Ooooh, nothing like a garden in spring for bringing in the migrating birds! Sounds lovely, Gary. I really think purple martins are beautiful. That shiny purple-black coloration is remarkable, and they have the prettiest little heart shaped faces. Of course, you kind of have to see them close up to appreciate that, but still, they are sweet looking. You are right...they prefer their nests to have a long open "run way" leading up to it, and not be enclosed by a lot of trees. An open backyard or field with a pond or lake nearby is ideal for them. But still, to have them stop by your house is fun, I'm sure. The goldfinches I had during the cold snap (along with the fantastic summer tanager) have moved on. I have seen one or two single ones this past week, but they didn't stick around. The lone yellow-rumped warbler who fed every day with the summer tanager is still here, and still eating seed. (I swear, the birds don't read the books!!!) My white-winged doves have made one or two appearances at the feeder, but mostly, they are laying low again. They probably won't be very active for another few weeks, yet. The Carolina wren is very active and very vocal right now, and the cardinals are busy, but I haven't seen any cedar waxwings yet this year. And the great-crested flycatchers haven't arrived. I'm waiting to hear the first loud THREEEEP from them. I envy your painted buntings. Hope I get some this year, too. Marcia

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

Kathleen CA - I'm checking with some of the PMCA members to get all of the facts correct, but there are small numbers of Purple Martins in California. They nest differently though; where the martins in the eastern half of the country are human-imprinted and colony nesters, the ones that have moved to the west coast tend to nest in smaller, or solitary, groups and not near people. I know there were several larger colonies forming around Sacramento. The birds have discovered the drain pipes built in to some of the larger highway overpasses were excellent places to nest. They also nest in pilings and piers along the coast. I'll get back with you when I get more info. I don't know how far south they go. Socks/Kathleen CA - Yes; Wes has been a great help with the my Purple Martin hobby/obsession. When we moved from the base to the new/old house in Larimore in 2007, one of the very first things he did was to dig the 36" deep, 12" wide hole and set the ground stake in cement so it could cure and hold the pole before winter. The pole slips down 30" into the stake. This is the same set up I had on the base. We had a nearly-impossible-to-budge rope-and-pulley system until now. I don't know why it never worked correctly, but the manufacturer replaced the entire hub system with a new and improved one! Since it can hold two layers of eight gourds each, we bought a boat winch to "power" it. The system was easy to install on the old pole and it works beautifully. It would have taken me weeks to put together and install the winch, pulley and hub if I had to do it on my own. It would have involved blood, bruises, pain, and probably broken fingers. Wes had it all together in an hour or so. "I think I'll keep him!" There have been four Purple Martin "scout" sightings in North Dakota since April 11. Two in Mandan, and one each in Devils Lake and Coleharbor. I have three "martineering" friends in Grand Forks and Bismarck. They have not seen birds yet. Purple Martins are native American birds that migrate to and from Brazil each fall. They return in the spring to nest from Florida to north of Winnipeg. At one time they were in danger of extinction because of lack of properly monitored housing (the vast majority of the birds only nest in man-made housing) and predation by non-native European starlings and English house sparrows. Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Martin Conservation Association

Hey Leslie; this is my latest year ever. They didn't even return until Mother's Day this year. They didn't bother making nests and just used the comfy pre-nests I made them. They were late pairing up, and they're late laying eggs. The eggs I have are big and heavy, well, big and heavy for the size of the birds. I've been hosting PMs since 2004. This is the latest, coldest, oddest season yet. Also, starting the new colony was hard. I'm 15-20 miles west and north from the base where I had to turn dozens of pairs away; I simply couldn't afford to put up more than the two racks I offered there. I think I've "stolen" three colonies here, and I still don't have a full house. I'm going to try to do another nest check tomorrow and take photos. I might have a pinkie or two by now! I've had a mystery illness this spring and then had an MRI last week. It knocked me for a loop. The iodine dye gave me a bad reaaction; I was covered in hives from scalp to my toes and all points between. I "watch" the birds; but I've not been too interactive with them this spring. I will do the nest changes when the chicks are 10 days old even if I have to hire a neighbor to help me.