WHEN TO OPEN UP PM HOUSE

Tye Stone · Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:45 pm

I was reading an article that said to wait 4 to 6 weeks after the first PM arrived to open your PM House. The reason being was that sparrows or starlings would move in if the house remained open.

Does anyone know if this is a good idea or should it be opened up right away after the first PM arrives?.

John Miller · Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:22 pm

That seems a little long. I recommend two or three weeks. Or for my longer answer, I recommend late March to early April in your latitude, but if sparrow pressure is very heavy, maybe holding off to the first or second week of April.

Sometimes folks have been advised at new sites to hold off until sub adults -- one year old -- birds arrive. I think most of us feel this is not correct. Many new sites are colonized by ASY (after second year) birds, but probably not older birds (three or more years old) that do arrive very early to established sites. Two year olds arrive two weeks later than the very oldest (three or more years old) in the middle latitudes, and some of these two year olds did not nest as sub adults and are not bonded to any particular site, so that's when you begin to have some viability of attracting these two year old mature martins -- probably well into May -- and attracting sub adults in May (in your latitude) well into June. Of course sometimes even older martins are looking for new home sites, because the one from the previous year is gone, or because of predation (if they did not fledge young, they may move). So..wait a couple of weeks to open, but not too long.

John

Anthony Neira · Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:27 pm

Hey Tye, I believe in giving any Martin some protection, either from the Weather or Hawks & Owls. It wouldn't hurt to open at least 2 rooms if a scout arrives. You don't have to open ALL the rooms. Still, seems everyone has a recipe for what works on their property. I hope you'll hear other smarter ideas (see, I told you!) than mine. Good luck, & have a great new season !

KathyF · Sat Mar 07, 2015 10:26 am

John Miller wrote:Of course sometimes even older martins are looking for new home sites, because the one from the previous year is gone, or because of predation (if they did not fledge young, they may move). So..wait a couple of weeks to open, but not too long.

John

Unfortunately, I see this a lot in our area. It totally changed my thinking on when to open housing. Older birds return and find their housing is no longer there (for whatever reason) and they have to find new homes.

I encourage landlords here to check the scout reports for their area, get their housing out a week or 2 in advance, eliminate the nest site competitors (english house sparrows & starlings) and be prepared.

tmoe58 · Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:15 pm

Anthony Neira wrote:Hey Tye, I believe in giving any Martin some protection, either from the Weather or Hawks & Owls. It wouldn't hurt to open at least 2 rooms if a scout arrives. You don't have to open ALL the rooms. Still, seems everyone has a recipe for what works on their property. I hope you'll hear other smarter ideas (see, I told you!) than mine. Good luck, & have a great new season !

I am with you on that Anthony. I would think a room or two couldn't hurt.

Anthony Neira · Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:50 pm

Thanks tmoe58, Way back when, I did the 1 room for the first scout the day it arrived & poor thing had to fight off the S&S, so I remember scrambling to open another 1 or 2 more rooms. Ever since, I always do several corner rooms by Jan. 28, the day before the earliest average arrival date. Like I said in another post, it also makes for a better Target/shot location than a middle room.

Larry A Kronemeyer · Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:22 pm

We open the main nests upon seeing an arrival. Seems they know where sparrows want to nest and have lined it up right for those shots. Glad super gourds are tough.

Archer · Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:13 pm

I'm with Kathy on this one. Open up at least some of your housing early, if for no other reason than to get good at trapping sparrows. You might as well begin the fight and get good at it. Reduce the problem before you have martins visit and they get bombarded by sparrows.

I'm not expecting Martins till early May, I started trapping yesterday and I caught one.

DornCounty · Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:59 pm

If and it's a huge, big, significant if.... If you plan on eliminating all sparrows and starlings you can open it up when the scouts arrive in your area. I did this and was rewarded with 4 ASY pairs very early in my first season. Certainly from another colony that missed their house or didn't like it. But you must control sparrows and starlings if you do it this way.

Chris B · Tue Mar 10, 2015 3:15 pm

I have 8 SREH equipped natural gourds out and this morning I was very amused watching a yellow beak starling try to get into one. After a while he (she?) gave up and tried one next to the one he failed at.

The S&S entrances seem to work. No Martins spotted at my site, yet.

pmlover · Tue Mar 10, 2015 3:18 pm

open a couple houses on a couple t-14s then you can control those if any sparrows come and still get the martins interested

pmlover · Tue Mar 10, 2015 3:19 pm

open a couple houses on a couple t-14s then you can control those if any sparrows come and still get the martins interested

DebA · Tue Mar 10, 2015 3:30 pm

Are you (some of you) saying even after martins arrive you leave your housing closed up? Completely? I don't. It is opened for them immediately. I would fear and wonder if not open for weeks they might move on? It gets cold at night and I want them to keep their little bare legs warm in my prenest materials.
Deb

DornCounty · Tue Mar 10, 2015 3:31 pm

DebA wrote:Are you (some of you) saying even after martins arrive you leave your housing closed up? Completely? I don't. It is opened for them immediately. I would fear and wonder if not open for weeks they might move on? It gets cold at night and I want them to keep their little bare legs warm in my prenest materials.
Deb

They are speaking of when you are just starting a colony and have not had any nesting occur yet.

Bill Pec · Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:27 pm

Tye,

When to open martin nest cavities is always a tough one to answer without first knowing a bit of information about the PM site in question and knowing when the martins arrive in the area.

Before I attempt to answer your question I have a few questions of my own.

Are you following the PM Scout Reports for your area?

Did you have martins last year? Your profile indicates you might have had birds before the PM house fell down.

Are there established martin colonies near you?

Are English House Sparrows, Bluebirds, and Tree Swallows prevalent in your area?

If Bluebirds and Tree Swallows are present, have you provided nest sites for these native birds near your martin site? I ask this because if the protocol for dealing with these native birds is not followed they are often a major cause of failed attempts to establish PM colonies.

If English House Sparrows are present, are you controlling their population?

Are you using Starling resistant entrances?

The answers to the above questions will help us formulate an answer to your question.

May I make a suggestion? There are many fine PMCA Martin Mentors in Virginia. I recommend seeking timely advise not only from members of this forum, but from PMCA Martin Mentors in your area. They might be able to provide timely information for you. A list of Virginia Martin Mentors can be found by going to the PMCA Home Page and scrolling down the right margin to the box labeled Martin Mentor Program. Click on that box and then click on Virginia. There, you will find a list of mentors in your area.

Bill