2024 Purple Martin tracker

I’ve had a 16 apartment cage up for 6 years in north central Alabama. I have seen a couple land and survey the cage only to bail after a couple of minutes. I’ve got a nice flyway but not a source of water nearby. There is a small lake 3/4s a mile at the end of my subdivision. Thats where they nest. Grrrrr…. I miss those birds from my Louisiana days.

Cleaned my house out this past weekend. Mine usually do not show up until the end of Feb. New Iberia area.

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Location for placement advice regarding any trees? I do have a 1 acre pond which I under stand they like that as well.

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They like water, of course, but also seem to want to be near people a bit. I would put it between the house and pond not super close to trees. Mine is somewhat close to some trees, as I have no choice, but I make sure they have clear paths in two directions.

First scout showed up here in North AL on March 1st. They never hang around, though, so I usually just put up a couple gourds and wait until they show up in numbers in a couple weeks.

I have a dozen more S&K gourds assembled and ready to go up now. I'll be just about done with natural gourds at this point. It looks to be a Summer's long fight with the arsehole house sparrows this year.

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Received my first house as a xmas present and need to put it up . Location for placement advice regarding any trees? I do have a 1 acre pond which I under stand they like that as well.

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They have evolved to nest near humans. They're actually pretty much solely dependent on humans for nesting sights now, which makes it all the better that you're a new hopeful landlord.

It is best not to locate housing near large trees, but they aren't a deal breaker usually, as long as there is an open flight path for escape. They shouldn't be surrounded by tall trees. Hawks are the big threat with trees, and they can be one of the main stressors for a colony. So, locate the house near your home or outbuildings where there is human activity and in an area where they have a couple of open flight paths at least.

As far as Purple Martin houses go, sometimes it takes a while to get takers with houses. That's particularly true if other landlords in your area have traditionally used gourds. It is just something new that they have to get accustomed to before moving in. A good practice when first starting brand new with a house is to provide a few gourds, too. That will give them an option they may be more comfortable with, and as the colony grows in future years the house will be occupied.

Just make sure to keep check on any House Sparrows or European Starlings moving in while you wait on the Martins. They can and will take over before you know it. I've never had any real problem with Starlings, but my House Sparrow problem drives me nuts.

Enjoy! And don't get discouraged if you don't have a pair or two this year.

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Northern St Tammany. Put up a new house 3 weeks ago. Nothing yet

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Hey, I just replied to your post from last month. You may try putting up a few gourds, hanging from the bottom of the house would work. That would give any that are accustomed to gourds an option they're more familiar with.

Here in Calcasieu parish, our first 2 Martins showed up on Feb. 14 and the next day we saw 3. By the 19 th we had 3 pairs.

On March 5 we had 9 Martins. The Martins came about a week or more early this year and usually don't get this many until the 2 or 3 rd week of March.

The Blue birds built a nest about Feb. 24, but waited about a week to start laying eggs. By March 5 we had 5 eggs.

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The Blue birds built a nest about Feb. 24, but waited about a week to start laying eggs. By March 5 we had 5 eggs.

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I had a quick start last year with the Bluebirds. One pair built a nest and laid eggs, and then the freeze happened. I checked every day for three or four days, but the eggs were no longer viable. The other pair that had an early start, fortunately hadn't laid at that point. Here's to hoping for no late cold this year, though it is more like an early Spring than a late freeze that caused the issue last year.

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Hey, I just replied to your post from last month. You may try putting up a few gourds, hanging from the bottom of the house would work. That would give any that are accustomed to gourds an option they're more familiar with.

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Gotcha. I will order a few to hang under there.

I’m in Lafayette area north of I-10. We usually have Martins every year. I don’t mark in calendar when they come but I’m thinking they should have been here by now. I’m worried that we might not get any. Do y’all think it’s too late or that I’m not remembering when they usually arrive? Nothing has changed.