Purple Martin Forum

See what fledged today: John C
Fisherville, Ontario, Canada.

We are in Gulf Shores, AL at a State Park with a large martin colony. We will be on the lookout and will report when we see them. Very cold here today, so perhaps not yet.

I am no expert at ID-ing subbies, but a sudden population jump makes me think some must have arrived here on the north shore of Lake Erie (across from Erie, PA).

JohnC.
Haldimand County, Ontario.

Sorry, I accidentally posted this twice. deleted most of this unintended posting.
Yesterday (Monday) I discovered that ...

JohnC
Ontario, Canada.

Yesterday (Monday) I discovered that our local pet store does carry crickets ($5 for 50). The staff also told me that they do sell them to other people for feeding purple martins. One person apparently has some sort of spring loaded device to shoot them into the air. Anyway I stuffed about half of t...

Thanks everyone. Martins are still active, temp is now about 34F. Will try to find some food for them tomorrow. Nothing open around here today.

Well, the martins that have arrived in Southern Ontario over the last week or so, sure picked a bad time to arrive. Ice storm and sub freezing temperatures. They were out flying around last evening, I can only think that they were trying to feed on the ice pellets that were falling. I tried throwing...

Our TV tower and antenna seem to be providing a mini-roost. We are located almost due north of Erie, PA on the north shore of Lake Erie. Just when I thought all the martins had left, I noticed about six up there this morning, September 4. (I have counted up to 80 at peak times). I assume that our "m...

We live in Southern Ontario roughly across Lake Erie from Erie, PA. We have had martin houses for many years, but only in the last two years have we had any successful nesting. This year we had five pairs fledge about 20 offspring. The only significant change to our environment was the erection of 6...