Purple Martin Forum

Hi Andy, I am not sure if you are working or not, but if one of them is taking green leaves into the housing that is a good sign. If someone is not always there, could they have been around more than you know, or are you retired and spend a good bit of time watching for them. If you need any literat...

Tim,

Hope your birds start nesting for you! Those SY birds seem to poke around for a while before getting serious.

I believe you're the Tim that I met in Jamesport last weend, is that correct?

Take care,

Toy,

Sorry to hear about the loss of your female. There are not enough of them to go around.

I noticed in an earlier post that you have more birds this year than before, that's great to hear. We need to keep growing the purple martin population!

Take care,

Bill

Hi Ryan, Great looking housing and locations as well. I know now why the lack of martins in your area. You must be way up north! Also, they do like those individual chalets, even thought of building a couple for my site here to see if that would start a colony for me. Keep trying, and hopefully some...

I do see that you have the chalets, but you may want to try some gourds. Have you checked the scout report to see where the closest active martin colony is to you! Also, you could possibly contact the Ontario Purple Martin Association and see if there are any members around you that could advise you...

Ryan, I don't have any pictures, but just take some mud and start smearing it around the entrances and you can put it inside as well. In the trays and on the walls as well. You don't mention whether or not you are using the daytime chatter or the dawnsong. Playing those will really pull birds down f...

Dan and BK, BK, that's great to hear that you have another pair nesting. One of these years your site will expand by multiple pairs, and I know that you make you happy! Dan, you SY male still has a chance to get a female, so let's hope that he can find her and bring her home to you! Not sure if you ...

Hello everyone.

Some SY birds are showing up in northwestern PA as well. I had a pair visiting yesterday as well as today.

Hopefully they will keep coming back.

Bill

Hi Roy, congratulations on becoming a landlord again. Even though the birds fussed over you checking the nests, it would be in their best interest for you to continue doing nest checks every 4-6 days. Without doing the nest checks, you are not sure if parasites, mites and blowflies could start to in...

Gene, welcome to the Forum. Hope some of these visiting birds start to nest at your colony! It sounds like you are doing everything right, especially in the reduction of house sparrows and starlings. It will just be a matter of time before you get some nesting martins. Good luck and let us know how ...

Roy, This is great to hear! I am sure that everyone on the Forum is happy for you, since we all know the enjoyment that Purple Martins can bring to their landlords. I guess they can show up when we least expect it. I am away from my site for several days, then on vacation at the end of next week, so...

These Informational Pamphlets are great. I have mailed out over a hundred and some to landlords in PA, mostly Amish in the eastern part of the state. One thing that is nice, is that I can attach a business card to the Informational Pamphlet, as well as adding a single 8.5 x 11.5 sheet of paper with ...

Great to hear from you Delma,

Each year should keep getting better for you!

Wishing you the best!

Bill

James, this is great! As we have followed your posts over the years, all the years of frustrations and waiting till the next year, your colony is surely taking off. It seems that there are so many wannabe landlords out there that just need to get a pair or two of martins to nest for the first time a...

Hi Gary, From what I have been hearing from different landlords, we should be seeing more SY birds arriving in western PA in the next several days to a week or so. I was fortunate to get some pairs this year to a T14 and gourds outside of Carnegie, PA, the western side of Pittsburgh in Allegheny Cou...

I did another nest check today since I'll be gone for a couple of days and found it was hatching day for some young in a gourd at the Pymatuning Learning Center. Three of the 6 eggs had hatched earlier today. Egg laying seems like it just started, now we have the hatching beginning. It is going to b...

Thanks Dan, This year I have a total of 37 cavities and gourds closed off. Other years it has been less, but I have done it since 2008 or 2009. I manage the one colony for the Game Commission, it's on Swamp Road, and it has a T14 with 4 gourds beneath it and a 12 gourd rack. Last year was the first ...

Hi Mitch,

I believe they use the Excluder name for the Conley II entrance. I'll try and double check on that one.

Hope you have a great year!

Bill

Toy, congratulations on the start of a good year for you! Hopefully this year your site can jump in size! I am also hearing that SY birds are coming into PA in larger numbers now, so for anyone trying to start a colony, make sure you keep your housing free of any other nesting birds. Joe, getting so...

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Dan, I hope you start seeing more birds here in the next couple of days. I am hearing reports of SY martins showing up in more numbers recently. I have had a SY male here at my personal colony since Saturday and he has yet to find a female that will stay with him. ...