The little guy is eight days old. I had the gourds mixed up and had to check my notebook.

Such a sweet sweet face!

Oh soooooo cute. Now won't the parent disown that baby since it would have a human scent on it from you handling it? I sure hope not. I just love seeing the pics of your purple martins and those neat houses. Your photos are excellent.

How cute!!! I love Purple Martins. I now have a gourd home like yours. But, this year it is too late to put it up. Next year for sure. Because you posted about your Purple Martins, my husband and I went and bought a Purple Martin Gourd Houses like yours. We are going to put it out in our pasture. Caroline, I love your pictures!! Thanks!! I am a bird lover too!!(except house sparrows, Ugh!!)

They are perfectly safe. I love my babies and would never endanger them.

By checking the nests, changing out dirty or vermin-infested nests, and constantly "monitoring" the colony, a "landlord" will actually have a greater percentage of the eggs hatch and the chicks fledge.

I check my birds every single day, (at least when I can creep out there) until they are 18-20 days old. After that, you don't want to risk them fledging before they can truly fly and hunt.

Purple Martins "imprinted" on humans before the time of Columbus. Native Americans along the east coast encouraged flocks of them to nest near their villages and encampments by hanging gourds on long forked sticks.

PMs will only nest near humans and in man-made housing. Lack of housing, and predation by non-native English House Sparrows, nearly drove them (and the native bluebirds) to extinction. Since the 1960s there's been a concerted effort to restore their numbers by encouraging good management, proper housing, and HOSP control.

My gourds are saturated with my scent even before the martins arrive in early spring. I put in the pre-nests of wood shavings. I add Sevin dust, and "mess" with them every day so the adults are very comfortable with me before they even lay eggs.

I have females that won't move off their eggs when I do the checks. That's always cute. I have to very gently move her with a finger to see the state of the eggs under her.

Bluebirds and Tree Swallows, also cavity nesters and endangered by the English House Sparrow (although the TS numbers are strong now) tolerate quiet and careful nest checks and have more successful fledge rates because of them.

Sorry, to go on and on, but I do love my birds. All birds, of course, but especially my Purple Martins ...and my Woodpeckers, Nuthatches (red- and white-breasted) Chickadees, Goldfinches, House Finches, Purple Finches, Robins, nasty ole Blue Jays, Pine Siskins, Hummingbirds, Orioles, Rose-Breasted Gross Beaks, and any other bird that zooms into my yard! LOL (Execept the Cooper's Hawk)

RT Hummer...it's not too late to put up your gourd rack. If you get it up now all the PMs passing through on the migration back to Brazil will see it and mark it in their internal GPS.

They will bring their fledglings along to see it, too. It will greatly increase your chances of attracting birds next spring if you set it up now.

Check out the PMCA. There's a wealth of information there. Had I known about them the first year I started with the Purple Martins, I would not have lost 14 of my 19 chicks. There's several key points listed there on what to do to attrack PMs; how to keep PMs; and how to ensure the best eggs laid to chicks fledged numbers.

Also, feel free to email me through "My Page" if you want to "bird talk." You will love having Martins.

RThummer...hurry! Get out there and put up that gourd!

Caroline, thanks for sharing so much with us all. You do the bird world a service.

How do you get up to the nests? With a ladder?

How do you put your hand in...through that round lid thingie on the side?

I love your posts Caroline. I was wondering the same thing about how you get into the goards. Do they slide down on the pole?

You are a wealth of information Caroline! I enjoy your photos and Purple Martin updates!

O.K. Thanks, I will put it up. Should I leave it out all winter long? or just take them down as soon as winter sets in and then put them where I want them next early spring or late winter? So many questions. Sorry

Darleen

Darlene, Set the pole up and hang the gourds. Take the gourds down the first week in September. I leave my pole up year round, but I take the arms and gourds off.

Ideally, you want the gourds no more than about 50' from your house. Site them at least 45' from any tall trees, and for your viewing pleasure, make sure you can see the rack from one of your favorite rooms.

What kind of pole are you using. You'll need one that can go up and down with a pulley or winch.

I'm going to send you an email tomorrow.

The pole I use has a double pulley system on top. The white rope goes over the pulley and attaches to weights inside the pole. The weights equal the weight of the hub, arms, and gourds.

I pull on the white rope to slowly and easily bring the hub (which holds the arms, which hold the gourds) down to about chest level. The gourds have a screw on acces port on the sides. I open that to see and tend to the chicks.

I pull the black rope to raise the hub again.

It's all very easy. I can lower the rack, check all the nests, and have it back up in about five-ten minutes.

Birds will not know if her babies have been handled. In that way they are different than animals.

Wonderful pics and interesting info, Caroline. Thanks!