Yes; I saw the vintage Purple Martin house, but I didn't respond on that forum, since I don't often post there. You folks are use to my Purple Martin/Native birds rants; they may think I'm odd. LOL I certainly understand why she was pleased and honored to have something from their friends house; I would be, too. But with all due respect and kindness, I would never offer it as serious housing for Purple Martins. With a lot of work, meticulous modifications, and careful monitoring it could possibly be used for Purple Martins, but that's a big "if." I would repair it, paint it, love it, and display it in a garden or on a porch...but I would block the entry holes so it couldn't be used by birds. Purple Martins wouldn't stand a chance in it, and it would be come a breeding ground for the destructive and non-native European House Sparrow. These type of (often lovingly and artistically crafted) wooden houses were very popular in the mid-50s to late 60s, before the marked increase of non-native English House Sparrows and European Starlings and the consequential decimation of the native Purple Martins and Bluebirds. For Purple Martin housing to be safe and productive, for it to allow the largest numbers of eggs to be laid and the largest percentage of the chicks to fledge, it must offer... ...Large cavities. The standard now, to provide plenty of room and safety from the reach of hawks' and owls' claws, the compartments need to be 7x7x12 inches in houses, or gourds of 10-11 inches in diameter. Owl resistant tunnels, and starling resistant (SREH) shaped openings ensure even more safety. This house could be modified so every two compartments became one. A SREH tunnel could be added and access port set into the second room. Of course, this would change the artistic lines, but it could then possibly produce healthy and Purple Martins. ...The compartments must be well ventilated, but easily drained and protected for rain. ...You must be able to access the nests for monitoring. The houses should have doors that open; my gourds have 4" wide access caps in the back. By performing nest checks, you ensure the safety and health of the chicks. It's all a numbers game if they are not going to become extinct. Get the most number of eggs, and ensure as many chicks as possible live to fledge (fly off for their first migration). Purple Martins are big birds; in a large compartment or gourd they can lay up to eight eggs. These chicks will be as big as the parents in three weeks. They need a lot of room to be healthy. ...The housing must be able to be raised and lowered for the nest checks. My gourd rack uses a pulley system with ropes to glide the hub, holding the eight gourds, up and down the pole vertically. You cannot "tilt" a pole without breaking the eggs. Another of the many joys of Purple Martins is that they've "imprinted" on humans; they want to nest near them. From the time before Columbus, native Americans along the east coast were encouraging them to nest near their communities; they knew the benefits the PMs provide by eating so many flying insects. PMs do not mind their nests being "checked." I check my nests every single day; I handle the chicks; I change out wet, dirty, or mite-infested nesting material. As a reward for this work, I have a 100% fledge rate over the past three years. Nest checks and proper housing provides wonderful results. ...If you allow English House Sparrows or European Starlings near the Purple Martin or Bluebird housing, your PMs and BBs will suffer. Their eggs will be broken; the chicks, and often even the adults, will be killed. EHS and EuSt control is key to the success of our native songbirds. Sad, but true. I'm still hoping and praying to attract a new colony here at our new/old house. My gourds are up and waiting, with pre-made nests of aspen shavings, and decoys alluringly arranged on the perches! Again, I hope they lady gets years of decorative pleasure from her lovly folk-art house. I would repair it, paint it, love it, and display it in a garden or on a porch...but I would block the entry holes so it couldn't be used by birds. Use the house for lovely and safe decor, and set up a small gourd rack with 4-8 gourds and you could fledge 24-48 chicks in one season. It's the best of both worlds. Happy Martineering! Here is a link that might be useful: A wealth of free Purplel Martin info and help here

Good gourd, you'll be a busy neighbor! Feed them plenty of mosquitoes for me. I thought I was doing well with my regular bunny tenants renewing the lease under my shed!

Glenda...it's my therapy! I love all the native birds, and the cavity nesters (Purple Martins, Tree Swallows, Woodpeckers, Bluebirds, Chickadees, Nuthatches, etc.) most especially. The PMs eat only flying insects. They have beautiful songs and calls. They are always on the wing. They are so sweet and gentle and nest only near humans. They have "imprinted" on humans since before the time of Columbus. He discovered native American villages up and down the eastern coast with long poles hung with gourds around the areas. Insect control, beautiful birds and beautiful song. Socks...Yes, I'm registered with the Purple Martin Conservation Association. They track "landlords" submitted information on arrivals, dates, eggs, fledges, departures, etc., and the migration back to Brazil. They actually use doppler radar to check the early and late migrations, too. For a native bird that was brought almost to the point of extinction to now have a migration mass large enough to track is wonderful. I also belong to three other private Purple Martin forums that collect data and share information. OakleyOK...I've never had a problem with wasps in my gourds. Of course, my gourds are kept taken down, cleaned, and stored in the basement as soon as the chicks leave, usually around Aug. 1. I set the colony up again around April 15. I keep duct tape over the gourds' entry holes until the PMs actually arrive. That keeps the non-native vermin, such as starlings and English House Sparrows out.

Indulge me folks; this one's going to be long. I'm going to answer the questions 'cause I just luuuuve talking about my Purple Martins. I love all birds, of course, but these guys are my main focus for the couple of months they're here. SheilaJoyce ~ There is a double pulley system on top of the 14' tall pole. The white rope runs around one pulley and attaches to the top of the lead weights inside the pole. The rope also runs inside the hub (the square black/white box that holds all the arms) and down to the ground. (It's called the EZ Lift system; you can email me for more info.) When the rack (hub plus arms) is "up" I can pull on the white rope (without much force) and the rack glides down the pole until the gourds are at my chest level. I can then check and maintain the nests without risking harm to the eggs or chicks and without have to use a step ladder. Pulling on the black rope raises the hub back to the pole top and adjusts the orientation of the gourds. They have to always be pointing the same direction. Decoys are used when trying to lure in a PMs to a new site. I have several but I only had to use them the first season here. People can check the PMCA site to learn when the martins' migration is expected in their area. Prepare the houses/gourds, etc. and set out the decoys before that date. I also play a CD of PM "Daytime Chatter." It makes the site look and sound occupied to overhead PMs. Sometimes they're so far away and/or so high you might now see/hear them, but they'll see/hear the site. People attract colonies all the time without decoys but it just gives you that little edge. I've loaned my CD and decoys out to three newbie "landlords" to help them start their colonies. I left this one decoy up to help confuse the hawks. Hawks are a native bird, also protected by the migratory bird laws, but they can wreck havoc on a colony. Many times, if a site it attacked by hawks, and they lose many chicks, the PMs will not return to that site the next year. PMs also leave the colony for hours at a time to hunt their flying insects. That's when the chicks are in the most danger from hawk attacks. I've seen a sharp-shinned hawk attack the decoy. Slammed right into it, knocked himself sideways, and then flew off to a tree. After smoothing out his feathers, and his pride, he left for feathery pastures. He now thinks the birds at this site are indestructible. The decoy survived! LOL McMann Aren't all the native birds wonderful! You don't have to do anything to enjoy them. Putting out seed, or suet, or nectar, is a great way to lure them in for easier viewing. Offering a birdbath that is kept filled with clean fresh water is another very low stress way to help the birds, and little critters, and bring them in closer so you can hear and see them. I've lived in places where all I could offer the birds was water. Even then I had more varieties around me than I could have imagined. I became interested in the Purple Martins, and Blue Birds, when I was reading about how close they came to extinction. The blue birds even more so than the Purple Martins. Both species have suffered loss of habitat and predation by the two non-native birds that are increasing to the point of wiping out the native cavity nesters...that would be the European Starling and European House Sparrow. I've been blessed with good luck with the PMs. Except for my first season (2003) I've had large clutches of eggs and a nearly a 100% fledge rate. (A bird is a successful fledge once it survives to the right age to leave the nest, and does so, under it's own power.) I learned about the PMCA and started reading, and studying, and saving my money to purchase a gourd rack. I joined two private PM forums filled with experienced landlords that offer so much encouragement and decades of experience of what does, and doesn't, work. Like me, they're all striving for larger percentages of fledged PMs. I've also put up blue bird houses, but they're "trickier" than the PMs, at least for me. I'm still trying; one of my friends joined in the BB quest. She now hosts two or three pairs, who raise two and three clutches, every year. And she lives in a 300 home suburb with a tiny yard! I'm so proud of her. She does have the houses in the right sites; she controls EUST and EUHS, and offers water for the BBs. Leslie I love your site, and aren't your pinkies a beautiful sight! I love the photos you sent, too! There are two camps in the PM world, LOL. Those that do use Sevin, and those that don't. I use it. I use it at least three time in the season and then again if I see even one mite. It's all a numbers game. Get the adults healthy and safe and let them produce every egg and raise every chick that's possible. Mites kill birds. They weaken the adults so they can't hunt as efficiently to feed the chicks. They cause anemia and blood loss to the chicks. They cause chicks to jump out of the nest before they can fly. They kill chicks. So, when I make the pre-nests, before the martins arrive, I sprinkle a scant teaspoon of Sevin on top of each nest. The new birds arrive, go in the gourd, scuttle around, and any mites they picked up along the route are dead. I do a nest change when the chicks are around 10 days old and again when they are 18 days old. (Don't open a nest after the oldest chick reaches Day 18 though or you may cause premature fledging. The chicks will most likely die.) Take out the chicks, remove all the old nasty nests, add new cedar shavings, mix in a teaspoon of Sevin, ( I mix this in good so the chicks aren't in just one concentrated area of Sevin) replace the chicks and raise the gourds. No, this doesn't bother the adults at all. Some of them sit on the perching arms, a couple feet from my head while I do it. Others zoom around and "flog" me. They have imprinted on humans since before the time of Columbus when the east coast native Americans set gourds up on poles around their camps and villages to attract the birds. I've had females that won't leave the gourd even when I'm checking the nests and counting eggs/chicks. Since you're using box type houses, and probably don't have the volume of nesting material I use, I'd say 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of Sevin would do the trick. It's up to you. I've had mites in only one gourd for the all the time I'm managed the PMs. When mites get in one gourd, they can't move out and along the metal arms to the next gourd. In most houses, they can crawl from nest to nest quickly and easily. It's very important to keep a close eye out for mites if you're offering apartment type housing. If you don't want to use Sevin you should still do the nest changes. This gets rid of most of the mites. You might want to do nest changes more often if you're not using Sevin. Granlan Thanks; you're kind. This has been the Little House of Horrors and The Money Pit combined. If we're ever finished, and if my health improves, I'm hoping for "cute" and "serviceable." I'm learning a lot as we slowly muddle through all the fixes. The front of the house, and the front yard, are totally flat and boring. The house borders on "ugly." Heck, it might be firmly imbedded there. But it does host my PMs and scores of other birds in the feeder tree. I am thankful to have a place to live and enjoy my birding. Connie I know they're in your area. I'm in touch with PM "Landlords" all over the country. I'll try to locate some closer to you if you want to check out their sites. Most of us are so happy to show our birds off to others. I meet people all PM season long, looking at and asking questions about the gourds and birds. MaryAnnTX Texas is a PM Paradise. Your birds will arrive, nest, fledge, and start the migration back to Brazil before my eggs have hatched. I find it amazing. Someone told me the PMs seem to be a lot of "work." They're really not, and it is a labor of love. I do remove, empty, and clean, and store all the gourds in September, after the last of the Canadian PMs migrate through. I want them to see my site, too! I have to make the pre-nests and rehang them in April. That's the two biggest chores. I do two or three at a time, as time and health permit. I do a daily walk-around, checking the ground under the gourds for any signs of hawk or owl attacks. I also fill my feeders and bird bath while the colony is "in" so they get use to seeing me. Nest checks take less than 30 seconds per gourd; nest changes take a couple minutes, tops, per gourd. The rest of the time is just enjoying, watching, listening, observing.