Purple Martin Forum

Okies and Sooners, we are seeing some of the same issues in southern Ohio with very few birds compared to arrival date history. Trying to stay positive, but it sure seems that something bad is going on!

Steve, Great pics of your super-colony! Your status reports are very interesting so keep them coming! I have a question about your netting to control snakes on your poles. How often do you find a snake in the netting? I realize that you live in "snake territory" down there and am curious how many sn...

Dave, I agree that there is still plenty of time for birds to return to an established colony, as well as time to attract younger birds . The discussions that I have been having with a number of "veteran" landlords primarily in southern ohio has been them expressing concerns that possibly something ...

Strange migration as far as southern Ohio is going. This weekend will most likely tell the story if something has gone seriously wrong someplace south of the Ohio river in the past two weeks. Am getting a stiff neck looking up into an empty sky !! Hope something good happens.....and soon ! "Bird"

Big Bob , Very strange time in southern ohio as we wait for our birds to return. The larger, established colonies that I am aware of in southern Ohio do not have birds as yet. There was a report yesterday from Chillicothe but I am not sure of exact location, or number of birds reported. I am concern...

Buckeyefarmer, Great job of changing your "door" openings! This modification should really help you manage your site. I am predicting a great first year for you and your colony. Stay on top of those starlings and sparrows! I am just outside of Athens and we do not have birds as yet. I am expecting t...

Amy,
It is my experience that "too early" is much better than "too late" ! If you open up too early, you must be able to protect your site from sparrows and starlings. You need to have starling resistent openings, and be ready to "re-locate" both sparrows and starlings !!
Good luck !

Ryan,
Your chalet's look awesome ! Can you raise and lower them on a pulley system? I couldnt tell from the pics if you can do nest checks etc.
Great looking site, just looking for tenants ! Good luck.

Newbie, Great job building and going to a T-14. One of the first things I learned some time ago was the importance of giving these birds the type of housing that they like the best. They will choose the larger, safer cavity size the majority of the time. I am curious if you have issues with starling...

Buckeyefarmer, Welcome aboard! We are in southeastern Ohio, just outside of Athens. Our birds have not shown up as yet. Hopefully they have a safe haven someplace to protect them from this seriously bad weather. I wonder how many birds are lost each migration to terrible weather. Good luck, we will ...

I traveled over to Jackson Ohio to visit the largest colony in southern ohio that I am aware of, and there were no birds at Four Mile Greenhouse outside of Jackson. This site has its T-14's scattered among their huge displays of hanging baskets and all kinds of perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees etc...

I saw my first tree swallow this morning down in the field below my martin colony. My martins are usually close behind the swallows! I am in southeastern ohio, right outside of Athens.

Steve, The Merlin gives new meaning to "fast". As if the Coopers and SharpShins were not enough to worry about, I had a Merlin that was chasing my martins all spring. I watched two different "fly-downs" where the Merlin dropped in behind fleeing martins and chased them down out over my large open fi...

Ed, I have converted my entire bluebird trail to electrical conduit pipe, and my predator problems have been greatly reduced. My original trail is on my farm property, 70 boxes, and I also am building another trail not far away at our country club. We now have at least one bluebird house on every ho...

I have a bad feeling about the weather here in southern Ohio come late march and maybe April. This is just too early of a migration for our martins, and we will have some cold weather follow this unseasonable warm weather. I am ordering crickets and meal worms so I will be ready to experiment with s...

Henry, Archer, et al, Thank you for the advice and encouragement concerning my supplemental feeding plans for this spring. I got discouraged last spring when my results were less than I had expected. Your words of advice and your positive experiences are encouraging! I am getting ready to order my c...

Steve, I am looking forward to trying your approach to decoys in your "fly zones" out in the fields. I have problems with both resident Coopers, Sharpies, and occasional merlins. I do a lot of bird feeding up at my house away from my martin colonies, and I am sure that all the birds I attract play a...

My colony is located on the dam of one of my ponds and consists of two "T-14's" with Troyer gourds mounted below. (44 nest cavities) I also have two cheap plastic houses that I have at the edge of the colony to serve as over-flow housing for sub-adults who do not have a mate. My farm is located in s...

Steve, I enjoyed your "Grim Reaper" post! I too have a large colony that seems to be a magnet for the "air force" that you describe so well. I have tried all sorts of hawk and owl guards on my boxes and gourds, but have yet to try the decoys. I am going to be ordering them as soon as I finish this r...

The forum is a great place to learn and to meet other "landlords" ! Good luck at your new location near Buffalo!