Purple Martin Association of the Dakotas

Scrambled eggs, crickets and mealworms yes. I have never heard of earthworms for supplimental feeding. I smear mud around the entrances prior to martins arrival; it seems to peak the male scouts interest. I have flicked scrambled eggs for feeding, but these days I just use a large feeding tray. The ...

I have seen that is not a matter of when predators will strike. It will occur especially when a colony has grown enough to attract the hawks and owls. If you have any question whether to install guards or owl fencing, please do so before an attack happens. It isn't meant to scare people, but hawks a...

I agree. The 50 degree mark is when flying insect activity stops or slows down. I have heard that martins will visit low laying areas such as marshes where the natural heat may entice flying insect. This is the reason that martins may disperse from your location for a day or two in order to feed at ...

Insulating the attic and adding foam floors to help balance internal temp sounds logical to me. As for the canopy, it is a very customized project. The canopy is made of corrugated wavy shaped asphalt/rubber white roofing 4X8'. It is supported by a homemade 4X5" metal cap that secures over a 4X...

I have heard a variety of methods used to insulate gourds and metal houses to protect the martins from excess heat in the summer and low temps at the beginning of the season. I use a large canopy roof to protect the gourds and metal houses from the brutal sun beating down. It also serves as protecti...

I have turned my hobby of martins into a full blown obsession. I have around $3,500 into martin housing and I devour every bit of knowledge I can about martins. Two years ago I founded the Iowa Purple Martin Organization and it's website; m These days I stay busy improving houses over the winter mon...

The Minnesota working group, headed by Kelly Applegate, will be experimenting with new types of martin housing next to lake shore or in the lake water with low height. They are doing this to explore ways to keep predators away and ultimately increasing the martin population in the state of Minnesota...

Thank you for starting this website and also your association. I wish this association and website the best in the years ahead. love the website; easy to use and will be a valuable tool for all martin landlords of the Dakotas and surrounding states. My name is Dave Duit, I'm the president of the Iow...