have 2 open flyways north and south.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Kim, about cutting down some trees, it always helps to improve the site. The problem often is that the trees belong to a neighbor, or the owner hates to cut down the trees. I personally planted too many trees, then I had to cut down 8 pecan trees so that I could have martins. Also, by cutting down some trees, we could improve the appearance of our back yard, we could have flowers, and a garden.

[randy741985]

Playing dawn song and the houses are 50-60’ from my shop. The pullies came from s n k manufacturing

Kim How loud do you play the dawn song and where is it relative to your site? I seen this Outdoor speaker on youtube mounted to the top of a Trend setter house thought that was cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAuNd1517y8&t=1443s

[flyin-lowe]

I've talked to many people who feel the trees are not a huge problem, unless they start getting attacks from the trees, your picture looks open enough. At my old job about seven years ago I had theee different colonies near my office in a decent sized city that had trees everywhere. I posted pics years ago on here, one of the houses had trees touching the housing and it had martins in it. The other was a small city lot with very tall pine trees all around within 20 feet or so. The martins had to drop straight down to get to the housing.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

flyin-lowe, I also see a lot of empty houses that are too close to trees. It always helps to open up a site, and cut down some trees when the martins visit but do not stay. A friend of mine said that his housing is close to trees, and he has had martins for 10 years, but then a hawk found them and wiped out his entire colony. Nearby trees are a very bad thing for martin safety.

[flyin-lowe]

I agree with you, I was just raising the point that trees are not always a deal breaker. It is hard to tell from the OP's picture exactly how far the trees are but there are enough of them that I can't imagine it is possible to just clear them out. Some people think that if you have a tree anywhere near your martin housing that they will never choose it.

[kim w.]

Emil
How far should the nearest trees be? My site is move open than a lot in my area but there established colonies too.
Randy
I have a song bird magnet. I had it in an old Grandpa trio cavity 'not in photo' but now its at the base of a pole. Volume on high.

[rrmartins]

Our Martins sit on the power lines daily. They kind of take a break there late evening, after feeding their babies.

[TheSmiths]

How far should the nearest trees be? My site is move open than a lot in my area but there established colonies too.

Excerpt from the download center on this website: "Martins prefer housing that is placed in open areas. Choose the center of the largest open spot available, about 30-120 feet from human housing and 40-60 feet from trees. In the southern half of their breeding range, martins may accept housing that is placed within 25 feet of trees, but open areas are always best. Place the housing where you can enjoy watching the birds. Do not attach any wires to the house or pole that lead to trees, buildings, or the ground as they may allow predators to access the housing."

There are several downloads available that you may find helpful — https://www.purplemartin.org/education/ ... ad-center/

[kim w.]

The Smiths
Thanks. I have a lot more room than the diagram says needed. The houses are 50-60' from my shop

[randy741985]

Emil
How far should the nearest trees be? My site is move open than a lot in my area but there established colonies too.
Randy
I have a song bird magnet. I had it in an old Grandpa trio cavity 'not in photo' but now its at the base of a pole. Volume on high.

Your site makes mine look like a motel 6, Maybe their just not may Martins in your proximity, IDK can some more experts chime in.

[kim w.]

Here is an areal photo of my setup. For prospective the building is 32x40'. Trees inside the red line have also been removed a year ago. Hmmm looks like I need to paint the shop roof

[Buckeyefarmer]

Looks good to me. I have trees much closer and larger and having good success. Hang in there it will happen!

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Kim, I have no exact distances that separates the trees from the housing. Your site looks good. However, I will continue to say that the more open a site, the easier it is to attract martins. If you cannot attract martins, then it would help to remove some trees. It is wrong to continue to say that the trees nearby are ok, they are not. They are a safety hazard for martins. That's all that I will say on this subject

[randy741985]

Kim,
This could give you a good excuse to build a pond in that vacant spot.

[BIOteacher012]

Hi Kim,
I looked at your pictures and setting and read all the responses to your question and concern. I think your housing looks amazing, your site is martin friendly, and the power lines are a great added plus. You are doing all you need to do to get them started. It is just a matter of time and keeping at it. You can always do all the extras that some suggest, but I don't feel it is the necessary thing to get them started. As long as you have at least 2 open flyways going to the housing without tree encroachment, you should be fine. If some of your nearest trees are at least 100 ft from the housing or more, you should be okay. Ponds are an added attraction, but I have no pond next to me and have lots of martins. Keep doing what you are doing......it looks great!!

[kim w.]

BIOteacher012
Thank you for your response. Greatly appreciated. One thing I forgot to mention is my property is along a river with a lot of back water. So food is not an issue and the houses are aprox 300 yards away.
Randy
Great Idea as long as It's stocked with bluegil

[BIOteacher012]

Sounds perfect Kim. In Wisconsin, the average time it takes to get that first pair is around 7 years. Some get them right away. Other friends of mine have taken up to 10 years or longer to get a colony started. And, those sites were wide open areas with nearby water, martin friendly similar to yours. Just thought you would want to know. Be patient and be persistent, keeping out competitor birds that can delay and deter visiting martins. Also, if you don't already play the daytime chatter CD from the PMCA, that might help you bring in more visitors than just the songbird magnet. I played Dawnsong in the early morning and the Chatter CD the rest of the day. I got lots of visitors with the dual playing method. Just sharing what worked for me. Good luck.

[Ransom Graham]

One thing I know for sure. SY Martin's are very lazy. Just wondered if you have prenested some of your compartments. As much as you read about clean compartments the SY Martin's like a dirty cavity. Meaning a little pine straw and a few small dead leaves and some mud inside the compartments. You can look at some of the nest videos online and get a good idea. I hope this will help!