Purple Martin Forum

We visited the Erie Roost again this Wednesday. It was a beautiful night and there were about 15 people enjoying the birds. I estimated the number at 5,000, and Adam Troyer came up with approximately the same number. I think it's difficult to estimate the number of birds at this new roost since a lo...

Hi Dave, I have noticed some long periods for fledging as well, and most seem to be at the end. I am thinking that some of this occurs since the nestlings don't have the encouragement to leave the nest as they do when the birds have a lot of activity going on around them. From what I have heard from...

I visited the Erie Roost last night with Jeff Hunt and Andrew and Marcus Troyer. We saw about 2,000 birds. A lot were in the reeds and occasionally they would rise up and you could get a good look at them. It's possible that the roost may be delayed since our nesting season was delayed by approximat...

Bird, I am not sure if you have heard or saw it in the Update Magazine, but there is a new tracking system taking place using Motus Wildlife Tracking System, using cell phone towers. This will add an amazing amount of data to the flight statistics of purple martins. The University of Delaware has be...

Is there any news on the Roost in Erie, PA. Are the numbers building as of this time, or not yet. Does it appear that they are using the new roost or the old roost at the beginning of Presque Isle Bay?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks John for all of your thoughts over the years! They really make sense and trigger a lot more thoughts on my behalf as well as other martin landlords. Hope you and Louise stay safe from the Covid19 issues and in this upcoming hurricane season. Our year in review. Although the first half of May ...

It's probably good to leave your housing up for a month or month and a half after they fledge. They should return for 10 days to 20 days after they fledge, during the day at times and then at night. You may even have family groups from other nearby colonies showing up at your place and checking it o...

That's what I thought, but wasn't sure! Thanks for the view of the nesting martins!!!

While watching the bird cam around 8:20am this morning, we watched as the birds were removed from the gourd, the camera lens was cleaned and the nesting material was replaced. The gourd rack was then raised but the birds were not placed back into the nest. Did I miss something?

Hi David, Congratulations on your birds spending the night. They could be doing this strange stuff for a week or two until they start to get serious about pairing up. But once you have birds spending the night, they should be hooked to your site at this time. Make sure you don't allow any other bird...

I believe we had a very successful Purple Martin Seminar on Monday. We had 20 people show up for the afternoon Purple Martin Seminar. There were people present from Kansas, Virginia, Maine New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida. A lot of good questions were asked and hopefully some new...

Hi Doug,

Yes it is. We just had a landing on the new gourd rack this morning. Another colony at Celery Fields in Sarasota had about 20 martins on it on Tuesday. It's nice to hear them again!

Bill

We have multiple people and groups interested in this. If you are interested you can let me know at the email below, or just show up at the door.

Hope to see you there!

Bill Wenger
w.wenger@comcast.net

Bill Wenger will be giving a Purple Martin Seminar at The Rookery in Venice, Florida. The seminar will start at 1pm. If you have any questions, you can contact me at w.wenger@comcast.net . Although there will not be any nesting birds at that time, we will go through the motions of a nest check. That...

David, Alternating the tunnels from the end to the side may help with some porch dominance, but I haven't noticed much of that. Early on in the season a male may guard several entrances, but after weeks of fighting off other males, they seem to usually allow other pairs to nest. I like the Troyer tu...

I have several ground sleeves in use across several sites that I have. I find them very useful, and agree with your idea 100%. Remove the pole and the ground stake, and just leave the sleeve in the ground. I will cover the ground sleeve to keep water from getting in, since we have ground freezes to ...

Hi Toy, Sorry to hear again about another rough year for you and your martins. We give you a great deal of credit for all that you do for them. In most cases, other landlords would have lost this colony long ago, but your determination has kept it going and we're all waiting for you to have a good y...

RJM,

Congratulations on your returning birds!

Bill

Pennsylvania Martins, Richard, glad you had a good year. Sounds like your colony has grown quickly in the last couple of years. Dan, we all hope that you get some nesting martins next year. I know it's really difficult to decide what to do and when, but if you cut some more trees down this winter, w...

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the update. If you find anything else out about the roost, can you let us know. I know some people are watching this post to see if it is worthwhile to head up to Erie to see the roost.

Thanks again,

Bill