Purple Martins

Dozernut · Mar 12, 2003

I need to tap the brain trust of TBN. I have been trying to coax Purple Martins into high rise houses I have erected for them to nest in. So far I have had no luck, just Sparrows and Starlings. I clean the houses out every year and we have a large pond for a food supply, but I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. Is it just a matter of luck or patience or do I need to be doing something else. Thanks!

Bird · Mar 12, 2003

( I clean the houses out every year )

Once a year will never do. For Purple Martins, you need the boxes high all right, but you also need them on a telescoping, or swing down, pole so every time you see sparrows starting to build, you have to clean out their nests and keep them cleaned out until the martins move in. In other words, you're talking about an almost daily job for awhile in our area at least.

Dozernut · Mar 12, 2003

Bird
Thanks for your reply! I had no idea that you needed to clean them out more often /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. I do have them on telescoping poles, so cleaning them is not hard. I will be more diligent on clean out. Thank you, you are indeed a scholar and a gentleman!

Bird · Mar 12, 2003

That was just one part of attracting the martins that I know for sure, but you probably ought to go to this site and click on "Attracting and Managing Purple Martins" and read that for a lot more and better details. And thanks for the compliment. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Dozernut · Mar 12, 2003

Wow, what a great site! This just goes to prove that my earlier comment about you was on the money. Thanks again!

thcri · Mar 12, 2003

( Is it just a matter of luck or patience or do I need to be doing something else. )

I agree about 199.9% with Bird. But I also want to you to highlight Patience. My dad followed just about every rule in the book and it still took two years to get the martins. Don't know why, the neighbors had them, plenty of food for them, they just never went in his house.

murph

heehaw · Mar 13, 2003

i've had 4 large metal martin houses for 15 years, they fill up early every year..i have added 3 wooden houses and finally took them down, everything except martins loved them...several years ago, i bought 4 plastic houses from wal-mart, with telescoping triangular poles...it took 3 years before the martins would nest in them...i took one to work, and put it in what appeared to be an ideal spot, every year i would see martins land on the house and examine it, but they never nested, after 3 years of that i took it down and put it back up at home......i guess what i am saying, is the metal/aluminum houses are more likely to attract martins.
heehaw