Pmca excluder gourds
-
MichaelH
- Posts: 586
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:10 am
- Location: IL/Gillespie
- Martin Colony History: 2015 28 cavities 2 pairs
2016 big upgrade 56cavities 16 pairs great year
2017. 76 cavities 36 pairs
2018. 146 cavities
Has anybody else got the Pmca excluder gourds going to set the porches 1/4 inch below the modified excluder entrance as specified what did you do ??? Just want to make sure I get them in the right place thanks in advance
2018 146 cavities.
-
James Strickland FL
- Posts: 2249
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 8:04 pm
- Location: Reidsville NC
- Martin Colony History: 2017 Had a lot visitors no Matins nesting, hoping 2018 will be different.
2018 Had 1 pair
2019 had 30 pair
I told to put them an 1/8 below the entrance.
PMCA MEMBER
-
C.C.Martins
- Posts: 3368
- Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:15 am
- Location: Corpus Christi Tx
- Martin Colony History: 2016- Visitors.
2017- 5 pair. 15 fledged
2018- 18 pair. 85 fledged
2019- 17 pair. 81 fledged
2020- 25 pair. 111 fledged
2021- 28 pair. 118 fledged
2022- 33 pair. 151 fledged
2023- 33 pair. 165 fledged
2024- 40 pair. 185 fledged
2025- 40 pair. 181 fledged
HOSP:
Home colony: mix natural, super, Troyer and excluder gourds, enlarged compartment house. All SREH.
Satellite colony: Oso Bay Preserve: 49 PMCA excluder gourds; 16 room Lonestar Goliad with Modified Excluder entrances.
2019: Visitors
2020: 3 pair, 11 fledged
2021: 10 pair, 30 fledged
2022: 11 pair, 35 fledged
2023: 18 pair, 101 fledged
2024: 39 pair, 181 fledged
2025: 51 pair, 216 fledged
PMCA member
Sir i did the same thing,1/8 inch below to just under and some flush with the crescent entrance. Martins love them, very good gourds. My good friend and mentor, john barrow and i just did 12 PMCA excluders with the excluder entrances; the porches are 1/8 inches below entrance. You should be good.
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
-
Doug Martin - PA
- Posts: 1988
- Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:47 am
- Location: Pennsylvania/Fombell
- Martin Colony History: First pair in 2009 after 28 years of trying. 3 pairs 2010, 17 pairs 2011 and 35-45 pairs since. Many additional colonies are now springing up around mine in an area once completely void of Martins. I offer 50 compartments at my site consisting of primarily Excluder II gourds on Gemini racks. Also a wooden T-14. I utilize electric fence type predator guards on the base of the poles. Supplemental feeding is crucial in maintaining my colony. I platform feed throughout the season as needed. My site tends to be a stop over point for additional birds as they migrate further north.
Be sure to check your entrances for the proper sizing. Excluder gourds are excellent and it is what I use at my site. However blow molding construction makes it difficult to be precise with the entrance. They can tend to run a 16th to a 32nd small. They need to be 1 3/16" inches. Cut a credit card at a v angle and mark a point that measures 1 3/16 then use it as a gauge.
Doug
Doug
Supplemental feeding plays a major role in Western Pennsylvania. Finally got my 1st pair in 2009 after 28 years of effort. The colony has grown quickly to 45 pairs that I care for. Many new colonies have now sprung up around me in the past few years as well. Where there was none.... there is many.
-
mwren
- Posts: 174
- Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 2:43 pm
- Location: OH/Athens
- Martin Colony History: I have had my martin colony on the dam of one of my ponds for nine years. The colony has grown each year, but I am now concentrating on helping friends and acquaintances who have shown interests in martins. My colony consists of three T-14's with 8 Troyer gourds attatched to each T-14, a Troyer gourd rack with 12 gourds, and another gourd rack with 18 Troyer gourds for a total of 96 nest cavities. I am having serious predation issues with hawks and owls and am experimenting with various hawk guards and "screens". Established successful supplemental feeding the last few seasons and have had a blast flipping mostly meal worms and some crickets. Faculty from Ohio University are using my colony as a research site to study parasites that target cavity nesting birds. In exchange for access to my bird trail nest boxes and martin housing, they are banding all birds involved in their study.
Michaelh,
I am in the process of installing porches on Excluder gourds with the modified openings for use on a new site here in southestern Ohio. I am not sure if I should align the porch so it is a quarter inch below the entrance as reccomended by some landlords on the forum. This is my first site with the Excluders and the modified entrances. My other locations all use either T-14's, or Troyer gourds. Is the measurment of 1/4 of an inch below the entrance openings critical with these gourds?? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with these gourds and openings, specifically the distance between porch and modified openings.
Thanks!
Mike Wren
"Bird"
I am in the process of installing porches on Excluder gourds with the modified openings for use on a new site here in southestern Ohio. I am not sure if I should align the porch so it is a quarter inch below the entrance as reccomended by some landlords on the forum. This is my first site with the Excluders and the modified entrances. My other locations all use either T-14's, or Troyer gourds. Is the measurment of 1/4 of an inch below the entrance openings critical with these gourds?? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with these gourds and openings, specifically the distance between porch and modified openings.
Thanks!
Mike Wren
"Bird"
Mike "Bird" Wren
-
Glynn B - LA
- Posts: 320
- Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 3:59 pm
- Location: Louisiana West Monroe
[quote=mwren post_id=281942 time=1546480719 user_id=6210]
Michaelh,
I am in the process of installing porches on Excluder gourds with the modified openings for use on a new site here in southestern Ohio. I am not sure if I should align the porch so it is a quarter inch below the entrance as reccomended by some landlords on the forum. This is my first site with the Excluders and the modified entrances. My other locations all use either T-14's, or Troyer gourds. Is the measurment of 1/4 of an inch below the entrance openings critical with these gourds?? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with these gourds and openings, specifically the distance between porch and modified openings.
Thanks!
Mike Wren
"Bird"
[/quote]
The porches need to be 1/8 inch or less from the bottom of the entrance hole. This is crucial for deflecting starling traffic.
Glynn
Michaelh,
I am in the process of installing porches on Excluder gourds with the modified openings for use on a new site here in southestern Ohio. I am not sure if I should align the porch so it is a quarter inch below the entrance as reccomended by some landlords on the forum. This is my first site with the Excluders and the modified entrances. My other locations all use either T-14's, or Troyer gourds. Is the measurment of 1/4 of an inch below the entrance openings critical with these gourds?? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with these gourds and openings, specifically the distance between porch and modified openings.
Thanks!
Mike Wren
"Bird"
[/quote]
The porches need to be 1/8 inch or less from the bottom of the entrance hole. This is crucial for deflecting starling traffic.
Glynn
2019 26 pair 116 fledged
2018 20 pair 76 fledged
2017 19 pair 82 fledged
2016 13 pair 48 fledged
2015 3 pair 13 fledged
2014 1 pair 4 fledged
2013 2 pair 6 fledged
2012 0 pair
2011 0 pair
I don’t have the perfect site. One open flyway with trees within 80 ft. I do have a small pond they utilize during the heat of Summer. (2017) HEAVY HAWK PREDATION
2018 20 pair 76 fledged
2017 19 pair 82 fledged
2016 13 pair 48 fledged
2015 3 pair 13 fledged
2014 1 pair 4 fledged
2013 2 pair 6 fledged
2012 0 pair
2011 0 pair
I don’t have the perfect site. One open flyway with trees within 80 ft. I do have a small pond they utilize during the heat of Summer. (2017) HEAVY HAWK PREDATION
-
Doug Martin - PA
- Posts: 1988
- Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:47 am
- Location: Pennsylvania/Fombell
- Martin Colony History: First pair in 2009 after 28 years of trying. 3 pairs 2010, 17 pairs 2011 and 35-45 pairs since. Many additional colonies are now springing up around mine in an area once completely void of Martins. I offer 50 compartments at my site consisting of primarily Excluder II gourds on Gemini racks. Also a wooden T-14. I utilize electric fence type predator guards on the base of the poles. Supplemental feeding is crucial in maintaining my colony. I platform feed throughout the season as needed. My site tends to be a stop over point for additional birds as they migrate further north.
I have not had starlings breach the excluder II entrance.
You definitely need to move the porch up and check the sizing of the entrance. About 1/8 below works good. Martins love these gourds up here. No venting is needed in the north. In the south I would use the vented caps that are available. Or vent them with elbows.
It's a nice large gourd that stays pretty dry.
You definitely need to move the porch up and check the sizing of the entrance. About 1/8 below works good. Martins love these gourds up here. No venting is needed in the north. In the south I would use the vented caps that are available. Or vent them with elbows.
It's a nice large gourd that stays pretty dry.
Supplemental feeding plays a major role in Western Pennsylvania. Finally got my 1st pair in 2009 after 28 years of effort. The colony has grown quickly to 45 pairs that I care for. Many new colonies have now sprung up around me in the past few years as well. Where there was none.... there is many.
-
C.C.Martins
- Posts: 3368
- Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:15 am
- Location: Corpus Christi Tx
- Martin Colony History: 2016- Visitors.
2017- 5 pair. 15 fledged
2018- 18 pair. 85 fledged
2019- 17 pair. 81 fledged
2020- 25 pair. 111 fledged
2021- 28 pair. 118 fledged
2022- 33 pair. 151 fledged
2023- 33 pair. 165 fledged
2024- 40 pair. 185 fledged
2025- 40 pair. 181 fledged
HOSP:
Home colony: mix natural, super, Troyer and excluder gourds, enlarged compartment house. All SREH.
Satellite colony: Oso Bay Preserve: 49 PMCA excluder gourds; 16 room Lonestar Goliad with Modified Excluder entrances.
2019: Visitors
2020: 3 pair, 11 fledged
2021: 10 pair, 30 fledged
2022: 11 pair, 35 fledged
2023: 18 pair, 101 fledged
2024: 39 pair, 181 fledged
2025: 51 pair, 216 fledged
PMCA member
MichaelH,
Sounds like you are well on the way to doing the right things! Doug has a good point, while you are working the porches, don't forget to vent the gourd. Some use 1/2 inch elbows near the top and in back of the gourd, some use 1 inch. venting is critical to get the heat and humidity down for the chicks, vented gourds are preferred by martins. A good tight clean sealant is DAP. I also vent the caps with 90 degree elbow (1/2 inch), I keep them plugged until temps are 100..LA heat and humidity are same as south texas Id bet. when venting the caps make sure that when you screw them back on, the vent points downward.
Wish you luck, looks like the Martins are in your area!
Tom
Sounds like you are well on the way to doing the right things! Doug has a good point, while you are working the porches, don't forget to vent the gourd. Some use 1/2 inch elbows near the top and in back of the gourd, some use 1 inch. venting is critical to get the heat and humidity down for the chicks, vented gourds are preferred by martins. A good tight clean sealant is DAP. I also vent the caps with 90 degree elbow (1/2 inch), I keep them plugged until temps are 100..LA heat and humidity are same as south texas Id bet. when venting the caps make sure that when you screw them back on, the vent points downward.
Wish you luck, looks like the Martins are in your area!
Tom
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23