Purple Martin Forum

Hello everybody, everyone needs to read up and take action on this topic. My ten year old colony was nearly destroyed by a large rat climbing the cable and up and over the bird netting, getting into the T14 at night. For ten years I just had the bird netting and I thought I was good to go, boy was ...

Every year, I watch the inevitable arguments on the purple martin forums, regarding whether predator guards should or should not be used (they SHOULD) on purple martin housing. So this year, I decided to write a blog post to show landlords why it is so important to have predator guards on their pole...

First purple martin arrival in Licking, MO today! Male and he's fat, proving he WAS hanging out at Lambert's in Sikeston all this time!!

Steve, how do you *know* you don't have an owl problem? Flashing lites may work ...until they don't. for a short period. I didn't know I had an owl problem, until I put up some game cameras. The fact that your colony size is dwindling indicates there's a problem....somewhere. First step would be to ...

Jeff, congratulations to you also. Kathy, if I was passing through Sikeston that would be my plan for sure. Your birds usually come about the same time as ours give or take a day. Mine and Jeff’s birds must have gotten on the same “Air bus”. Also Kathy, I have had many friends, neighbors, and famil...

Same to you Keith! Good year to ya! And same here regarding Kathy's article - she's doing great work as her article is generating interest and comments that's had me busy helping others already this year. Jeff Hahahaha - Jeff, you've been 'drafted' into service! :lol: I still don't have any birds! ...

Congratulations, Keith! Jeff and you are ahead of me this year!

I think my birds probably stopped over for a snack in Sikeston at Lambert's cafe (Home of the Throwed Roll).

Such slackers!!

Wonderful news, Jeff! I guess you win the bets from Friday!!

Congratulations! I'm outside today watching for my guys & gals!

Have not seen this issue but certainly will save this article. It’s wonderful to see how you care for and protect this species. I would not be surprised to see martins return to southern Mo. two to three weeks from now. Making preparations for them anyway. Have a good year. Keith Thank you, Keith! ...

Awesome Kathy. Keep up the great work! And thanks for the referral - Steve's only 12 minutes from my place so I went by and gave him some tips on recommended modifications to his 3 Trio's, and confirmed his relocation as spot-on. Jeff Jeff, THANK YOU! Just sent you another one. :grin: I'm really su...

Congratulations, RR!! WHEW! I know you are breathing a sigh of relief!

Your issue with a rat was definitely weird, but I'm hoping a lot of landlords are mounting cylinder guards with netting above this year after hearing stories like this one and others with problems with raccoons!

One of the cool things I love about Missouri is its association of Electrical Co-ops. Many of you may be familiar and know they publish a state-wide monthly magazine where they highlight various topics around the state (one of my fave topics is the articles they do on the BEST restaurants here in Mi...

Is it a barn owl or a barred owl? I'm just not sure I'd take the chance. If she's nesting, she'll have little owlets to feed and will go for easy food sources. If there are no eggs, I'd evict her. Either way, this came from the allaboutbirds website: Barn Owls eat mostly small mammals, particularly ...

RR - dang, I remember that story! So, it did end up being a rat and not a flying squirrel? The 7 pair that fledged the 25...were they older adults or sub-adults? I know you remember all my owl problems...yet, I still had martins return. If I recall correctly, the estimated loss each year due to migr...

Gray Fox - the type of trapping required really *depends* on the time of year. During the winter months, food-based traps work much better. During the warming months, when you see h.s. (aka, "HOSP") looking for nest sites (like bluebird nest boxes, or purple martin housing), is when you should deplo...

Not sure how they would work but I feel like the Blink cameras might be good in this application. I have them on my house for security purposes. They are wireless and run off of wifi. Good thing about them is that they are motion activated and send notification and video directly to your phone. So ...

Mine doesn't have the rechargeable batteries, but it only uses 2 AA batteries and lasts all season. I change them out at the beginning of each season and am always tickled by last year's recordings (and sometimes shocked at how labored my breathing is by the end of the nest check :roll: ). I have 84...

Use a nestbox trap to trap the HOSP in the bluebird / tree swall housing, then throw the trapped HOSP into a repeater trap. You need 2 traps: one like this: https://www.purplemartin.org/shop/product/intd/deluxe-insert-trap-for-wooden-bluebird-housing/ and a repeating trap like this: https://www.purp...

This is the one I've been using for years. I pin it to my shirt and start it when I lower my first rack. I don't want to touch my expensive phone once I have bird poop or mites on my hands, but this thing has lived through >10 years of nest checks now. After I complete the nest checks, I transcribe ...

I never saw my owls reach into the openings and grab birds. The seven or eight inches between the porches and wire was ok for that. My owls would hang on the wire flapping their wings and making a commotion causing martins to freak out and try to escape. That's when the owls would grab. My new cage...