Hi Dave,
Thanks for the idea on adding porches. I could make one large porch that surrounds the entire platform. Good idea.

oops. I didn't intend on sending four of the same pics. But, this is what I saw and it gave me the ideas to supersize it to have a floor 3' x 3'. Instead of using a hook hanger, I have a 1 1/4" steel pole from the ground up to the underside of the floor attached with a floor flange.

Hi Brad,
Here are the answers on painting gourds.
You can either visit this url: http://www.chuckspurplemartinpage.com/painting.htm
or visit my website and click on chuckspurplemartinpage in my links section of my website: www.iamartin.org

Everyone responding covered all the bases, so I won't reinvent the wheel. Variety is good in housing. Open fly zones, away from tall trees and within 100 feet of your house, add some decoys, smear a little mud on the exterior of the entrance, pre-nest with soft white pine needles, play the daytime c...

I just got my new Troyer's catalog and noticed a new product displaying a " Covered Patio Bluebird Feeder " with rods surrounding the sides to allow bluebirds in, but keep starlings and robins out. Here are my ideas, thoughts and concerns. I currently have a large 3' x 3' raised platform purple mart...

I wish I would see more landlords using natural gourds. The natural cavity has a great feel and I think the martins love a deep gourd like these gourds. Great job and keep up the green thumb.

Hi c4thmartin, Thanks for being our newest member and welcome. The floating dock gourd set up is a great idea as it provides a super open fly zone. Even though your location is at the northern range of martins it will attract martins if well managed. My only suggestion is to keep the starlings and s...

Looks great. Everything looks in order and ready for their arrival. Martin fever is a real thing as it has afflicted me several years ago.

I have a big solid roof over my 4 trio houses with an owl cage extending off the roof and my martins seem to like it. So, I would see no issues with the overhang.

Hi Buckdog,
Here is the link on the purplemartin.org website that explains new and replacement housing.
https://www.purplemartin.org/purple-mar ... e-housing/
Best of luck my friend.

If a routine develops with flicker moving on once the attic is closed, I think it is a great relationship.

I checked it out and I want to thank you for this post. Very interesting and enjoyable.

Five years, but the wait was worth it. It started with a single pair. I now have an average colony of 50-55 pair each year.

Hi Steve,
Good to see you added vent elbows to the back of your THGs. I did the same with my gourds. I have a combination of metal as well as gourds in my set up. Nice pics.

Congrats qapd. It is good to see the houses going to a new martin landlord.

So, what makes up the intricacies of a purple martin landlord ? Well, patience is probably the number one quality a martineer. An ability to slow down and smell the roses is a must when deep into the hobby of martins. Having a willingness and enjoy taking care of another species; you could say a goo...

Hey everyone, Most landlords simply use 2 inch by 4 inch mesh fencing to make owl fences around their gourd racks. Well, I'm here to say I found goat fence that has a mesh size of 4 inch by 4 inch. I replaced the outdated 2x4 inch fence with the goat fence and I feel it is a huge upgrade for the eas...

Hi Steve,
Welcome to the world of purple martins and the PMCA. If you want to find some great links, feels free to visit my websites links section, especially the"Chucks Purple Martin Page" at www.iamartin.org
Best wishes.
Dave Duit

Looks great. I hang all 60 of my THGs in the loft of my wood working building on suspended metal rods that thread through the gourd holes. the rods are themselves threaded on the ends and screw into a turnbuckle and then into a eye bolt on one end and a hook bolt on the other end. The eye bolt and h...

I agree. If the EPA and those in charge don't get the rear in gear, the song birds will continue to decline. Here in Iowa we are being informed on a weekly basis that field runoff and ultimately ends up in our drinking water. It is hurting us as well as the wildlife. Health should win out over profi...