Swinging Gourds

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

One modification I wanted to address during the off season was how to cut down on the amount of gourd swing on my gourds during storms and windy days. Below is a picture showing what I have done which is a quick and simple modification.

I use only Troyer horizontal tunneled gourds at my sight and they are all mounted to the gourd rack using an optional gourd mounting arm. This made my modification easier since I only had to come up with one procedure to take care of all of my gourds. Once the gourd mounting arm is securely attached to the angle arms it is stationary and will not move. You then just slide the Troyer gourd through the gourd mounting arm and attach a cotter pin so the gourd does not come off.

To keep the gourd from swinging from side to side, I drilled a small hole through the top of the gourd with the gourd mounting arm in place. This way I ended up with a small hole properly aligned in both the gourd and gourd mounting arm. I then screwed in the appropriate size screw through the aligned holes in both the gourd and gourd mounting arm. This simple modification has greatly reduced, in not totally eliminated, my gourds from swinging.

The only down side to this modification is I will not be able to pull out the cotter pin and slide the gourd off of the gourd mounting arm. However, once the season starts, I hardly ever have the need to remove a gourd from the gourd mounting arm. The only time I remove a gourd is during a case of wing entrapment. If the need arises to remove a gourd with this modification all I have to do is either remove the gourd mounting arm from the angle arm or remove the small screw from the top of the gourd. Either way should not take more than a few seconds.

One additional point that I was fortunate to think of ahead of time was, I will need to store my gourds with the gourd mounting arms in place with each individual gourd. If I remove the gourds from the gourd mounting arms, then the holes will not line up properly on some of the gourds next season when I hang my gourds.

Here is a picture of the screw in place.

Tim

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Tim, that looks good, I don't like it when the gourds swing.

You could number your gourds and the arms, then you could always replace the same gourd to the same arm so that the holes would match, and the screw would align ok..

[The Olsons]

Tim,

Very interesting, I need to show hubby. We use Nylon Zipies, which works great but often due to the heat and humidity here, they will break during the season. Your idea would be a great alternative

Astrid

[Scott D.- La]

Tim,
Good idea. I also do not like swinging gourds. Here is another way to brace Troyer gourds so they do not move. These are Simpson strong ties available at Home Depot for .28 cents apiece and they provide additional perching space also.

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Emil:
I took your suggestion and numbered the gourd mounting arms with the same number on the gourd mounted on each arm.

Scott:
I thought about the exact modification shown in your picture except making the connection on the sides instead of the bottom of the gourd. I decided to go with the screw through the top so I wouldn't have as much hardware to handle. Very nice job on your modification and you are correct, it does offer a lot of additional perching space for the martins.

Tim

[Harold Green]

Check the web site below for gourd swing.


http://www.chuckspurplemartinpage.com/gordswng.htm

[Harold Green]

Check the web site below for gourd swing.


http://www.chuckspurplemartinpage.com/gordswng.htm

[Scott D.- La]

When I mounted the Troyers not only did they shake violently they also bounced violently on the aluminum arms. Not to dispute anything from anothers perspective, but I did not like what I was seeing. Now the only movement is with the rack and everything seems smooth as it moves in unison. I like it much better.

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Since I started using gourds at my site, I have not had a problem of any my gourds swinging to the extent where it dislodged eggs or nestlings. The author of the article reference by Harold addresses normal swinging during storms and high winds and his point is well taken.

One of my concerns is this past season was the first time I experienced owl attacks. It has been documented that owls will land on and flap their wings against gourds in an attempt to get the martins to flush at which time they will be grabbed by the owl. It is my hope to eliminate this possibility of sudden and severe gourd swing by a night time attack by an owl. Even though I incorporated the use of solar night time lights for owls the jury is still out as to the overall effectiveness of this deterrent.

Tim