Martins have finally arrived! Nesting materials are being placed in various chambers and things are looking good. I have a question however. It is so abnoxiously windy here in Richmond, TX and I know I have Martins in at least two chambers. My house sways about with the wind at least an inch in various directions but is sturdy on the telescopic pole. Is this a bad thing? I dont want my inhabitants to be to shanken up. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Mike
Its WINDY and my Martin house is swaying!!
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CraigMo.
- Posts: 1480
- Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 12:30 pm
- Location: Missouri/Lone Jack
- Martin Colony History: Active since 2003
Michael, I may not be any help to you cause I don't know any thing about your pole. What I do know is on my old S-K mfg tri-pole is that it used to sway a lot also. I used to lower it one level and I know other s-k owners still do because of wind. I would lower it during the day light hours so it would not freak the martins out. I would leave it down for days depending on the forecast on the windy days. The martins did not mind at all. Instead of being 12 to 14 feet tall it was more like 10 feet tall. Maybe someone with your type of pole will give you advise soon. But if you can lower it one level to make it more sturdy that would be good. The swaying I don't think would bother the martins but if it sways to much it could make the eggs hit each other and maybe crack the eggs.
madden. 1" "sway" shouldn't bother them. however if the sway becomes a back and forth "jolt" that may be something you would have to fix, this jolt if very much could crack the eggs. I have supergourds that sway back and forth during high winds i would say 6" to 8" and this does not phase the martins nor the eggs, its the sudden stop thats going to be a problem.
2007- 1 pair, 6 fledge
2008-12 pair, 45 eggs, 34 hatch, 12 fledge of only 4 pair ( year of flood and gnats )
2009-26 pair, 113 eggs, 98 hatch, 84 fledge
2010- 40+ pair approx 180 fledge
2011 45 + pair (max). Fledge about 220
2008-12 pair, 45 eggs, 34 hatch, 12 fledge of only 4 pair ( year of flood and gnats )
2009-26 pair, 113 eggs, 98 hatch, 84 fledge
2010- 40+ pair approx 180 fledge
2011 45 + pair (max). Fledge about 220
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Craig Dyer
- Posts: 500
- Joined: Fri May 13, 2005 2:24 pm
- Location: Nevada, TX
- Martin Colony History: Area is rural. Offer 28 compartments...metal housing (Lonestar Goliad) & Supergourds all w/crescent entrance holes. Purple martins are abundant here and eager for quality, well maintained, safe housing. Expect near 100% occupancy this season.
Hi Mike,
The martins at my site don't appear to be bothered by the swaying movement of the housing or gourds. I lower the housing (from 15 ft. to approx. 10 ft.) in winds in excess of 30 mph. I do this to protect the poles from being damaged. The lowered housing does not appear to bother the martins in the least. One of my houses is a Grandpa Trio. When partially lowered, the house spins and ends up facing a different direction. This can cause confusion for nesting martins. I lock the house in place after partially lowering it to prevent this.
The martins at my site don't appear to be bothered by the swaying movement of the housing or gourds. I lower the housing (from 15 ft. to approx. 10 ft.) in winds in excess of 30 mph. I do this to protect the poles from being damaged. The lowered housing does not appear to bother the martins in the least. One of my houses is a Grandpa Trio. When partially lowered, the house spins and ends up facing a different direction. This can cause confusion for nesting martins. I lock the house in place after partially lowering it to prevent this.
Craig Dyer
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Becky
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 4:06 pm
- Location: Houston - Oak Forest
- Martin Colony History: first pair in 2010, 12 pairs last several years
Thanks for everyone's post on this subject. I'm in Houston and lowered my barn house on the S&K quad telescoping pole yesterday because of the high winds and hoped my first pair that recently moved into it weren't freaked out when they got home last night.
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~Ray~Gingerich
- Posts: 2122
- Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 10:24 pm
- Location: Delaware/Dover
I have a gourd rack set up on inch and a half galv. pipe with a 6"x 48 pvc at the bottom for a predator guard. The pole was set directly into concrete base so what I did was installed some 1/2 inch rebar inside the pvc pipe and filled it up with concrete. Made a big difference.
~Ray~ Gingerich
1999 1pair, 2006 2 pair, 2008 2 pair,
2009 23 pair, 2010 39 pair, 2011 67 pair,
2012 115 pair, 2013 160 pair,
2014 152 pair, 2015 174 pair, 2016 178 pair
2017 187 pair, 2018 200 pair, 2019 171pair
2020 233 pair
1999 1pair, 2006 2 pair, 2008 2 pair,
2009 23 pair, 2010 39 pair, 2011 67 pair,
2012 115 pair, 2013 160 pair,
2014 152 pair, 2015 174 pair, 2016 178 pair
2017 187 pair, 2018 200 pair, 2019 171pair
2020 233 pair
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M.Stephens
- Posts: 1130
- Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:14 pm
- Location: Texas/Texarkana
My 20 room S&K house has been up on a 15 ft. quad-tel pole for 6 years and sways all the time and doesn't effect the martins or their eggs. They are pretty much use to it. The martins are a pretty tough bird , once they get accustomed to a site they hang with it. 
Malcolm
2015 (110 nesting pair)
2014 (92 nesting pair)
2013 (75 nesting pair)
2012 (35 nesting pair)
2011 (20 pair)
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PMCA Member
2015 (110 nesting pair)
2014 (92 nesting pair)
2013 (75 nesting pair)
2012 (35 nesting pair)
2011 (20 pair)
____________
PMCA Member
Mike,
Last June my video cameras happened to record my martin pole during a pretty severe thunderstorm, which I am glad I did not witness in real time. Normally I lower the house before predicted bad weather, but this storm caught me off-guard. Here is the shorter version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT9PfwRXALc
Camera 1 shows up only during lightning flashes or after the storm tripped my flood lights. Camera 3 is an IR camera. Camera 2 is an IR camera inside the gourd.
And here is the longer version of the same event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgKAHxWFBGc
The martins and their babies appeared pretty unphased by it all, but it sure scared me when I saw it. Too bad I never figured out how to copy the sound too; the thunder was pretty impressive sounding.
Charles
Last June my video cameras happened to record my martin pole during a pretty severe thunderstorm, which I am glad I did not witness in real time. Normally I lower the house before predicted bad weather, but this storm caught me off-guard. Here is the shorter version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT9PfwRXALc
Camera 1 shows up only during lightning flashes or after the storm tripped my flood lights. Camera 3 is an IR camera. Camera 2 is an IR camera inside the gourd.
And here is the longer version of the same event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgKAHxWFBGc
The martins and their babies appeared pretty unphased by it all, but it sure scared me when I saw it. Too bad I never figured out how to copy the sound too; the thunder was pretty impressive sounding.
Charles
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Guest
Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I have lowered the telescopic pole to about 12 feet. It sways but does not jolt and the Martin's seem to have no issues with it.