Purple Martin Forum

It's these darn north winds delaying them. Supposed to get southerly winds mid week for a few days. Hopefully that'll push them northward. Actually we have very few birds here of any kind right now. We've seen several Robins, but only a couple each of HS, Starlings, Crows, Carolina Wrens & one male ...

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Pole: https://www.purplemartin.org/shop/produ ... -for-t-14/

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Toy in PA

Watching & waiting in central PA. I have a few rooms open, but nothing yet.

Toy in PA

Some adults do try to feed them to their chicks. I have removed a few that were stuck in chicks throats. The same goes with the Great Black Wasp. They have big pincers & latch on to the chicks beak, tongue & throat. I'd suggest if you have the cicadas in your area do more frequent nest checks. Toy i...

C.C.Martins wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 31, 2021 6:38 pm

yeah wow, looks like the needles! Think Toy has that one sewn up. Get it? Sorry.
That would speak to the route that bird took. I trust your going to keep it?

HaHa...I am a sewist & quilter....so yeah i got it sewn up

Toy in PA

Is it metal? If not is it plant, dried pine needles? They look like some type of pine needle. There are 2 types of pine trees that grow in Mexico with long needles. The needles grow 7-15 inches in length & in clusters of 5. The needles are used to weave baskets. The trees are called: pinus michoacan...

Hi ToyinPA, You mentioned hummingbirds and that got me to thinking about an aspect of hummingbirds some people are not aware. To help save hummingbirds in the future here is a tid bit of info: Hummingbirds may fall into a state of stupor, seeming unconciousness on the ground during cold mornings an...

Yep it's a great feeling when you can rescue a martin & get it back in the air. Been there done it many times over the years. I was lucky to be able to hold hummingbirds as they were being banded. Now those are tiny feet. If you think those little feet grasp try having a Macaw grip your fingers dail...

Southerly winds should push many northward. We'll be watching & waiting here in central PA. Houses are ready & I have lots of crickets for them. Mine usually show up in bad weather, rain, snow, cold, etc. Temps look pretty good for migration, but we do have some rain in the forecast.

Toy in PA

Last year was the first year I've ever had returns in March, I average the 2nd week of April or so. Curious to see when the roll in this year. Toy, have you seen any hawk attacks from the neighbors trees? I've seen, and read on here that an established colony will tolerate trees as long as they are...

I'm sure your lone male would enjoy some feathered company. They've been kind of stalled due to the weather. Looks like temps will increase as will the southern winds. That should push them northward. Mine don't normally arrive until late March early April. My colony has greatly decreased in size in...

Congrats Doug.

We're getting houses ready today. It's 60 here in central PA already. Saturday it'll be back in the 40's again. I'm sure we'll see more snow tho, before winter finally ends. I have lots of crickets, so bring them on.

Best wishes for a great season.

Toy in PA

Hello ToyinPA A exultant post well described with a lot of input. Very informational. Plan to save this. Thanks for sharing. [ Later Unk Bond, do you plan on mulching the pine needles and the cedar shavings together in one pile? Whoa....mulching??? They should not be mulched. In nature they would n...

I put a small amount, just enough to cover the bottom of the nest tray, of cedar shavings in first, then a big hand full of white pine needles (pine straw). The cedar shavings will get wet if your houses/gourds let rain in. If you use cedar shaving it's best to do nest checks after a good rain. That...

The round vents just push in. They have tiny knobs on them to hold them in place. You'll need a hole saw to cut all the holes. We made a jig from cardboard to cut them all in the same location. I have 2 vents in each cavity on my houses. Holes are best cut towards the top back sidewall of each cavit...

Steve posts on the PMCA FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Prognesubis/

He posted that he & his neighbor Bob lost all their early arrivals. I think it was around 30 total. Haven't seen a post from him since.

Toy in PA

Unk: It can be confusing depending on what part of the country you live. I'm north (central PA), so we usually say "pine needles", while others call it pine straw. Pine straw (dried white pine needles) is best as it doesn't absorb water like wheat straw does & it dries quickly. The best time of the ...

With all of my birds dead and/or gone, I was just wondering if I should report an arrival sighting if I see one? I am hoping no one else has lost all of their birds, but maybe we should start a new list of NEW arrivals? I would think since you had birds arrive & reported them that is the report the...

It looks like I'll lose many of my birds to this cold. Found 3 dead in cavities and observed many weak ones. Still two more cold days ahead. I tried and tried to flip crickets, meal worms and eggs to no no success. I want to train them to retrieve the food I flick to them. How do you do it? Tell me...

I'm in central PA. I pre-nest with white pine needles. Best time to gather is late October/early November. You want the recent drop, as they will stay soft. So just rake up the very top layer. When I gather them I try to also gather dried leaves (oak is best) & some small twigs. I mix them in. Later...