House Height?

[ltwalsh]

I am in a new area, and the home owner bylaws say I can not have a bird house who's top is higher that the eave of the house which is 10 feet.

I know the recommendation for a martin house is 12 to 15 feet. Does anyone our there have their house at 10 feet or less?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[flyin-lowe]

If you have an open site you might get away with it. Depending on house design if the top of the house is 10 feet then the cavities will be 8 or 9 feet which is pretty low. If there are lots of martins in your area and the house is open I think they will use it.

[Peggy Riley]

Can you request a "grandfather clause"?

The bottom rack on one of my racks is about 10 feet and I've seen no problems.

[Jim Spetzman]

I have my houses just out in the lake about 15 ft from shore, and they are only 2-3ft off the water and there is no problem with the Martins taking off or enterening the houses, and my friend Don Wilkins,also puts them in the lake in North central Minnesota, has over 100 pair and his are the same hight as mine.

[Chriscreole]

When my first S&K pole broke it fell to 8 feet and I left it that way all season, Martins didn't mind at all, i have a 6 foot privacy fence 20 feet away and it still never effected them.

See video of my housing at 8 feet:
http://youtu.be/njrJK068DxU

[Dave Duit]

The bottom of my gourds are at 8 feet. I have a thriving colony and the martins don't mind the lower height at all.

[Scully]

Some reason for hope....

A local colony, in front of the house next to the sidewalk.

Maybe the bottom of the house maybe five feet up, too low for even sparrows, but occupied by at least three or four pairs each year....



This one is maybe six feet up, collapsed down on a wooden post. Three pairs last year, and at least two yearsin a row prior.



The top of this one MIGHT be as tall as ten feet, but I doubt it. At least three pairs each since I found it...



Here it is again just last year, two years after the first pic...





One pair, maybe four feet up...




At our colony last year, an SY pair built a nest and laid eggs in an old Carrol I had absentmendedly left up, perhaps four feet up ( raised them to seven feet when I saw, they hatched four young.




There's a couple more similar sites like this I missed have shots of, but here's my all time favorite



I dunno how high, I'd guess seven to twelve feet.

Not recommended of course, but martins WILL nest low. Anything above about eight feet should be fine.

Mike Scully

[ltwalsh]

When my first S&K pole broke it fell to 8 feet and I left it that way all season, Martins didn't mind at all, i have a 6 foot privacy fence 20 feet away and it still never effected them.

See video of my housing at 8 feet:
http://youtu.be/njrJK068DxU

Great news and thanks so much for the video. I needed to hear the bird again. Also bring hope that I can attract them in my new house. I hope so.

[ltwalsh]

Some reason for hope....

A local colony, in front of the house next to the sidewalk.

Maybe the bottom of the house maybe five feet up, too low for even sparrows, but occupied by at least three or four pairs each year....



This one is maybe six feet up, collapsed down on a wooden post. Three pairs last year, and at least two yearsin a row prior.



The top of this one MIGHT be as tall as ten feet, but I doubt it. At least three pairs each since I found it...



Here it is again just last year, two years after the first pic...





One pair, maybe four feet up...




At our colony last year, an SY pair built a nest and laid eggs in an old Carrol I had absentmendedly left up, perhaps four feet up ( raised them to seven feet when I saw, they hatched four young.




There's a couple more similar sites like this I missed have shots of, but here's my all time favorite



I dunno how high, I'd guess seven to twelve feet.

Not recommended of course, but martins WILL nest low. Anything above about eight feet should be fine.

Mike Scully

Scully: Thanks for the information and effort. I am very excited that this just might work!

[ltwalsh]

Some reason for hope....

A local colony, in front of the house next to the sidewalk.

Maybe the bottom of the house maybe five feet up, too low for even sparrows, but occupied by at least three or four pairs each year....



This one is maybe six feet up, collapsed down on a wooden post. Three pairs last year, and at least two yearsin a row prior.



The top of this one MIGHT be as tall as ten feet, but I doubt it. At least three pairs each since I found it...



Here it is again just last year, two years after the first pic...





One pair, maybe four feet up...




At our colony last year, an SY pair built a nest and laid eggs in an old Carrol I had absentmendedly left up, perhaps four feet up ( raised them to seven feet when I saw, they hatched four young.




There's a couple more similar sites like this I missed have shots of, but here's my all time favorite



I dunno how high, I'd guess seven to twelve feet.

Not recommended of course, but martins WILL nest low. Anything above about eight feet should be fine.

Mike Scully

Mike: All positive stuff and reason for excitement. I'll let you know how things turn out.

[ltwalsh]

If you have an open site you might get away with it. Depending on house design if the top of the house is 10 feet then the cavities will be 8 or 9 feet which is pretty low. If there are lots of martins in your area and the house is open I think they will use it.

The sight is very wide open. I am hoping 8 or 9 feet will be OK. Thanks for your help.

[Bill Pec]

Scully,

It is a little heart breaking to see the reality of the conditions in which many martins live. Guess it is better to live in a poorly maintained martin house than not to have a house to live in at all. Wish all martin landlords were members of the PMCA so the birds could be better protected and not subjected to such poor conditions.

Bill

[Carlton]

I have had gourds hung from tall Shephard's Hooks and the tree swallows nest in them all the time. The purple martins also are VERY ATTRACTED to these gourds although none have ever nested in them due to the tree swallows. I have four rack's in the backyard and the martins nest in those BUT I am wondering if those higher racks were not available if martins might nest in the TALL shepherd hook gourds. They really fight with the tree swallows over those gourds but the fiesty TS always win out.

[Guest]

When my first S&K pole broke it fell to 8 feet and I left it that way all season, Martins didn't mind at all, i have a 6 foot privacy fence 20 feet away and it still never effected them.

See video of my housing at 8 feet:
http://youtu.be/njrJK068DxU

Chris- really enjoyed watching your video! For someone who has never had the pleasure of being a landlord, that was the next best thing
Hopefully I'll get to hear them (for real) some day!

[VikingRaider]

Just to add my experience, my first year was in 2010 and the house was only 8 ft up, but my yard was 2.5 acres of flat TX grassland with no trees. I had 2 pair make nests before my wife got a killer job and we moved to Wisconsin before any eggs were laid. We'll be buying a permanent home up here this summer so with any luck next season I'll be back in business. I think the height of the house is less important than the location/local environment...

[D'Nese]

We had sub adults nesting in gourds hanging from sheppards hooks. I think it would be ok as long as you have nice open area. Their urge to nest is very strong.