Purple Martin Forum

Here is another option. I used a one inch PVC elbow and installed them at the top back of my SuperGourds. They are as high on the neck as possible but still allow the open end of the elbow to face down. I drilled the hole with a 7/8 inch paddle then filed the hole a little until it would accept the...

It was a Merlin, usually they are after smaller so birds than Martins. Very fast, rarely miss anything they are after. Songbirds disappear in the backyard mid-air in a puff of feathers. Hopefully he will move along on a migration. He usually will kill smaller Martins or females because of the weight...

I finally switched to all Troyer horizontal gourds. They still want to be on the top row for seniority. But besides that everything is equal.

They carry them about 50’ to 75’ away from the nest site and drop them.

You could use either kind of plywood. I usually add a coat of white paint to make it last longer especially if it is treated lumber because of the chemicals.

I had 5 Martins that were here when the cold weather happened. They went for 4 days without feeding and temperature was -3 one night. I went to a local bait shop before the snow and ice storm and bought 500 crickets. I froze 200 of them in zip lock bags. I had lowered the gourds previously and when ...

wnieman1 wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:32 pm

Would recommend Troyer vertical gourds with the Conley 2 entrance and a 2" or 3" gourd rack pole, etc. from the Troyer magazine.

This. Call Troyer and have them send you a catalog. I like the Horizontal Gourds but they make some really good products.

Buy once and be done!

I have read conflicting reports on screech owls and martins. Some say they won't bother them, some say they do. Curious if anyone else on here has screech owls and martins with vicinity of each other. Would love to have more cavity nesters on my property but the martins are the first priority. Have...

We had our 1st pair show up mid morning on a strong southern wind.

Six days earlier than last year, so Martin season has begun.

Thanks for that information. I'm more nervous about the nest checks than anything. I will have 24 nests. I'm really looking forward to following and keeping up with their progress and fledging! SK I usually do nest checks about 2:00pm once the babies have hatched out. There is some pressure because...

If you live on the lake, pond, or a creek, you might think about putting up a Wood Duck house. You can order one online or build one out of a 2X12. It needs to be on 1&1/2 or 2" pole about 10' off of the ground, about 5' from water. Add some pine straw to the bottom and your set to go. I had a succe...

If the castle house reached full capacity and produced a good number of Sy’s that fledged the previous year, you would have Martins that would eagerly go to your site.

Unless the original house is completely gone, usually Sy’s establish new colonies.

I’ve never seen a Martin here that was unique in any way.

You would think with returning off spring each year, there would be some albino offspring from mixed genetics but I have never seen any.

Nature is amazing at times!!!

I think he got his 1st Martin on January 20th and last year he had over 2,000 fledglings.

He’s probably busy stuffing pine straw in gourds until the wee hours of the mornings and doesn’t have time for us right now.........lol.

“The coopers at my place had there hunting down to a precise art. In the morning they would attack from the east and in evening from the west always with the sun at there backs and sun in martin eyes. And the female cooper had one other method that must have worked for her because I seen her use it ...

So people spent $20,000 or more on a boat, but bemoan a $500 bird house. LOL. People love their toys (boats, sports cars, 2nd homes, private planes.) But the "cruel, violent, Southern white man" must be shamed and ridiculed if he buys a $500 martin house. I will add, have a neighbor up the lake tha...

DBH wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:53 pm

When me and my wife built our house 2 years ago it was hard to hide one of the main things I was looking at in the lot was enough room for a Martin colony lol I lucked out and it was what we both wanted being that I’m way more obsessed than she is!

My kind of Guy.........lol!

I think you will find the gourds will be more popular than the T-14, going forward. A few dominant couples will use the house but the numbers won’t be as good as with the gourds. I finally just switched all my stuff over to horizontal gourds, now they fight over the top row but everything else is eq...

It sounds like you have a lot of advantages most new sites don’t have. In addition to your neighbors colony, being on a lake is a huge plus. I live on a lake and had a lot of Martins my 1st year. Bugs and water are the magic bullet. Go ahead and put all of your chirpy boxes up now. Add the pine stra...

I had 82 pair of Martins & 392 fledglings last year and live on a lake. Allot of boaters see the Martins and would Love to have therm in their yards. It’s an easy conversation until you get to PRICE. Most normal people aren’t going to spend upwards of $500.00 on a bird house. I have heard it many ti...