Hi Bub, Are they the ones that you can lower? Since you're not sure that purple martins were in there, I would clean them all out and watch for other birds, like house sparrows that might try to set up house in them, and then evict them. I had some tree sparrows hanging around mine one year, and the bird people told me that they were a good thing to have there too. Unfortunately, nobody stayed. You can get covers for those holes. And If I'm remembering right, you keep them covered until you start seeing Purple Martins, then uncover them. That will keep the house sparrows out. Good luck.

I was afraid that might be the case, they all look around the same size (martins) and info I found today said that the martins usually start to arrive here in February and look for nesting spots. In addition to All the other potential dangers/problems with the house/location where these martins are possibly planning to nest and raise babies, same neighbors also have a HAMM RADIO tower in their back yard and every year around late spring/ summer a great horned owl perches up there on and off and and hoots, I've heard him and seen him up there several nights in a row before. Is there anything I can do at this point, like put up a safe Martin house, or will they stay there now regardless? I'm hoping that if I talk to neighbors and explain the situation, they will do something about it. I feel sick at the thought of the martins going through whole process and end up losing babies or being harmed themselves. If I thought there was a possibility that they would relocate this late in the game, I'd gladly put up a safe place for them to nest and make sure it stays that wAy, although I'd be learning as I go, ughh, whole situation makes me nervous. I'm going to post the pics of the house and the birds tonight, I'm pretty sure the house is not the ideal layout either, it has little porches with metal railings on both floors and another railing across top and from what I've read so far, that makes it easy for owls to get to them. Thanks

Put it in the most open area you have. There is a ton of information on the PMCA's website. I put up my first one this year, and I also live in MA. Be prepared to deal with House Sparrows, and Starlings (if you don't use the Starling resistant entrances) I have had nothing but House Sparrows so far. Even if you think you don't have House Sparrows, they will show up once you put up the house. I've had one pesky couple that I have had a great deal of difficulty eliminating. They are very shy since they know I'm out to get them. Nonetheless, they brought back two more with them this morning. Once they see all those entrances, they are relentless. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: PMCA

What a treat! Thanks for sharing. I read such a discouraging article in the Chicago Tribune last week. It was about a bird tagging location near the Illinois/Wisconsin border that has been functioning for forty years. At first I thought the article said the number of birds had declined by ten to twenty percent, then...no, the number has declined TO ten to twenty percent of the migrating birds. They blame pollution and the declining habitat along migration routes. One of the tiny birds photographed had been recorded on migration from Northern Canada to South America. Our bird population has never come back more than a few percent from the die-off during avian flu a few years ago. I almost never see a crow or blue jay -- who thought I'd miss *them*?