This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 9:17 am and is filed under Migration. 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 24, 2008
The interaction between man and martin dates all the way back to the Native Americans. To this day, the bubbly personality and gurgling song of the Purple Martin is cherished by those that host them. Each spring brings on an excitement that only a Purple Martin landlord can experience as they anxiously anticipate the return of their beloved martins.
If you are establishing a new colony, wait for the arrival of the sub-adults who tend to arrive 3-6 weeks after the mature adult martins return to established breeding sites. Waiting to open your housing will prevent problems with sparrows, starlings and other birds. If birds other than Purple Martins try to nest in your house, lower the house and remove the nest – temporarily plugging the entry holes if necessary to keep them from returning.
The location of your purple martin birdhouse is very important because the martins are looking for safety and security. Raise the house the full extent of your pole (typically 10-15 feet) and keep the house at least 40 feet away from trees. Tall trees harbor predators such as hawks and having trees taller than the housing in close proximity will afford those predators cover. Martins are aware of this and therefore, stay away from such situations. A location between 40-120 feet from your own home works well as does the center of an open spot or the edge of a pond or lake. They need very open and unobstructed flight paths. Martins actually want to be near you!
Use purple martin decoys – Martins are social and decoys create the appearance of site activity. Adult martins use “dawnsinging” to attract young martins to their colony site so the playing of the Dawn Song CD one or two hours before dawn is recommended but can be played any time of the day. If at first you don’t see martins, don’t despair. Migration lasts through the end of June. Be diligent, and keep your house well maintained. Also, keep your house up through August. While this is too late to attract nesting pairs, this year’s fledglings will already be scouting for next season.
(More info on Purple Martins to come)
May 7th, 2008 at 4:28 am
Now is the Time to Attract Purple Martins | Birds DunRite…
I highly recommend to all bird lovers to check out this one of kind shop for your pet. This online shop caters only to all the products you need for your pet bird. Come and see all the bird products that are all in discounted prices….
June 12th, 2008 at 3:34 am
Now is the Time to Attract Purple Martins | Birds DunRite…
It’s really amazing how the bird house I bought in this store transformed my garden in to a bird sanctuary. I guess it’s because that this site’s focus is to understand and how to simply attract bird to come to you. Check out its collection of …
June 12th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Now is the Time to Attract Purple Martins | Birds DunRite…
It’s really amazing how the bird house I bought in this store transformed my garden in to a bird sanctuary. I guess it’s because that this site’s focus is to understand and how to simply attract bird to come to you. Check out its collection of …