Song bird magnet

Thomas Maddox · Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:24 pm

I've had an S&K 12 compartment house up for a few years now. I didn't properly manage it and was wiped out by a rat snake last year. After that, I got serious about starting a proper colony. I took down that S&K house and bought another one, but enlarged the compartments, closed off the attics, and added predator guards. I also took out a few trees. This was later in the season and no PM stopped by again. I also bought a 16 compartment Trendsetter and put it up. I have added predator guards to this one also. Additionally, I've prenested with pine straw. Do you think that the Song Bird magnet is worth it? I still work full time.
Sulphur, Louisiana

C.C.Martins · Sat Jan 15, 2022 5:04 pm

Sir, great upgrades. Sorry for those losses, we all learn and make it better. Sounds to me like your doing all the right things.
Why not? If it works, great!! I'd say give it a shot.
Just my 2 cents.
Tom

deancamp · Sat Jan 15, 2022 5:47 pm

My opinion would be, anyone trying to attract Martins to a new colony should be playing the Dawn Song. My experience with the Bird Magnet is a little mixed. The good part and the most important is that it definitely attracted Martins and you don't have to worry about in the weather. On the down side the Dawn Song it plays is a bit glitchy ( but it attracted Martins) and I had one that quit working. I plugged it into a timer so it would play when I wanted without having to start and stop manually. I hope this information helps.

Thomas Maddox · Sat Jan 15, 2022 6:03 pm

Thank you both!

Tom and Shelley · Sun Jan 16, 2022 4:27 pm

Good afternoon,
I am also thinking of buying the SBM. We had a colony collapse two years ago through my own fault. I have an iPod with a set of speakers that I played last year and we had 1 pair so we are in the process of rebuilding however I do not want to leave the iPod and speakers outside when we are not at home so I was thinking of the SBM.
What do you mean its play is a bit glitchy? Also does it come with the dawn song loaded and does it have a volume control. The info is a bit lax in operation details.
TT

deancamp · Sun Jan 16, 2022 4:44 pm

It has no volume control and yes the Dawn Song is loaded on it. You can choose between the Dawn Song and other song birds. By glitchy, I mean it is not fluid sounding like the cd version. Both of the SBMs I had were a poor quality audio that would kinda hesitate at some points and then continue on. I had no problem with them in the weather and they did attract Martins.

Thomas Maddox · Sun Jan 16, 2022 6:00 pm

I went ahead and pulled the trigger. Why not another $50 after I've already dropped a small fortune on the Trendsetter and accessories. The SBM, at least the newer ones, do have a volume adjustment knob. I am not sure about the quantity of the sound. I read a ton of old posts here about the SBM. Many stated that the device didn't seem to sturdy, only lasting a season or 2, but many seemed to think they were effective in drawing in PMs. If It helps me draw in a pair or two, it will be worth it for me.

C.C.Martins · Sun Jan 16, 2022 6:57 pm

I think you did the right thing. Iv never used it, but they are drawn to the sounds. Last year I put up a late house for the subbies, they wouldn't go for it at all....they were drawn to the commotion at the other systems. Days, nothing. House was in view of the main systems too.
I went and found purple martin chatter and played it on my phone right under the house. 30 maybe 40 minutes, they were checking it out. They were a bit confused because it was a lot of martins making a racket on the phone but it worked.
Hope yours works and you fill up! Even one season, money well spent in my view.
All the best,
Tom

Dave Reynolds · Mon Jan 17, 2022 11:56 am

... Great Question .. I have never use one.. I bought an outdoor speaker and wired it up to the Aux speakers in the back of my boom box.. I played the Dawn Song all day, from 8 in the morning until 5 or 6 in the evenings. It did bring in Martins every year, but until I moved my houses to a more open area, I didn’t get any to stay. My gourd rack is about 250 feet away from my house .. When I saw martins going in and out of the houses and gourds, I would turn the volume way down... or off.. It will bring them in to look around, but you have got to be in an area with a few different flying paths to the houses.. Once you get them ,, they will bring other Martins to your houses, so you probably won’t need the Dawn Song any longer...

Good luck ...

Dave

Thomas Maddox · Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:26 pm

Thanks for the replies. My PM house is about 60 feet from my home and no trees are closer than 60 feet from the PM house. Hopefully they'll like the setup and a few will move in this year . I realize it may take a few years to get established though. However, due to the recent devastating hurricanes (Laura and Ida), many PM houses were destroyed, so you never know.

jhcox · Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:39 am

I’ve had two of the songbird magnets for several years they work well and have a volume control. I actually put one of the songbird magnets in the S&K barn style house. After enlarging the compartments to only six compartments and closing the attic. I had an idea that I thought would work fairly well I open the attic and put the songbird magnet in the attic and ran the cord down the pole. So not only does it make it sound like there’s birds in the house it elevates the sound of the songbird magnet higher in the air. I hope this helps.

H. Cox Heiskell TN

CTMartins · Tue Jan 18, 2022 4:03 pm

Got one off ebay for $30 will resell on ebay once they come

Thomas Maddox · Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:22 am

Got her up and running! The quality of the sound isn't bad in my opinion and the volume goes very high. I've started playing it as I'm trying to get my neighbors used to their noise. Lol. This is normally the time of year when the scouts start arriving in Louisiana. We'll see. I've done all that I can do up to this point.

C.C.Martins · Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:39 am

That was fast!!!

Thomas Maddox · Wed Jan 19, 2022 6:33 pm

Yes sir! One of the positive attributes of of technology and the internet. The house is up and ready with additional perch rods. A few decoys added and now the chatter. If I don't get any visitors this year, It will still seem like they are here. Just unplug and replay. Boom. PM Heaven.

C.C.Martins · Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:59 pm

Good gosh!! I feel like I'm behind now haha. Sounds like your set! Man, let's hope for the best!
This weekend I put up sparrow traps, next weekend the houses all go up!
Its a bit early for us yet, but i did take one GR down and set up 18 gourds in the garage....had to tie the top of the pole to the rafters in the attic....looked great, almost didn't want to take it down. 9 trips up and down. (Most of my stuff is stored in the attic)...Twice. Im ready!

Thomas Maddox · Thu Jan 20, 2022 10:04 am

Ha ha Tom, I'm just an eager newbie. Oh, I even put in a few mirrors. I'm in sw Louisiana and, according to the Scout reports from last year, we already had arrivals. This year, no reports as of yet. Maybe, the freeze we got last February is the culprit.

C.C.Martins · Thu Jan 20, 2022 1:48 pm

Mirrors, mud, songs, shoot ill get a witch doctor with voo doo if thats the recipe. Your doing good.
This north wind will stall them, but it won't last. As bad as id like to see them, I don't want to see them just yet! Not in this weather but they come when they want.

Dave Reynolds · Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:21 pm

Thomas Maddox wrote: ↑
Thu Jan 20, 2022 10:04 am
Ha ha Tom, I'm just an eager newbie. Oh, I even put in a few mirrors. I'm in sw Louisiana and, according to the Scout reports from last year, we already had arrivals. This year, no reports as of yet. Maybe, the freeze we got last February is the culprit.

,,
.
You got everything in order.. This will be the year for ya... Keep us posted....

Good luck
Dave

Thomas Maddox · Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:58 am

Thanks Dave. Will do!