Purple Martin Forum

Are the parents still around? If something happened to them, the nestlings end up starving to death. Can you take a photo of insects in nest and share it?

thanks for these suggestions - I will pass them along to my friend!

I have a dear friend who is moving and has someone buying her martin homes, she cannot take them with her. Her problem is potential buyer wants the concrete around poles removed from the ground, or poles (make that ground stakes) cut off. Concrete removal, I suggested seeing if local landscaper/yard...

You might try an in-cavity trap, one that fits inside the T-14. Place it only in a room with an active house sparrow nest. Push some of sparrow nest back further, put trap in, and put a bit of sparrow nest material in front of trap, too. link to pmca traps: https://www.purplemartin.org/shop/47/traps...

I recall a PMCA study where eggs were measured, I think we measured every egg laid that season at PMCA housing in Edinboro, PA. I know there was a range of sizes, but differences were slight, and no significant size difference was found between ASY and SY eggs.

Without a good ID, it's hard to give you a firm answer. Try to get a photo of the bird, or of the nest it made in the gourd. There is a cavity-nesting warbler that might nest in a gourd, prothonotary warbler - and if you have one, let it stay. Flycatchers, wrens, titmice, chickadees, plus bluebirds ...

I didn't think opossums were a danger in regard to rabies, googled and found this: Answer: Any mammal can get rabies. However, the chance of rabies in an opossum is EXTREMELY RARE. This may have something to do with the opossum's low body temperature (94-97º F) making it difficult for the virus to s...

Do you have a predator guard, like a stovepipe piece that wobbles, on your system poles? Those would stop raccoons and any other climbing predators

Gary, it's wonderful that you are caring for martins here to begin with, and what a good way to overcome the current restrictions. Twenty-three out of 24 gourds occupied and holding eggs is terrific! Thank you for doing this. I remember when you and your wife used to host a martin viewing event for ...

Please see the thread, Predator Guards, by Kathy Freeze. There are some good links there and great information that should help you.

Time to move this up, because many folks are getting their first martins about now. Every pole needs a guard to stop raccoons, and some need netting as well, for snakes.

flyin lowe, I know the photo you mean, and want to mention one thing - that guard is not high enough on pole, way too low. Yes, larger snakes can bypass guards that are placed higher, and they climb using seams in guards, rivet heads, latches, hinges - all the stuff we need to make the guards remova...

Could you share a photo of the guards? not sure what you mean by flange, flange out. Usually it's recommended that the top of guard is not less than 4 ft above ground, but that is to stop larger raccoons. The snakes that raid martin systems & other bird houses are usually rat snakes, and they can ex...

Osprey used to be called Fish Hawks - that gives a good suggestion that the martins and you have nothing to fear. There was, probably still is, a martin site near Christmas, Florida, where martins are nesting in old woodpecker cavities in palm trees. Very nearby is an active Osprey nest - perhaps ne...

I saw one with a squirrel, once - fuzzy food. Certainly their primary food is birds, but not 100% birds. I know that doesn't help much, but thought it was interesting.

Peregrine falcons don't nest in most of Texas - here is range map link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/maps-range Some winter in Texas but leave to nest much further north, ditto sharp-shinned hawks. Cooper's Hawks do nest in much of Texas - but a question for you about your si...

The PMCA did a banding study that ran for years and covered a pretty big area. Here's link to pdf: https://www.purplemartin.org/uploads/media/bandingpm11-3-372.pdf Here's a snip from conclusions at end of article: Site Fidelity: Adult and subadult breeders have strong site-fidelity and about half of...

I think it was due to changes in how scouts are reported online to the PMCA. Before 2016, anyone could report online directly. In 2016 (I think I am remembering this correctly), people had to use a PMCA account log-in, not their forum log-in, to report. That slowed things down a good bit, but it's i...

This topic is discussed every year, it seems - some think supplemental feeding causes martins to return earlier than they would have returned without feeding, and therefore feeding is not good for martins in the long run. Looking at the bigger picture, long term, too few landlords feed to make any d...

No, you can't shoot any native songbirds, including bluebirds, tree swallows, house wrens, carolina wrens, bewick's wrens, flycatchers - all of which might show an interest in martin houses or gourds. If you go to cornell lab of ornithology's all about birds site, there are photos and range maps for...