Healthy martin chicks will actually weigh more than their parents prior to fledging. They need to lose weight before they fledge. Parents will stop feeding for this reason. You could weigh the chicks to see where they are at. Normal weight of parents is 50-60 grams.

As the martins age, they do tend to arrive earlier in the season. I would think a third year bird would likely show up in May at your location. Probably not early May, more like May 15th to the end of May. Hope he comes back for you.

What an inspiring post from 0 to 12 in one year. Congrats. I know we all have a lot to do in summer, but if you can find the time, I might suggest you take your sparrow catching prowess down to Golf Coarse and change the trajectory of that colony. A sign on that house, "looking for a Keeper" might d...

I agree with Brad. Eggshells came to mind. A lot of people will throw their eggshells on a compost pile, near there garden. The martins need calcium to produce their own egg shells and later on to give to the nestling for grit and calcium. I provide a low platform with eggshells and the martins visi...

Your description of your martin using the mirrors put a smile on my face. My founding female, yes I had a female before a male, also loved the mirror on my house and choose a hole where she could go out every morning and look at herself in the mirror. I still have the mirrors on my house 5 seasons l...

Sub adults will often build very poor nests. But 7 eggs for a sub-adult pair would be very unusual. They do like the styrafoam floors though. It looks like they have at least scratched out a nest bowl which may keep the eggs in place. In regards to your previous question about the blood on the egg, ...

The synthetic version of pyrethrine (permethrine)last much longer than the original. https://www.hunker.com/12224525/pyrethrin-vs-permethrin

Martins lay eggs in the mornings, so lunch time would be a good time.

Products containing permethrine or pyrethrine are very good to use against Buffalo Gnats. Spray your housing on the outside. I found a Raid product containing those active ingredients and have used them successfully in the past.

Don't know about the product you have but products containing permethrine or pyrethrine are very good to use against Buffalo Gnats. Spray your housing on the outside.

I always enjoy your posts FarmerHarv, you have a nice way of telling a story. I hate to say it but that looks like the work of a house sparrow. Did you reinstall the starling resistant entrances? Starling and sparrows will both do damage. The other possibility is the sub-adult males. They will somet...

The Pyrethrine is the key, it kills the gnats when the come in contact with it. I have used the Abosbine Jr and the Vanilla as well, to some success but the Pyrethrine is the key.

I made some guards from a 3 inch pvc pipe. First I cut he pipe in half legth wise. Then sliced of 3/4 inch pieces. I attached with silicone. I positioned the guards about 1/16th inch above the Sreh. At the bottom ends of the guard, I filled in any gap between the guard and the floor with silicone, t...

I found this great article by the Ontario Purple Martin Conservation Association. I wanted to share it with you. Kind of neat to see the development of this life saving invention. http://essexpurplemartins.ca/?page_id=4354

Let me help you get rid of them. Starling resistant entrances are available at the shop on this website. https://www.purplemartin.org/shop/63/re ... nt-plates/

Since you picture did not show up, could you describe your birds? Possibilities include House Sparrow, Starling, Tree swallow, Bluebird.

Be careful with tape or any other sticky substance on your house. I had a bad experience with tape getting stuck on a martins wing, I wouldn't do it again.

I love a great story and hopefully can add a little. Mine have been trained for a few years, but it seems like I have lost some of my leaders this year. I found that if a martin is flying, it is much quicker to react to a flying cricket of piece of egg. This spring I stood on a picnic table right un...

I think they are shaking out their feathers, like most birds do from time to time, only martins do it in flight.

1 and 3/16 inch. With the bottom of the sreh flush with the porch or up no more than a 1/4 inch. The higher the sreh is from the porch, the easier for starling to get in.