homemade nest boxes

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rtanner77
Posts: 51
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 10:47 am
Location: Georgia/Milledgeville
Martin Colony History: We've hosted purple martins since around 2002 and currently have 5 gourd racks with 22 Excluder gourds, 9 Super gourds, 18 Troyer gourds, 4 Bo gourds, 6 natural gourds, and 3 homemade boxes for martins to use.

Hi guys, It's been a while since I've posted, but I have been keeping up with the goings on around here. I have 5 different gourd racks spread out on our farm, and the martins have been pretty thick this year. I also have 60+ nest boxes for bluebirds, prothonotary warblers, great-crested flycatchers, and other native cavity-nesting birds that will use them. I've built most of them, so this year I made a few boxes for the purple martins. They are pretty spacious and I used the porches from some old Troyer horizontal gourds that I had replaced the tunnels on. They seem to like them a lot, as they were the first to be claimed. I made three and I plan to make more as I have the time and motivations. ;-)
Attachments
PM nest box.JPG
PM nest box.JPG (115.03 KiB) Viewed 5781 times
house.JPG
house.JPG (39.64 KiB) Viewed 5781 times
Last edited by rtanner77 on Wed May 25, 2016 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." -Sir David Attenborough
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Kyler
Posts: 899
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:15 pm
Location: Colby, Kansas
Martin Colony History: PMCA Member - Project MartinWatch - Enlarged Compartments - SREH - S&S Control - Mite Control - Predator Guards - Heat Control ( Vents and Insulation ) - Supplemental Feeding -

Manage 7 different colonies in Colby Kansas.

Really cool glad the martins like them!!!

Kyler,
Purple Martin Landlords of Northwest KS
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC9HDLGlbCmSYcSExIySwUQA

2013 - 0 Pair -
2014 - 1 Pair -
2015 - 0 Pair -
2016 - 5 Pair -
2017 - 18 Pair -
2018 - 22 Pair -
2019 - 28 Pair -
2020 - 40 Pair -
2021 - 40 Pair -
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pmlover
Posts: 805
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:30 pm
Location: OH/New Concord

nice house really cool
2015 69 pairs 418 eggs 396 fledged
2019 I have 148 openings now
2016 100 pairs 600 babies fledged added another t-14 and have 126 openings now
2015 Jun 24 360 babies and 58 eggs also found one that had died
2017 632 babies 11died and 20 were killed by hawks
2015 74 pairs and 9 eggs 5/14
2010 3pairss
]JOINED PMCA JUNE 6,2018
2018 651 babies 5 hawk kills 11 floater kills 25 died in houses and 610 fledged

2014 80 pairs 283 babies 282 fledged one died
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4th Gen Martin Fan
Posts: 1498
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:19 pm
Location: TN/Collierville
Martin Colony History: I have been exposed to purple martin sounds in utero when my mother went out to get my father away from his martin colony.
I played around the martin colony every summer and watched as my father maintained his colony. In the late 50's until the 70's he did not notice European Starlings in south Texas.
When old enough, I helped maintain his colony. My primary task was eliminating English House Sparrows with a 1956 Benjamin 317 .177 air rifle.
When I settled into my own home, I started my first colony with an original Trio Castle and Trio Grandpa. When I moved again, I did not put up any martin houses. Frustration with European Starlings in the Southeast US was overwhelming.
Found PMCA Forum and learned about modern enlarged compartments and SREHs.
Inherited my father's last martin house, a Trio Grandma, modified it to modern specifications and have had good results since then.

Your home made nest boxes for purple martins reminds me of the Bob Buskas and his Northern Sky's Purple Martin Colony in Alberta, Canada.
Bob Buskas designed bungalows which he first introduced in 2007 to this forum.
Several posts about the Buskas Bungalows have pointed out how effective they are in northern latitudes. A search in this forum's library shows several references. The following PMCA Forum topic gives a good, general outline about them.
https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/view ... ow#p181823

I was wondering how well the Buskas Bungalows would work in southern latitudes if they were vented with PVC elbows. The PVC elbows could be plugged in the early spring to avoid cold nights but unplugged to prevent heat build up in the hot summer days.
Plans are available but I do not know of anyone manufacturing them.
Mark.
Mark.
Firm believer in HOSP/EUST Control, Enlarged Compartments, SREHs, Pole Predator Guards, Owl/Hawk Guards, Mite/Parasite Control, Housing Insulation, and Vents for Compartment Cooling.
PMCA Member.
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Ryan
Posts: 308
Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2006 4:19 pm
Location: Eganville, Ontario
Martin Colony History: Visitors are rare. On the northern edge of the martins range.

4th Gen Martin Fan wrote:I was wondering how well the Buskas Bungalows would work in southern latitudes if they were vented with PVC elbows. The PVC elbows could be plugged in the early spring to avoid cold nights but unplugged to prevent heat build up in the hot summer days.
Plans are available but I do not know of anyone manufacturing them.
Mark.
I built a couple units from a similar version to Bob's. I think the wood housing would be excellent in the US. Wood has the same insulating properties for keeping cold out in Canadian springs as it would keeping the heat out in the south. Much better than Aluminum.

I just looked at one and kind of scribbled out a cut list. Put one together and if you have no changes to make, then just make 12 pieces of each component of the house. Takes some time, but if you make all of your cuts at once, it's not too bad.

Image

Image

Image
2010- 1 SY male on and off for a couple weeks
'11- 0 visits
12- 0 visits
13- 0 visits
14- 1 SY male stopped by over 2 weeks.
15- 0 visits
16- 0 visits
17- 0 visits
18- 0 visits
19- Break-through year. Had a SY Male stop in on June 7th and stay all day, every day until end of June
20 - The male didn't return. I did see a SY male do a few flyovers.
21- a couple brief visits
22-3rd rack added, all within a mile. This one at prime location, 0 visits
23- 0 visits
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Henry Limpet
Posts: 122
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:48 pm
Location: IN./Howe, via the s/w side of Chicago
Martin Colony History: Trendsetter-8. Set up in 2014 at my summer cottage, a beautiful natural inland lake in N.E. Indiana's Amish Country. T-8 is on cleared land behind my pole barn and adjacent to a farmer's field

2015: Had several flyovers in early June with 1 dedicated SYM visitor who visited each day for well over a month. He brought by a few PM "parades", with 8-12 PM's who would visit all at once, but soon leave. (Added 2 gourds to bottom of the T-8). We discovered a large (Amish) colony apx. 3/4 mile South of our T-8. We think this will eventually be our "feeder" colony.

2016: Put up a Trio G'Pa lakeside. Overall, not as much interest as 2015, likely because of our vacation to Gulf Shores, AL. in early June.

2017: Finally switched over to wheat straw. Success!! One nesting pair. Fledged 4!
2018: Zilch.
2019: Slow start, nothing observed by mid June. Wet, cold Spring a factor??
2020: Barely any sightings.
2021: Several observed high in the sky, eating. No interest so far!

I'm very impressed with both of your designs. .

Ryan: Great setup, I love the hand painted detail. Good luck this year.
Be careful how you wish . . for wishes can come true . . be sure that every wish you make is one that's right for you!
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Kyler
Posts: 899
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:15 pm
Location: Colby, Kansas
Martin Colony History: PMCA Member - Project MartinWatch - Enlarged Compartments - SREH - S&S Control - Mite Control - Predator Guards - Heat Control ( Vents and Insulation ) - Supplemental Feeding -

Manage 7 different colonies in Colby Kansas.

Ryan,
Those are really cool! I live in Kansas and we have had some really poor weather this year. And it delaying the martins on nest building and egg laying! I use all aluminum houses! I need to figure something out on get something to insulate them? I just don't know what to use?

Another question? What type of wood did you use? And what are the dimensions?

Kyler,
Purple Martin Landlords of Northwest KS
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC9HDLGlbCmSYcSExIySwUQA

2013 - 0 Pair -
2014 - 1 Pair -
2015 - 0 Pair -
2016 - 5 Pair -
2017 - 18 Pair -
2018 - 22 Pair -
2019 - 28 Pair -
2020 - 40 Pair -
2021 - 40 Pair -
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Okie
Posts: 541
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:26 pm
Location: Claremore, OK
Martin Colony History: 2016 Informed landlord now Have 2 pair returning from 2015 That is a miracle. Hoping for a very successful year, sparrow population on decline.
First house was plastic with crescent holes Had martins within a few days. Ignorant landlord gradually lost them
Then got Trio House and still lost most of them. Lots of sparrows

Kyler wrote:Ryan,
I use all aluminum houses! I need to figure something out on get something to insulate them? I just don't know what to use?

Kyler,
Been thinking the same thing Kyler.
I was kind of thinking about those aluminum looking blankets they sell for camping, you know all folded up in a small square, lightweight.
I was thinking it could be draped over the roof & down the end of the house & held on with clips.

But then I wondered if the shiny reflection would freak the birds????
Anyone have a comment about that???

Another thought I had was a thin flexible foam material I have seen as packing material. Don't have any... Threw it away.
Okie
PMCA member
2016 Started with 2 pair, 1 pair abandoned after HOSP destroyed eggs
1 pair= 6 eggs, 6 fledged
2017 1 pair so far, But they abandoned before nest complete for ?reason? Now Bridless and joined the Wannabes
2018 One pair ASY male SY female 5 eggs, 5 fledged
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John Miller
Posts: 4867
Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

I insulate the exterior walls (on the inside) and in the roof attic of some aluminum housing. I mostly use rigid one-fourth inch thick foam that's for wall insulation..can get at home centers, but hard to buy a small quantity. I have used "sill insulation" which is flexible and comes in a small role. Another option would be cork. You can get rigid 1/8 thick, 12 x 12" squares in a pack at Wal-Mart. I use it to line nest trays or over subfloors and think it would be adequate for walls. Cork might hold up better. Sparrows really peck at the styrofoam and damage it, if any are trying to nest in the housing. I glue the Styrofoam with a very thin, evenly spread layer of liquid nails. Obviously wall must be clean. Cut an insulation piece to fit, make sure it does not interfere with door closing, remove the plastic film and spread glue (very thin and even using a putty knife or similar) and press in place....but this is an off season project.
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Evan337
Posts: 155
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2004 11:00 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Ryan wrote:
4th Gen Martin Fan wrote:I was wondering how well the Buskas Bungalows would work in southern latitudes if they were vented with PVC elbows. The PVC elbows could be plugged in the early spring to avoid cold nights but unplugged to prevent heat build up in the hot summer days.
Plans are available but I do not know of anyone manufacturing them.
Mark.
I built a couple units from a similar version to Bob's. I think the wood housing would be excellent in the US. Wood has the same insulating properties for keeping cold out in Canadian springs as it would keeping the heat out in the south. Much better than Aluminum.

I just looked at one and kind of scribbled out a cut list. Put one together and if you have no changes to make, then just make 12 pieces of each component of the house. Takes some time, but if you make all of your cuts at once, it's not too bad.

Image

Image

Image
I really like the look of these and wanted to build a few for a while. Are there plans? I can build from scratch but it's always easier working from plans.
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4th Gen Martin Fan
Posts: 1498
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:19 pm
Location: TN/Collierville
Martin Colony History: I have been exposed to purple martin sounds in utero when my mother went out to get my father away from his martin colony.
I played around the martin colony every summer and watched as my father maintained his colony. In the late 50's until the 70's he did not notice European Starlings in south Texas.
When old enough, I helped maintain his colony. My primary task was eliminating English House Sparrows with a 1956 Benjamin 317 .177 air rifle.
When I settled into my own home, I started my first colony with an original Trio Castle and Trio Grandpa. When I moved again, I did not put up any martin houses. Frustration with European Starlings in the Southeast US was overwhelming.
Found PMCA Forum and learned about modern enlarged compartments and SREHs.
Inherited my father's last martin house, a Trio Grandma, modified it to modern specifications and have had good results since then.

Ryan,
I distinctly remember the previous posts about your beautiful Ryan Cedar Chalets and the gorgeous river side colony.
I admired them back then and am still impressed today. I forgot that you mounted them on conduit pipe.
I am like Evan. I do not want to reinvent the wheel if you have plans for your cedar chalets.
Mark.
Last edited by 4th Gen Martin Fan on Thu May 26, 2016 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mark.
Firm believer in HOSP/EUST Control, Enlarged Compartments, SREHs, Pole Predator Guards, Owl/Hawk Guards, Mite/Parasite Control, Housing Insulation, and Vents for Compartment Cooling.
PMCA Member.
Top
4th Gen Martin Fan
Posts: 1498
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:19 pm
Location: TN/Collierville
Martin Colony History: I have been exposed to purple martin sounds in utero when my mother went out to get my father away from his martin colony.
I played around the martin colony every summer and watched as my father maintained his colony. In the late 50's until the 70's he did not notice European Starlings in south Texas.
When old enough, I helped maintain his colony. My primary task was eliminating English House Sparrows with a 1956 Benjamin 317 .177 air rifle.
When I settled into my own home, I started my first colony with an original Trio Castle and Trio Grandpa. When I moved again, I did not put up any martin houses. Frustration with European Starlings in the Southeast US was overwhelming.
Found PMCA Forum and learned about modern enlarged compartments and SREHs.
Inherited my father's last martin house, a Trio Grandma, modified it to modern specifications and have had good results since then.

John,
I lined my Trio Grandma with 1/4 inch extruded polystyrene foam board (PFB) insulation on the inside of all exterior walls a couple of years ago based upon your previous recommendations. The birds do not interfere with the extruded foam board like the soft Styrofoam. I put the PFB's hard surface toward the inside. Works great. I painted the PFB with black latex paint but it is not sticking. I should have used fusion paint instead.
I love the benefits and the birds are rearing healthy clutches in spite of cold snaps. Thank you so much for the outstanding idea!
Mark.
Mark.
Firm believer in HOSP/EUST Control, Enlarged Compartments, SREHs, Pole Predator Guards, Owl/Hawk Guards, Mite/Parasite Control, Housing Insulation, and Vents for Compartment Cooling.
PMCA Member.
Top
Ryan
Posts: 308
Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2006 4:19 pm
Location: Eganville, Ontario
Martin Colony History: Visitors are rare. On the northern edge of the martins range.

I'll try and find a scribble or cut list that I did when I made them. If not I'll make one up for you by measuring mine.
2010- 1 SY male on and off for a couple weeks
'11- 0 visits
12- 0 visits
13- 0 visits
14- 1 SY male stopped by over 2 weeks.
15- 0 visits
16- 0 visits
17- 0 visits
18- 0 visits
19- Break-through year. Had a SY Male stop in on June 7th and stay all day, every day until end of June
20 - The male didn't return. I did see a SY male do a few flyovers.
21- a couple brief visits
22-3rd rack added, all within a mile. This one at prime location, 0 visits
23- 0 visits
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4th Gen Martin Fan
Posts: 1498
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:19 pm
Location: TN/Collierville
Martin Colony History: I have been exposed to purple martin sounds in utero when my mother went out to get my father away from his martin colony.
I played around the martin colony every summer and watched as my father maintained his colony. In the late 50's until the 70's he did not notice European Starlings in south Texas.
When old enough, I helped maintain his colony. My primary task was eliminating English House Sparrows with a 1956 Benjamin 317 .177 air rifle.
When I settled into my own home, I started my first colony with an original Trio Castle and Trio Grandpa. When I moved again, I did not put up any martin houses. Frustration with European Starlings in the Southeast US was overwhelming.
Found PMCA Forum and learned about modern enlarged compartments and SREHs.
Inherited my father's last martin house, a Trio Grandma, modified it to modern specifications and have had good results since then.

Ryan,
I searched the Forum and found your initial introduction to your Cedar Chalets on May 16, 2010. The photos which you attached to that post are excellent. The close up photos of single chalets are very helpful. That post outlined the interior space of 7 1/2" x 12". Exceptional.

https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/view ... t&start=20

I like that you left the "attic" area of the roof open. That open area gives the martins more vertical space that I had imagined from the exterior.
Mark.
Mark.
Firm believer in HOSP/EUST Control, Enlarged Compartments, SREHs, Pole Predator Guards, Owl/Hawk Guards, Mite/Parasite Control, Housing Insulation, and Vents for Compartment Cooling.
PMCA Member.
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