How should I prepare for next year?

[DuckCamp]

I have a pair of ASY martins this year. My current set-up is 4 S&K Bo Basic gourds on a telescoping S&K tri-pole. In addition to the 2 birds I often see multiple birds flying overhead and have had several visitors over the past 2 weeks. I am wondering what a reasonable expansion would be for next year. My current gourd rack will accommodate 6 gourds. I am considering adding two to this, as well as a second pole. Would an additional 12 gourd rack be OK, too much, not enough? I think I would prefer gourds to a house but am open to that possibility. I would go with a winch on the next set-up, SREH on all gourds,etc. Should I try to have this in place before this year's migration? So, what would you recommend I do in preparation for next year?

[SSMartin]

You might want to just add the second gourd rack to that pole and use the bo plus gourds that way you get the inspection port. I think there under 10.00 I use some at my site and they are always occupied. Remember 6 gourds will house 12 birds so you might want to see how many return next year then expand for the sub adults if even necessary.

[johncanfield]

I have 12 Troyer gourds up and seven or eight Martin pairs this year. Sometime this fall I'm going to add another pole and dozen gourds.

[jhcox]

Hey Duckcamp I would go ahead and put it up right now. Think positive the Martins when they migrate south will see and even stop in and look at your new rack. They may choose to return to it next year especially the SYs. Have a great season and stay positive that your colony will grow next year.

[DuckCamp]

Thank you for the suggestions. It sounds like adding a second rack of 6 gourds (to a total of 12 gourds) to my current pole is the way to go. I was looking at the bo plus and will go with those. Definitely need the inspection ports. Trying to peer in through the entrance with a dental mirror is challenging! jhcox, I like the idea of adding on prior to this year's south migration. Would it be wise to wait for my pair's young to fledge before doing so? Would adding another rack to the same pole disturb them? Thanks again!

[flyin-lowe]

If it were me I would invest in a better rack and either get rid of the Tri Tel pole or use it for a perching station. I started with a tri tel pole and the first year I had it it bent pretty bad so I returned it and got a new one. After that I got a different setup and used the brand new Tri Tel pole to hold and S&K perch as well as a feeding platform. Over the years that pole has bent with basically no weight on it, just from the wind force on the pole itself. So I definitely would not add more weight to that. For the price I really like the AAA gourd racks. They hold 16 gourds and I have had one for 10 years or more and it is still holding up very well. There are many good quality systems out there varying in price. My gourd rack has to be raised and lowered by hand but with the pulleys it is actually less work then raising my T14's with the winch. It goes up and down quickly and very smooth.

[DuckCamp]

Thank you for the recommendation, flyin-lowe. I will look into the AAA. I originally purchased my tri tel pole for a homemade bat house, which was quite heavy and worried me about bending/breaking it. I then bought the rack and 4 gourds since I already had the pole in hopes of having gc flycatchers or tree swallows nest. The martins showed up this year as a surprise. I feel fortunate to have them nesting this year with only 4 gourds and will definitely have a better setup by next year.

P.S. Really windy today in NE Indiana, but the tri tel is holding up thankfully!