This entry was posted on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Bird Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 25, 2008
Martins seen to enjoy a pre-made bed of nesting material and readily accept these compartments over others that are empty. They like an ample amount of pine or wheat straw added to the nest, bringing the material right up to the bottom of the entrance hole. They have very short legs and this greatly helps in the exiting of the compartment or gourd. Sawdust or shavings of any kind are not a good base for a nest because they are not stable under foot and will soak up water, leaving the nest wet.
Check for insect pest infestation. Mites and blowflies are sometimes a major problem around martin sites. Learn how to identify them and what to do about them. A large infestation will easily kill young martin chicks. One solution for mites is ½ teaspoon of 5% Seven dust sprinkled on only the nesting material. Changing out the affected nests once or twice during the season is about the best method for controlling blowfly larva. Never use spray insecticides in any kind of wild bird nests.
Purple Martins exclusively eat flying insects, taking them on the wing. Among the list of many are houseflies, moths, grasshoppers and their favorite, dragonflies. However, they will forage for food when the temperature climbs above 45 deg. They will also eat crushed egg shells and oyster shells providing them with calcium for stronger egg shells and they feed them to their young as grit to help digest their food. These can be supplied on a small raised platform set on top of a 4 or 5 foot high post.
Martins will not eat from a bird feeder nor will they drink from a birdbath. A source of good clean fresh water is a major advantage in attracting them to your home. However, if not available, they have been known to fly up to 1 or 2 miles for water.
All poles should be fitted with the proper predator guards. A simple tube guard, ten inches or more in diameter and 3 feet long mounted to the pole will stop most ground predation attempts. Occasionally accipiter hawks will discover your colony, but since they are protected, there really isn’t anything that can legally be done about them other than to be present around the colony as much as possible. This is why open flight paths are necessary around martin housing, making it more difficult for these raptors to launch their attacks.
Purple Martins are very friendly towards humans. If enough time is spent around their site, they begin to accept the landlord as part of the site and will soon ignore them entirely. In fact, it is well documented that the more human activity there is near a martin site, the more martins will show up. They actually seek out sites where there is abundant human activity.
Hosting a colony of Purple Martins can indeed be a joyful and rewarding hobby!
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May 7th, 2008 at 4:23 am
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June 12th, 2008 at 3:39 am
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