Photos Of All My Gourds On The Ground

[Steve Kroenke]

Photos Of All My Gourds On The Ground

I have been cleaning out all my plastic gourds and my front yard has gourds all over the place! All the gourds have been removed from the racks and the old nesting material taken out. This time I am removing ALL the nesting material and ALL gourds will have fresh pine straw pre-nests for next season. In the past I have left old nests intact if they appeared reasonably OK without lots of dried martin poop and crushed down nesting material.

Also I am replacing ALL my old plastic access caps with the newer high quality ones. As my old caps age, the sun may damage the plastic and some have started crumbling along the rims. Also the old caps have a paper liner and this liner may deteriorate and come loose.

These newer plastic caps are thicker and have UV inhibitors to protect from sun damage. And they don’t have a paper liner. I believe these new caps will last much longer than the older ones and are probably more cost effective overall.

The high quality caps fit Super Gourds, Excluder Gourds and Troyer Gourds.

I also need to clean off some of my gourds that are growing a “garden of mold/mildew”! I will start on that soon.

Over the next few weeks I will be taking down 15 systems on two square poles and replacing them with six larger three inch square pole systems. My six new systems comprise one Gemini and five K-24 racks. They are all still in the boxes!

I also ordered from the PMCA a new 28 compartment Trendsetter with nest trays and universal gourd arms; I plan to add four Troyer Horizontal Gourds underneath the house. The Trendsetter houses are my favorite commercial aluminum systems. The only houses I will have will be Trendsetters.

So my current martin colony will change from 22 housing systems with 392 cavities to 14 systems with 348 cavities. This results in a net reduction of eight housing systems and 44 cavities. (Edit: I revised these numbers as I left off a system!)

Here are some photos of my front yard littered with several hundred plastic gourds; soon all these gourds will be in storage:









Steve

[JL Murray]

You have definitely been very busy!

[Davlyn]

OMG !!!!! You have a very BIG job ahead ! Not to mention already having taken them all down ! Cant wait to see photos of your colony when you get through . I know you are going to be very busy over the winter .

[tonyg]

And I thought 96 gourds were alot to clean out!!! You da the man Steve!! Remember, take it one rack at a time..

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Steve, looks like you're having fun there, neat photos. I see you installed pvc vents into the original vent holes of your troyer horizontals. I plan to do the same but debating whether to install them at the vent location or higher up on the gourd. How did they work out on yours?

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey JL, April, Tony, Ray,

Yes, this has been a BUSY project so far! But it has been relatively easy to remove the old nesting material from the gourds through the access ports. I have worked on the project gradually, doing several racks a day. It is SO HOT over here and the earth is burning up. We are under drought conditions and even the small ponds in our area are slowly drying up. So I work on the gourds early in mornings or later in afternoons.

Ray, I installed PVC elbows on many of my Troyer Horizontals, but still have a good number with just vent holes cut in the back canopies. The elbows in the vent hole area have worked well in providing ventilation and allowing built-up humidity to escape from the gourd. And all my Troyer Gourds with just vent holes cut in the canopies have done well relative to releasing built-up heat/humidity from the nesting chamber. I have used 1/4 and 3/8 inch vent holes and the 3/8 inch holes provide more air flow.

I installed the elbows in the canopies because I already had vent holes cut there. If I decide to install elbows in new Troyer Gourds where I haven't cut vent holes in the canopies, I probably would install the elbows higher up on the back curvature. This location may allow more hot air/humidity to flow out since hot air rises.

Steve

[Louise Chambers]

As we've cleaned our gourds, we've noticed how much dirt has accumulated in the elbow vents - on all types of gourds, vertical, horizontal, natural, plastic - suggesting that air is drafting through them as intended. We use a hummingbird feeder cleaning brush to get the dirt out of the PVC elbows.

Steve, cleaning gourds and houses is a lot of work, and it's always hot in the south when it's time to take things down and clean them. Having as many as you do to clean would have me lying flat on the couch with a cool beverage, trying not to think about it!

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Louise,

I also noticed that my PVC elbows were "dirty" inside! I used my finger a few times to "clean out" stuff that was caked on the inside of the elbows. I think I will check into the hummingbird feeder cleaner that you mentioned.

Being an "old southern boy", I love my cold ice tea! I drink gallons of the stuff! I have been gulping ice tea down as I work on my gourds/houses!

Steve

[sille59]

Hey Steve

I am trying to make up my mind between a Gemini or K-24 system. Since you have a years experience with the K-24, have you seen any advantages of one style over the other? As you stated in earlier post you really like both types. Any advise about wind resistance, nest check efficiency, or over-all acceptance by the martins, that you have observed this past year

Thanks for all your hard work
Tim

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Tim,

Yes, I really like both the Gemini and K-24 system about the same. However, I do like the Gemini a little better mainly for aesthetic reasons. The Gemini looks so good when I use an alternating hanging style of a horizontal gourd then a vertical and so on. You can use a variety of gourds on the K-24 and I have the related Deluxe racks with combinations of horizontals and verticals. For 2014, I will be using a combination of Troyer and Super Gourds on some of my K-24 systems.

Both systems easily attract martins and I have seen similar occupancy levels. The Gemini seems to have more perching space with the rings for the martins above their gourds while the K-24 system is more compact. However, I added cane pole perches to the gourd hanging rods on my K-24 system using plastic zip ties and the martins used these perches extensively. I would recommend adding perches to a K-24 system or similar Deluxe rack so that the martins can easily perch near their gourds.

I use 14 foot three inch square poles and this height minimizes problems with strong winds swaying the systems. I didn’t see much difference between the two systems relative to wind resistance though the Gemini with its wide two tier hub may “catch a little more wind”. I no longer use the taller 16 foot poles as these large racks may be more vulnerable to strong winds the higher they are.

Nest checking with both systems was similar though the K-24 is “taller” with its four tier hub. You may have to use a step ladder to reach the top gourds on both systems depending on the location of the winch and any predator guard. I didn’t have any issues with nest checking with either system.

For me, the Gemini is more difficult to assemble than the K-24 system. The K-24 system is simple! That is one “practical” reason why am using more new K-24 systems than Gemini racks for 2014.

So overall, I think both the Gemini and K-24 systems are largely equivalent in quality and attractiveness to martins. I just like the “look” of the Gemini a little better but I must admit I like the ease of assembling the K-24 a lot better! Either system would be a fine addition to your martin colony and I think you and your martins would be happy with either one.

I wish you the best in 2014 with your martin colony.

Steve

[M.Stephens]

Steve at a first glance your site looks like a scene out of a movie with human skulls piled up. aaargh!! LOL

[pmlover]

STEVE ITS HARD TO BELEIVE HOW YOU DO IT I WILL HAVE 104 CAVITIES AND THAT WILL BE IT FOR ME I HAVE ONE GEMINI AND ARE PUTTING UP ANOTHER I LOVE THEM RICK

[Martin man RI]

I am at 230 cavity's for martins. I have 12 more gourds going up in the fall
of 2014 Love the birds but it takes for ever to clean all the units. I hope to
be done cleaning by oct 1 I have old trio houses that have been in place since 1993 they were well worth the investment but will not be replaced
in a few years that way i can down size some and enjoy a smaller flock.
The houses may make it another year or two rust and ground in dirt have
taken there toll. Gourds you just power wash and there clean in seconds..
---Ray

[Matt F.]

I have old trio houses that have been in place since 1993

Trios in place since 1993 - they are just now getting broken in!
Lots of Trios been in the air 365 days a year, since the 1960s, that are still producing Martins.