Purple Martin Forum

Blog history article that I wrote, published by the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis.

https://discoverandshare.org/2021/04/15 ... he-garden/

If there is another location, maybe move the house. I always think first of going from the back to the front yard. If that's not an option, maybe there is a public location nearby that you would enjoying going there and managing the housing. Golf courses probably make the best locations of any I can...

Almost never use a glue trap. A martin will indeed sometimes enter a house sparrow nest. In large excluder gourds, I've even had them nest in the small space available after a house sparrow had nearly clogged the interior. Once when starting to clean out a house sparrow nest from such a gourd, with ...

It would help, but may interfere with doors and you may have to trim one side of the guard. (have stood in the field for hours whittling) Trendsetter has begun installing the 3/4 inch guards on the interior. What "may" help further to decrease entrapment risk is to fill in the gap below the guard, b...

Speaking strictly about house sparrows, they will build in either gourds or houses with equal glee. However, if you have a near full occupancy colony and larger gourds, and you are pulling sparrow nests, the martins can more easily claim all the gourds -- sometimes -- than they can with houses. That...

If you use round holes and have deep or double units, starlings usually overrun the house quickly.

Young man featured in Columbia MO newspaper about growing purple martin gourds. Aaron Templemire. Aaron's father, Ronnie Templemire, for many years has managed a large colony in Boonville MO and often is among the first in Missouri to report a scout each year. https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news...

Larry and Judy I'm sorry you are closing your colony. It's a decision we must all face eventually...I worry about it. Closed out my step father's small colony in Kentucky this last year. Actually gave the housing to a neighbor, but I'm doubtful will be managed. That's the challenge always. Still rem...

You need a TV antenna! That's where martins perched high when I was a kid. You can add something to the top of your house (your own house or your martin house) but if the site is open martins may need anything. They will use tall tree tops, especially dead limbs high, in the absence of power lines.

Thank you for your service. Sometimes us purple martin folks just gotta do what we have to do.

Someone here suggested a teaspoon of sevin under nest material. That's probably enough for 10 gourds. Be careful with pesticides.

whew.

John Miller

Permethrin is a long lasting, lab created pesticide that can probably kills birds...will fish. I fear you have overreacted. Mites sometimes explode in numbers after the babies fledge and you will see them moving over gourd surfaces. Mites in great numbers will weaken birds, but they also will tolera...

An old castle was donated to Forest Park, St Louis, three years ago and martins love it. It has expanded units. Now it's white because the owner had painted the green beige and I repainted all white and think it looks nice, but attributing high occupancy to all white...I dunno...I think it's the lar...

Yes...agree closer to your house. Or, looks like a school a block away. This spring the virus concerns here would make meeting with them tough, but consider contacting them in the future. They have a few potential open spaces. Some people don't want to get into public sites, but some folks do (I thi...

St. Louis needs more housing. We're already near full occupancy at the housing in Forest Park and the Missouri Botanical Garden in the city, and a colony at Creve Coeur Park. Contact me this summer is you want to visit some of these sites and see nesting martins. I am concerned whether your site is ...

No, not time lapse. I have another shot a moment later and another female is in the air with the three males all moved just slightly forward. I don't have permission to post that one, but it's on Facebook, posted by the photographer. John Miller P.S. spoke with the photographer. She replied, pretty ...

Want to share a fantastic photo taken last week in Forest Park, St. Louis, by a long-time nature photographer, Marian Brickner. Marian has been spending considerable time getting "flight" shots at one particular house in the park. Shown are four males, three in flight.

Very happy that we may have a good start of a new colony near St. Louis, Mo at Riverlands Audubon Center, West Alton, Mo., adjacent to the Mississippi. This should be a good location for martin education. We've had a rack of horizontal gourds there now for four years, but always trying to deal with ...

Hi Brad

Those are sort of aluminum chalets. A landlord in Virginia named Tom Brake is manufacturing them and I wanted to try a few. He calls them "Chirpy nests." They hang much like gourds. They are said to have a lot of nice features including excellent drainage.

John

Couple of pics from St. Louis. First is from Forest Park, golf course site. Spotted two males and a female yesterday. Other martin vocalizing is on a house at Creve Coeur Park, St. Louis County, photo by volunteer Karen Meyer who manages the colony there. We have about 70 pairs that nest each season...