Purple Martin Forum

Hello Dave & Tom. Thanks for chiming in! I plan to use Conley plates after widening/enlarging the existing hole of the Trio doors. The doors on this house are not hinged. I would use Conley tunnels with porches but not wanting to remove the factory perches at this time. Tom- even with Conley plates ...

Hello Martin Friends- any Trio jedi masters seen this style mini castle before? I have no idea the year these came out. The doors fasten unlike any Trio I've encountered before. I plan to enlarge cavities and use Conley plates for sreh with wing guards. I'd appreciate any tips on options for wing gu...

For some reason I had in my mind that fledge age for Purple martins was 26-32 days of age. I have a late nest here in Iowa that consisted of 4 nestlings. Adult martins for the nest are both sy/ second yr . One nestling was lost early I believe due to sy male removal. The three remaining nestlings ha...

Hello- Dancing Man/Scarecrow Inquiry: For anyone who has used one of these as owl deterrent I was gifted one . My home site is in major owl country both Barred and Great Horned. My satellite site 2.5 mi from home is currently plagued on/off by Great Horned owl . My home site went from 3or last seaso...

Fledged martins have been known to (and I've observed as well) return and spend nights in same and other possible open cavities for up to around 2 wks. As a colony grows and crowding becomes an issue some fledged hang about at night and get preyed upon by owls

Randy74 you should ultimately be in good shape with whatever amount of patience will be required for your site. I'm a firm believer that if you're seeing martin visitors/lookers each season it's only a matter of time. Not knowing exactly how much time is obviously the tough part. Meanwhile all one c...

Fun thread. Looking forward to following this one. Rooting for you. Very cool thread. Randy74 pulling for you and the asy male. Reminds me of the season after I had my first single pair (asy male/female. The next season the female didn't make it back. The male stuck things out by itself well into t...

The Dawnsong happens once the first arriving pairs have laid eggs and the females are incubating. The males fly up early in the mornng, before sunrise, as this is the time of day when sounds travels the farthest. He is trying to recruit more martins to the colony so that he can mate with the hens, ...

The nesting martins and the love hungry asy male will really help when the sy martins show up.

Joanne It all sounds like you're getting a colony started. Hopefully you'll have at least 3 nest pairs before all is said and done!

Thanks Whip! I was basically full last season with 49 of 52 cavities used but a few cavities failed due to owl/hawk or other cause. I hope the owl cages if nothing else increases nest success by any percentage! Take care and happy 2020 season! [2quote=Whippy post_id=290238 time=1585317020 user_id=19...

daveh wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:27 pm

I caged everything up 4-5 years ago and don't recall any problem. They zip right on thru the 2x4 inch wire like it's not there. The babies will will have some problem but will figure it out eventually.

Dave

Thanks for the note Daveh!

Hey there Tim, I added perches where I cut out each wire to make the 4 x 4-inch openings. I used the smallest diameter PEX tubing, cut a split in the pex, filled it with an exterior caulk, silicone or lexel and then snaped the split over the horizontal wire in the 4 x 4-inch openings. Since that ti...

Hello- Wondering what kind of behavior to expect from returning martins that are going to find 2x4 welded wire cages around their houses and gourds. Yes I'm fretting about their adapting to the change. I did cut most of the 2x4 openings in front of entrances to make them 4x4. Thanks for any recounts...

The lone asy male hanging in there despite 4 days of little to no bugs (4 consecutive days below 50 degrees). I've been able flip him crickets each day but one. I've had to make several trips each day to the satellite site in order to catch him out on the perches. I can tell he's struggling as his w...

I'm hoping the owl cages I installed on three setups at my satellite site will also significantly reduce the number of successful hawk attacks as well as owls.
Yes dawn and dusk are the prominent times of day I've noticed the most hawk activity but have also observed midday attacks as well.
TimG

Purple Martins have reached south central Iowa in West Des Moines. I have a lone asy male at my satellite site. Early arrival record by 9 days (arrived 3/29 in 2019). I hope it survives as we will be in high 20s for temperature tonight. He's got pine needles and choice of wooden t14s or Troyer gourd...

Thanks Whippy; all makes sense! I dont consider myself in the Trio Master Jedi class with 4th Gen and Matt F et al but close ha ha! I've screened everywhere on my Trios except the doors and will try this method before putting them up this season. Tbird I believe the adhesive is "spray-on" and comes ...

Hey Whippy found this thread searching for Wasp remedies. I have screen over the roof vents on my trios but not the door vents/holes. Did you screen the holes on your trio doors? I had horrible wasp population last season and had to be vigilant especially on unused trios. How did you attach your scr...

Hello PHLDave- sure hope the Martin's find and stay at your place in 2020! Meanwhile you know you're welcome to help out again this season at PM Lake satellite site. I greatly appreciated your help last season! If you happen to be visiting early and spot an early arrival martin please let me know. L...