Name: |
momo
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/23/2010 3:35:18 PM
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We live on Little Kowliga and have had a martin house up for 2 years and we haven't gotten a sincle martin. Blue Birds did move in this past fall but have gone now. When we lived in Montgomery we had a full house of martins every year. They started coming in Feb every year and were gone by late July. Any ideas as to why they don't like our house??
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Name: |
Jural
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/23/2010 4:17:47 PM
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I am from south Alabama and we typically used gourds for our Martin houses. We replaced them yearly as Martins tend to not nest in a previously inhabited nest. Also they will be leery to nest where another species of bird has nested. One thing that we noticed is that they need an open space and the house needs to be quite high. JMHO of course.
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Name: |
Talullahhound
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/23/2010 4:46:47 PM
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From what I have read, they send out scouts in the spring to "find" houses. Maybe the scouts haven't found you yet. Personally, I'd be happy to have bluebirds.
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Name: |
roswellric
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/23/2010 6:02:49 PM
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They probably want a kitchen upgrade.
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Just joking... I was thinking it may be location. You may need to have John come evaluate the neighborhood.
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Name: |
alahusker
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/23/2010 8:20:31 PM
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Are a delight.. have 2 houses up and they flat fill up the apartments year after year.. Had the first scout last year on the 1st of march and am now actively watching for her/his return.. They are really too cool for school.. Will keep you posted, expect to see the scout any day..
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Name: |
roswellric
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/23/2010 9:12:40 PM
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Condos with a lake view will probably get you a better class of Martins...
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Cat has a foil helmet in his shop that can be used to communicate with the Green Martians....don't know if it works for purple ones.
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Name: |
roswellric
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/23/2010 9:36:03 PM
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He might be a scout himself...
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Name: |
John C
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/24/2010 12:06:36 AM
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ha! I would be able to evaluate the neighborhood better for real estate than martins. I tried pretty hard last year, to no avail, to attract with 2 different homes. The best resource I found was:
http://purplemartin.org/
They have lots of good articles like "top 12 reasons you fail to attract martins" and "10 rules to attract martins" etc.
They pretty much debunk the scout theory. They say those are just loners passing through that moved on. For me, I had 2 loners nest for a few days, then move on. Then I had about 20 buzzing about for a day, then left. Bummer. I am going to change my homes' locations slightly to see if that helps this year.
As to timing, please see the attached picture I posted via twitter last year. Not saying this was THE first nesting on the lake last year, but it was the first that I saw, admittedly an unscientific poll.
URL: Purple Martins Spotted on 3-21-2009
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Name: |
lucky67
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/24/2010 11:32:58 AM
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is it painted purple ?
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Name: |
Summer Lover
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/24/2010 11:44:56 AM
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And have some Jimi Hendrix playing in the background...
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Name: |
momo
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/24/2010 11:47:58 AM
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Thanks for all the tips. I will check out the purple martin web site for sure.
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Name: |
roswellric
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Subject: |
Hendrix?
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Date:
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2/24/2010 1:50:51 PM
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How about Earl Klugh?
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Name: |
Summer Lover
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Subject: |
Hendrix?
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Date:
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2/24/2010 3:40:51 PM
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Ouch. Voices from the past - I believe I have one album, can't remember if I had upgraded (or downgraded) to CD, or if it is on one of my MO-FI records...
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Name: |
alahusker
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/24/2010 8:00:25 PM
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Yea of little faith.. First martin scout arrived here on the 1st of March last year.. Submitted the picture to Nikki and was published in Lake Magazine, as I recall. Cleaned out the houses several weeks ago, 13 of 16 apartments had well established nests.. We have had a wonderful colonies for the last 8 years, dozens of moms, dads and kids.. .. As a retired Air force Pilot, I am humbled by the aerobatics.. As a human, I'm amazed at their social nature..
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Name: |
alahusker
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Subject: |
Purple martins
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Date:
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2/25/2010 8:47:34 PM
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John C needs to stick to people real estate, I seemingly have the corner on Martin Houses.. Will post pictures soon, first scout is likely a few days away..
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