Suggestion please on gourd problem

joel21 · Sun May 11, 2014 12:06 pm

Hello everyone,

I'm not new to martins but I am new to gourds. I've put some up for the first time this year and have one nesting pair with eggs. I have the Bo 9's and have the round entrances blocked whereby they are using the crescent entrance. I've noticed on many occasions the pair have trouble to the point of struggling to enter the gourd unable to fit through the crescent entrance. Maybe its because of the nest is built up too much near the entrance. What ever it is, at times I can see the frustration as the eagerness to enter the nest.

My question is should I open the round entrance and close off the crescent entrance giving them more freedom to enter the gourd? I have no problems with starlings and rarely do I see any house sparrows around the gourds. I even have an old aluminum 24 compartment martin house with round entrance holes that have been up for two years that has never had a starling or house sparrow come close to much less nest in. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

dhjohnson · Sun May 11, 2014 12:27 pm

Joel21,
Welcome to the forum. There are many experienced hosts who can provide advice on a wide range of topics. I have BO9's and BO11+ gourds too. We purchased the untimate tunnels with cresent entranceds and wing entrapment guards built on the inside, with a porch. They are all full this year. The martins negotiate the cresent entrance better with a porch. It also makes feeding hatchlings easier too! They can use the entrance without a porch but they will have to learn the entering routine. Beware, starlings like these gourds too and small starlings can occasionally breach the entrance by twisting their bodies. Please employ both starling and house sparrow control in growing your colony! And congratulations on your nesting pair.
Have a great martin season!
Debbie

joel21 · Sun May 11, 2014 12:41 pm

dhjohnson wrote:Joel21,
Welcome to the forum. There are many experienced hosts who can provide advice on a wide range of topics. I have BO9's and BO11+ gourds too. We purchased the untimate tunnels with cresent entranceds and wing entrapment guards built on the inside, with a porch. They are all full this year. The martins negotiate the cresent entrance better with a porch. It also makes feeding hatchlings easier too! They can use the entrance without a porch but they will have to learn the entering routine. Beware, starlings like these gourds too and small starlings can occasionally breach the entrance by twisting their bodies. Please employ both starling and house sparrow control in growing your colony! And congratulations on your nesting pair.
Have a great martin season!
Debbie

thanks dhjohnson. I do have porches on all of mine which I can tell the martins love. I do plan on getting more gourds but instead of Bo 9's I'm looking at getting Troyer Horizontal Gourd SREH with the wing entrapment guars n the inside. I've added a photo.

Emil Pampell-Tx · Sun May 11, 2014 12:44 pm

I agree with Debbie, they can enter easier with a porch. I love the tunnels that she recommends

If you have no starlings, then you can open the round holes. BUT, then you may start attracting starlings. I would think that you would be better off with the SREH entrances. I suggest you measure them to see if they are the correct size 1-3/16in

Starlings may not have been in the house, the reason possibly is because the house has 6x6 rooms, the starlings like gourds or larger rooms. They usually do not go into the 6x6 rooms.

It depends upon your finances, but I would suggest a tunnel on the gourds, that makes them deeper, better owl protection, and then you also will have a porch at the correct height

or: if you have no porches, then that would be a good thing to add.

joel21 · Sun May 11, 2014 12:51 pm

Unfortunately for the time being my finances will not allow it this martin season. But I can soundly say it will be in place for next season. The gourd photo I posted will be the one replacing mostly, if not all. It's just the continuous struggling of the birds to enter their nest and can't. Flying off returning as if the fly gave the momentum to get in which they eventually do. I guess being a first time gourd user this is just nerves that I will have to get over....lol

dhjohnson · Sun May 11, 2014 1:27 pm

Joel21,
The Troyer Horizontal is an excellent choice. I have 8 and 4 of them have egg clutches of 6 each. The other 4 are behind but expect good numbers there too. All are ASY pairs.
Good Luck!
Debbie

Oh...almost forgot. The THG needs 2 vents drilled into the back, high up to prevent overheating as well as condensate inside the gourd.
Our martins love them and our natural horizontal gourds with tunnels and excluder 2 entrances too!
Debbie

tonyg · Mon May 12, 2014 12:46 am

Joe you might consider the Troyer Vertical Gourd (TVG) also....it's a very nice gourd with a tunnel and a little cheaper..

John & Linda - KY · Mon May 12, 2014 3:17 am

All 24 of our gourds are Bo 9's with the crescent entrances and porches. The martins have no problem entering and exiting them. I didn't make any modifications to the entrances. If you have the porches installed correctly, so that the platform is almost level with the bottom of the entrance, your martins will get used to them and you'll wonder why you ever worried. They won't keep sparrows out, but I've never seen a starling get into one. -- John

joel21 · Mon May 12, 2014 12:16 pm

John & Linda - KY wrote:All 24 of our gourds are Bo 9's with the crescent entrances and porches. The martins have no problem entering and exiting them. I didn't make any modifications to the entrances. If you have the porches installed correctly, so that the platform is almost level with the bottom of the entrance, your martins will get used to them and you'll wonder why you ever worried. They won't keep sparrows out, but I've never seen a starling get into one. -- John

Thanks John for the info. I feel more at ease now. I just double checked and yes the porches are flush with the entrance so no interference. I will leave everything as is.

pmlover · Mon May 12, 2014 5:42 pm

joels is so right I have 70 of the troyers gourds and they are wonderful
dick

Winger · Mon May 12, 2014 5:54 pm

Joel-I recently switched fromround to crescents..I had one with a mud wall so high and close to the entry that I had to leave it round...next year I will have the SERH on them before nestbuilding and avoid that situation..,cheers

joel21 · Mon May 12, 2014 7:45 pm

Winger wrote:Joel-I recently switched fromround to crescents..I had one with a mud wall so high and close to the entry that I had to leave it round...next year I will have the SERH on them before nestbuilding and avoid that situation..,cheers

Winger - what I did for the pair having trouble entering was I left the crescent entrance but I gently pressed down the nest near the entrance. This seemed to help. The pair enter the nest must easier now. This is a first year nesting pair and they seem to have their ups and downs however so small.