Purple Martin Forum

Hi rrmartins, I had 4 attacks today alone. I have either a sharp shinned or coopers hawk in the neighborhood or both. I did put up, on a separate pole made of bamboo, 3 decoys. So far he has attacked the decoys several times giving the martins a chance to escape. The martins will protect themselves,...

My martins have returned and I have a mocking bird but he does not bother them. He does chase the blue birds but they tolerate him and actually dive bombed him the other day. Funny as can be.

Hi Everyone, I used pine needles this year for the first time. I picked them up under the trees next to my house earlier this year. They were dry. I noticed today, when I added some sevin (for the first time, too) and additional pine needles, that the needles I picked contained some small bugs. Are ...

Thank you. Where did you buy it?

Hi Everyone, I have a hawk attacking for several days now. He has hit my decoys 3-4 times now and luckily, from what I have witnessed, he has not taken any birds. I was just out (sun set) and the birds were in a frantic mood flying high and chirping. I went near the houses and did not see the hawk b...

I have crushed oyster shells. Where can I put them for the birds. I remember a post suggesting to put eggshells and crushed oyster shells on the porches. Will that work? Or should I scatter them on the ground beneath the houses?

JHunter, welcome. I had that happen to me last year and so I put up a blue bird nest box (bought it at Walmart) and within 3 days the blue birds were investigating the house. They took to the nest box and had 3 broods. All chicks fledged, too. Today, I still have the blue bird house up and have a lo...

Thanks Dave. I look at her again and again and I am positive it is a sub adult female. She is so much lighter that the other females and the white under her tail really stands out. I'm going to date it as a sub adult female on my record keeping form.

Congratulations!! Wishing you a great season.

Thanks Flyin-lowe. I'll will lower it.

Hi everyone, There is a possibility of severe weather with strong winds Wednesday for south Louisiana. My houses are on 16 ft. 3 inch square poles. I also have returning martins. I was thinking about lowering the houses about 4 feet just to be safe. What do you think? Do you think the birds will be ...

Flyin-lowe...thanks for the great ideas. The nest trays I have are the ones I bought from the PMCA shop. They are specifically for the Trendsetter houses that I have. I will be extra careful, thanks to you, that when I put the trays back in, to make sure all the chicks are where they're suppose to b...

Hi everyone, Attached is a picture of martins staying at their house that I took this evening. Do you think the female on the left is a sub-adult? She appears to be lighter in markings than the female on the right. Your thoughts? I know the SYs usually arrive later in the season. Let me know. Thanks...

Hi everyone,

I have to say thank you, first of all, for all the responses and reassurances. I am happy to report that I had a pair stay over last night and they went in and out of compartment #2 with ease. I am extremely excited to say the least!! Happy season.

Jerry

Hi everyone, This year I added nest trays to my houses to make nest checks easier and to add additional protection for the birds. Do the martins take readily to them? I'm still waiting for them to start staying in the house. Today I had a pair come in late in the evening but did not see them enter. ...

Funny you posted this because I was saying the same thing this morning. I took notes last year (as I am doing this year) and I wrote last year that I had a pair staying over night at this time. Because, so far, I have had visitors and fly overs but none staying I am concerned, too. But I will be pat...

Awesome!! Same with me here in Raceland, La. Spotted my first ones a few days ago but they have not stayed. Everyday, however, martins are visiting and circling around. Soon they will stay. I am so excited that I get up extra early just to sit and watch while the morning wakes and I sip my coffee.

That is too bad. Doesn't he know how to manage his martin houses? I'm worried sick about sparrows taking over so I'm out there the minute I see one land any where near the martin houses. It's to the point that when those sparrows hear my door open they fly so fast they're gone by the time I get out.

Hi, I have a trendsetter aluminum house that has an insulated roof and a ventilation system. Last year all 8 compartments were occupied and all but 4 birds fledged. I simply opened the vents when it started to get warm/hot. All seemed to work OK. In Louisiana we go from winter to summer, it seems, s...

Thanks everyone. Very relieved.