Purple Martin Forum

Thanks for the reply Lewis. I thought about taking the nestlings and the nest out, but if I leave them in the gourd, then I'm going to eventually get a good shot at her and that'll be one more non breeding Starling left in the world. Good shot or not, I will not allow those nestlings to fledge. Than...

Gourds rule the roost around here. I put up a Trio Castle, modified to enlarge the compartments, in the midst of 3 fully occupied gourd racks and in 2 seasons had ZERO nesting pairs in the house.

Wanna swap a Trio Castle for your gourds?

Sounds like you've already decided that caulking on an occupied gourd isn't a good idea, so I won't comment on that. :grin: You don't have to make a birds nest to swap out gourds. Just stuff some pine straw or something similar down into the gourd and pack it down tightly and wallow out a little bow...

Any large cavity with the Conley II entrance is in danger of allowing Starlings to enter. It's not the gourd or the T14 or the whatever, it's the entrance. I'd take the old original crescent entrance over these. I've got 102 gourds hanging and only 36 of them have my homemade WDC entrances on them. ...

Brad, good to see your post, and hope that you are doing well The best things to do if a starling is breaching the entrance: 1) thicken the entrance to about 5/8in or 3/4in (make it thicker) 2)make the entrance 2in wide 3)raise the floor so that it is within 1/8 of the entrance I use homemade recta...

Yes, both Brads are the same Brad. The world could only handle one of me at the time. LOL I don't know for sure how I wound up with 2 usernames but I think it involved the scout report. You are exactly correct on your history of the WDC. I was very active on Purple Martin forums back then and there ...

I scanned those posts about the Lewis mod. Let me see if I've got this straight.... It's a thick, oversized crescent entrance with a flush floor? I use to see Starlings wiggle to try and gain entry to a gourd, but these, or at least some of these are going straight in, no wiggle, no hesitation. They...

The rifle is a bolt action Marlin. I can't remember the model #. It's not a new rifle but it's no more than 15 years old. It was made before they offered an adjustable trigger and I put one in it several years ago. That makes a huge difference. It shoots the Aguilla shells that I'm using fairly good...

Ransom Graham wrote:Since I see cats in a somewhat similar light as starlings and house sparrows you really don't want my suggestion.

He wouldn't like my suggestion either.

20 gauge shotgun with high brass #6's is my recipe for eliminating nesting sparrows. The Martins will be back on the gourd rack by the time your ears quit ringing.

Flyinlowe, it sure would be. I'm sick of swarms. I've had more this year than ever before. Nectar is coming in so fast and my time is so scarce that I can't stay ahead of them. Buckeyefarmer, I don't underbuild anything. LOL Not always a good thing but in this case it is. The beehives located close ...

I see this topic come up every year. Most people think that the two species can not be kept the same area. I have kept bees for 6 years and have had an active Purple Martin supercolony for around 15 years. I currently have 25 bee hives, not counting new splits, 15 of the hives are within 50 feet of ...

I'm a beekeeper and have 100 pair or so of Martins nesting here every year. I have 15 hives within 40 feet of a gourd rack. The rest of my hives are 300 feet from another gourd rack. I have never had any problems with the Martins and Honeybees. One thing that I do, is to put any hive (split) at the ...

I wound up with 2 usernames! Got the new one trying to post my scout report.....

Three Martins arrived at the farm today. This will begin my 16th year as a landlord. 15th year at my current site. I still remember the anxious thoughts and time waiting and hoping and trying to get my first nesting pair, hoping they'd stay, worrying if they'd return the next year. I'm fortunate to ...

suem, the best that I can remember they used 3 or 4 pieces of aluminum flashing to put the two together. He cut tabs about 1" wide and 2" long, bent them at the correct angle and used short sheet metal screws on each end of the tab, one in each gourd, to hold them together. Then applied a large bead...

You can use a smaller diameter braided steel cable, like 1/8" or 3/16" 7x19 braid, and slip 1/2" CPVC pipe over it, or even slide a water hose over it to increase the diameter to something more suitable. I find that 1/2" CPVC pipe seems to be a preferred size for a perching Martin.

I'm doing some catching up on the forum this afternoon. A rare break these days. Whatever happened to the good old days when 100 pair of Martins was considered a big deal? LOL Jerral is a super nice guy. I have known him for years. I knew him "back when." Back when he had 2 gourd racks and had to "c...

Thanks goes out to everyone who is trapping and shooting House Sparrows. I still hate those things. Good luck to those of you who have made the traps I provided plans for. I wish I knew how many HOSP nationwide had been caught in those things. It would have to be 10's of 1000's. I quit my public job...

It seems as though every year I have read at least one post wanting to know if it's possible to keep honeybees and host Purple Martins at the same location. The answer is a resounding YES. I've had 100 pairs or so of Martins for several years. We also host 15-20 pairs of Tree Swallows and our 3 barn...