Purple Martin Forum

cchild03, How many Conley II entrances do you currently have? With Full Lewis Mod, the European Starlings won't even hang around your colony because they will not be able to breach. The Purple Martins will have no problems entering and exiting the Full Lewis Modified Conley II entrances. I have not...

I'm at my wits end with starlings breaching my Troyers with the Conley II tunnels. This morning, I found a dead martin with head damage, and I haven't been that mad in a long time. I have about four starling pairs hanging around. I have traps on the gourds right now and am hoping to catch a few that...

What good timing that you were able to free that baby! I'm hoping that the parents picked right back up feeding. Any time that I've tried or needed to supplemental feed, I haven't had much luck--either in the cold of Spring or the heat of Summer. It's not from a lack of trying! Fingers crossed that ...

Hello fellow Kansans! I went out for about 45 minutes to monitor everything. The breeze today really does seem to be helping, and I think it's supposed to keep up throughout the day. I got to see one of the jumpers I returned to the gourd earlier today fledge as I was sitting out there. He had been ...

I've had more jumpers this year than ever. I returned three to gourds a couple of days ago (hoping they successfully fledged because the gourds I added them to are now empty) and then found two on the ground last night after dark. I put them back in a gourd this morning. I have no idea where they ca...

I think I'm now up to somewhere between 8 and 11 martins. I'm not exactly sure, and yesterday was too nasty to get any kind of a count. Today is much better--still in the 40s, but sunny and calm. I think we're supposed to get up over 50 today so they should be able to find food later this afternoon ...

I haven't seen a martin at my housing since April 01. I was out of town over the weekend and got back late Monday evening. My brother said he saw four over here while I was gone. They may still be here, and I'm missing them when they come in at night and when they leave in the morning. If that's the...

I hope they're headed to NE Kansas! Thanks for the update, Deb. I was out of town over the weekend, but my brother said he thinks I have four. That's way down for this time of year when I normally have three times that amount. I've yet to see them since I got back on Monday evening.

On the 28th of March, I saw a lone female flying over my horse pasture, but she wasn't near my housing. I went ahead and made a scout report for that day here in Leavenworth. On March 31, I had a pair staying in one of my gourds, and on April 01, they brought a third female by to look. She landed on...

Delma,

I'm so excited and happy for you. I've read about your efforts for several seasons now, and I knew you'd eventually be successful. I can't wait to hear more about them!

I've never been successful at flipping, either, so don't feel bad about that. I agree with everyone here that it wouldn't hurt to put some on the porches and inside the compartments. Many will eat that way. Good luck!

OK. The male is back to going in all of his favorite Trio compartments and carrying in grass to each one. At this point there's not much I can do. Porches have been raised to flush but since he figured out how to squeeze in, there's no keeping him out that way. If he happens to find another mate and...

I think I have two SY males here as of yesterday afternoon. We had ridiculous heat and drought last year, but due to the early spring about 75% of my 52 nests fledged before it got really brutal. The remaining nests didn't fare nearly as well, but I think around 50% of those nestlings still made it ...

I've been trying to trap a persistent pair of mutant starlings for about two weeks now. They were moving back and forth between three-four compartments in my Trio houses before our last cold spell. I thought they were gone. I've been spending a lot of time out there the past couple of days and didn'...

Awesome report! It's always good to hear about more landlords, and it's great that you're able to help these when they can't be at home.

I'm so glad to hear that you're in for better weather, too. Kansas and Missouri have really had it bad this spring. It's dreary here, but I keep waiting for the sun to pop out. It's in the forecast so we'll see. I've forgotten what it looks like, and I think the martins have, too! I lowered my housi...

I counted 9 this morning. They were all still in the compartments at 9:00 a.m. and these 9 came out when they heard me feeding the horses. On a good day, they're out visiting and flying around as early as 7:00 a.m. They're still looking miserable, but I saw plenty of gnats, mosquitoes, and other bug...

The Birds Here Won't Take Supplemental Feeding, Either. I Found One Dead Female This Morning, And I Counted 12 Other Birds. They Were Gone All Day, And I Only Counted Five That Came Back Tonight. I Hope I Just Missed The Others And That They Didn't Go Somewhere And Die Today. I Had A Thriving Colony...

As of two days ago, I still had somewhere between 14-16 martins. Last night and this morning, I noticed 12 martins massed together on the porches of my south-facing Trio houses. I thought that the birds living on the north side had moved over there to get out of the wind and blowing snow in their co...

Thanks so much for sharing what works for you, Mary. You're right ... these starlings are smarter and much more leery than the sparrows. It's a whole new game with them. But I'll succeed ... one way or the other.