Purple Martin Forum

The Martins at my place prefer the gourds, so that is the direction I would go. I assume you don't have a colony now? If not have you checked out the gourd rack bundles on the pmca site? I like the gourds with the tunnels and sreh. The 2" aluminum poles would be plenty stout and are nice to look at ...

Has anyone prenested and then had mud added to that nest?

As to not hijack the thread Cleaning out my Gourds, I started this one. My Mom had Trio housing and never prenested. Mud dams were the rule in her nests. I have mostly all gourds and have always prenested with pine needles and no mud of any kind added to nests. Is this more a prenest vs not prenesti...

I think the dirt your talking about is the old nesting material breaking down and settling to the bottom. I would clean them out and give them a fresh start with clean pine needles.

Welcome Austin, that is great being able to have success in your first season, many will be jealous of that. It is common for an ASY bird to start a colony. Good Luck in filling all eight of your cavities this year, they sure are fun to watch.

I understand your aware of the scouting reports and maps so use that information to determine when the first birds are back in your area. Put your housing up a week or two prior to those dates. If you have trouble keeping sparrows and starlings out keep the holes plugged until you actually see Marti...

As said before a handy man near you can sure do it. If you pick the right one they should help you in matching your pole as well. Good Luck

As SS said a female ASY can come back to a colony before the males, although it will be a male that starts your colony. They will choose a nesting cavity and go out and attract a female to bring back with him. It usually takes some coaxing for her to stay. Do a search from the home page for purple m...

Did you take your housing with you? I would say your starting over if you left it behind. If you took it with you there will be displaced birds looking for a home and you might get some of them back for that reason. Play the dawn song, etc. as if you are starting over.

Nice post, good to have real world remedies. Not all problems are solved by only one method.

Haha, glad to see Jangles set up going to a good home. It will be filling up in no time.

Oh no Whippy, I was hiping you wouldn't get this great setup. Based on a post you made on a different thread and your desire for Purple Martin housing you are on a crash course for a divorce.

Thanks for the heads up Matt. I'll definitely keep a watch on that, in fact I'll probably go ahead and put some drain holes in them now. Can't see there would be any negative effect even if not needed.

I made some nest boxes for my Trio Duracraft Castle as water will seep in under the doors. I used the plastic cardboard or yard sign material and I think it will work well. It is easy to work with, light weight and water will not affect it. I made a prototype from carboard before cutting the plastic...

Looking good, that's definitely a piece of mind knowing the rack is solid and won't deteriorate. I don't think the birds will have an issue with getting up and under to your inner cicle. Curious to here your observations on that. The upside down idea is intriguing as well.

That's cool David, job well done. How many gourds do you figure it will hold?

If it were me, I would keep it closer to my house so they could be seen and enjoyed easier. For instance if you have a deck on the back of your house and set out there much there is a lot of open space on the back side of your house as well. Any potential locations you have are plenty close to your ...

Thanks for the clarification Matt. Nice to have someone so knowledgeable on the forum.

I inherited the same style house except it has 3 stories. I thought I read it was a Duracraft, but guess I was mistaken. I was able to enlarge the compartments with a 3" hole saw. Actually took it completely apart and did a full remodel so that I could use it with a winch system. Also added porch di...

I am not familiar with the area you are in, but with that being said don't rule out an ASY bird starting your colony. It is not uncommon that they get displaced from last years housing for some reason and are looking for a new start. My colony was started by an ASY male as many others on this forum....