Had 1pr of ASY show up on the 22nd of March. They are still here in eastern NC. Came back to the same gourd as last year.

I have a question? What is to stop a bird from cleaning its beak on one of the wires at the bottom or coming in contact with voltage? I know i set out a electric fence wire around the perimeter of my small garden years ago to keep out the rabbits using a charger of your voltage. The wire was about s...

My money is on the raccoon. I have dealt with them years ago. They are terrible. You need some sort of predator guard. Some netting also. I took care of the one that raided my colony with a leg hold trap and a pitch fork. Sadly my martins never came back after coming for 2 years. Regards PS. i trapp...

Absolutely not blackjack,you should prenest. Short white pine needles are preferred but here in Louisiana we use the longer ones and just cut em with scissors down to 4-5 inches long and stuff em in. Gives a head start and a warm bed for these early chilly nights. I have 25 naturals and have pre ne...

Would it be a turn off for martins to put pine straw in a natural grown gourd? This is the first year that i am going with original gourds. The last 2 years i used round plastic gourds which were small for the martins and they had slick plastic bottoms. I call myself getting a head start for the mar...

1 PR of SY

SY

Way back in 1984 i started out with natural gourds. Had 4pr come my first year and raise off spring. Next year they came back and right at the end a raccoon raided and that was the end of my colony. I learned a lot over the years and started back up 2 years ago with plastic gourds. Well the location...

Black oil sunflowers, peanuts, safflowers. Always brings cardinal, woodpeckers, finches, towhees, chickadees. tufted titmice.
Don not care for the finches. Can buy 3D green bag which this mix comes in.

I open barn owl box every year trying to get them.

You do not make much sense with your post. Do you mean to harm the barn owl?
You should be clear on what your intentions are.

Good for you. I like your clothes pins. I saw one hanging around my gourds about 2 wks ago. I thought he or she was a juvenile.
I didn't know they turned that way in the winter.

Where I am from in North Carolina. Open farm fields with house as back drop and home grown gourds painted white seems to be the ticket.

Video Of Savage Battle Between Northern Flicker And European Starling Inside A Bird House Northern flickers suffer heavy nest competition from European starlings. Though a flicker is larger, heavier and has a more powerful beak, the flicker usually loses in battles, particularly INSIDE the cavity w...

I have set up nesting boxes for Northern Saw Whet owls, Eastern Screech owls and American Kestrels. As far as I am aware, none of these predators are a threat to the martins. Has anyone out there had history with these three species? If so good or bad? I have a couple of eastern screech nest every ...

Are you sure it is an owl? feathers under the house sound more like a raccoon, do you have a good gaurd on your pole ?good luck.
jim

Yep, that sounds exactly what it is. Ask me I know from 20 yrs ago being a first time land lord without predator protection. Never again.

Is it any wonder I get a stiff neck by looking at these Martins fly!

Hats off 2 both of you Steve! Love hearing what you and your friend accomplished this year. God Bless.

LEXCEL is what you need. Caulking.

I get rid of them every time I encounter one. Matter of fact I just killed 1 this morning up my magnolia tree. No sense in releasing them they will just go about consuming more song birds not rats.

Let me add this question... So at my place thee are maybe 250 birds in the civil twilight evening swirling around. I think all have fledged and maybe the older pro's are going for clutch #2. Where do the first round of fledglings hang out at night? Do they stay in the gourd they were raised in, hop...