Has anybody completely changed housing?

[Whippy]

I am about to remove my Trio Wade that I acquired and moved to my yard last year and replace it with the T-14 I acquired not long ago due to the graciousness of Jangles in Houston. I'm having to do this due to space restrictions. So I am curious if anybody else here has made such a change and, having made that change, did the Martins of the old house accept the new house? I had two pair in my Trio Wade last year who have been the inhabitants of the Wade since I moved into my house 9 years ago. They actually made the move with the house which was about 20 yards so I know their sight fidelity is strong. I plan to keep the same cavity orientation it'll just be a different floor plan.

I figure they will move in or move over to the gourd rack 20 feet away rather than abandon their sight of 9 years.

I appreciate any thoughts on the subject.

Coolwhips

[PMDavid]

Whippey I’m gonna go with your thought track. I don’t think they would leave the sight,truth is they’ll probably take to the new house....somewhat similar to what I’m doing. Changed the style of gourd rack and added more gourds,I don’t anticipate any trouble. Rack in the same spot on the same pole. Aren’t those 14’s proven attractive to the martins?

[Whippy]

Aren’t those 14’s proven attractive to the martins?

Yeah. I heard things. Which is why I'm making the change. I wanted more cavities and the T-14 I've read does garnish a lot of attention.

So I figured to bring in the 14, hang 4 gourds off the bottom and be done with adding cavities. That'll give me 42 cavities in the colony. If I ever get to full capacity it'll be nuts in the skies above Whippy Colony.

I've actually dug the new hole 10 feet from the Trio pole. I want to get the 14 up before taking down the Trio. If it doesn't look to clustered I'll just leave them both.

Coolwhips

[G Saner]

Whippy,

I once changed a Trio M12K to a Trio Castle and nearly doubled my pair. In my case, I placed the new house in the exact location as the old one. The T-14 is much better at attracting a high occupancy percentage compared to the Trio-Wade. If your two pair make it back, I think they will accept the T-14. Based on your colony growth, I would be surprised if the T-14 was not half filled.

Gary

[Whippy]

That's encouraging news Gary.

It would be cool to have the 14 half filled. Who knows how many gourds will be occupied this year. If growth is anything like last year it'll be crazy around here.

Thanks for the response, Gary.

Coolwhips

[tor]

Aren’t those 14’s proven attractive to the martins?

Depends a little where you live, and what the Martins in your area prefer and are used to. I never had much luck with my T14 (North East SC), even though the rest of the colony was nearly full.

[billb]

I am doing that now. Had an old DuraCraft plus 3 troyer horizontal gourds underneath. Modified 2 of twelve original 6x6 cavities and had full occupancy. The floors were corroding above the gourd brackets and got tired of repairing them.

Just installed new Trendsetter T12, virtually in the same spot. Needed new ground stake to accommodate square pole. Not much room to move due to underground utilities, trees, etc. Since I've had a successful colony for about 10 years, I hope they take to the new, more modern accommodations without too much drama.

I will let you know my results. Expect 1st arrivals next week as they have been showing up around February 7 last few years. Good luck with yours!

[Whippy]

billb,

I'm interested to know how yours accept the change. I have 2 pairs I'm moving from their trio to the T14 so they'll either take the T14 or move to the gourd rack 25 feet away. I've already moved them from across the alley to my yard last year. That was a 50 foot move. It was crazy to watch. When they arrived back they would hover over the spot where the Trio used to be. Then they wold land on the roof of the neighbors house then fly to the Trio in its new location in my yard. This went on for a couple of days then they quit going to the old location. The internal GPS these birds have is spot on accurate.

I'll be sure to follow up with an update on how things go.

Good luck to you.

Coolwhips

[Spiderman]

I think you will find the gourds will be more popular than the T-14, going forward. A few dominant couples will use the house but the numbers won’t be as good as with the gourds.

I finally just switched all my stuff over to horizontal gourds, now they fight over the top row but everything else is equal for all the Martins.

[Whippy]

I think you will find the gourds will be more popular than the T-14, going forward. A few dominant couples will use the house but the numbers won’t be as good as with the gourds.

Last year I had two pairs in my Trio and 13 pairs in my gourds so that pretty much supports your assessment. Those two pairs appear to have ran the show at the Trio and, as I look back at it, they seem to have kept other Martins from moving in. I had one pair on each side of the 6 room house. I may be wrong about them keeping others out but upon reflection they were pretty aggressive when it came to visitors.

Coolwhips

[C.C.Martins]

Hey whippy,
Quick question, do you know how long that house you moved was up and occupied before you moved it? I remember you doing that but don't remember how long they had been on site.

Just curious. I moved and upgraded an 8 unit gourd rack we had installed last year to a 12 and moved it about 15 feet north because of a newly installed neighbors tree and a flag pole. I don't forsee any issues.

But this is a good topic for folks who need to do what you did to rescue a colony or move for whatever reason.
Hope you fill up with our purple friends!!
Tom

[Whippy]

CC,

When I acquired the Trio Wade it had been at its location for as long as I've been in this house...about 10 years. When I got it, the human house whose property it was on was on it's 3rd family. I believe the original owner of the house put it up since the previous family didn't do anything with it and the current family had no idea what it was. The lady said she hasn't been feeding the birds. If I were to guess recklessly the Trio had been in that location every bit of 15 to 20 years. Whoever put it up knew what they were doing because it was converted from 12 to 6 cavities.

I moved it last year and the two pairs moved with it. They found the Trio pretty quickly and began staying in it over night within a day. For a while they would fly back and forth between the gourd rack and the Trio ultimately deciding on the Trio. For a little while when they returned fro feeding they would fly into the old location and then come across the alley to the new location. That lasted a week or two.

Now I am going to try to get them into the T-14 but I haven't taken the Trio down yet. I put the T-14 10 feet away from the Trio in order to leave me the option of taking it down or leaving it up.

I remember Kyler had to move all of his houses and gourds and I think he moved them a pretty good distance. I'm pretty certain all of his Martins made the move as well.

I'll continue to provide updates as the Martins begin to return.

Coolwhips

[C.C.Martins]

Thanks Whippy!

[Kyler]

Whippy,
I don’t believe your martins will have any problems. Since I have started being a landlord I have changed my housing many times. Between a old wooden house I built. To S&K barns and then now I have settled with the trios. My martins have never had a problem with the change. As you said you remembered I had to relocate my housing. That was probably my biggest worry I have ever had. The main reason was because I’ve never had to do it before. I ended up having to move my housing almost 400 yards. The martins had no problem with the move they found the new location right away. I actually gain pairs other than losing pairs.

Best of Luck this year!!

Kyler,

[Whippy]

Kyler,

Good to hear from you. I was just thinking the other day how I missed your pre-season preparations and modifications. I was about to put out an APB for you.

Your move and the success of it really put me at ease with regards to moving the Trio from the neighbors yard to mine last year. That went well as most have read. I think this next move will be pretty simple and straight forward...same location just different housing.


I appreciate your feedback. You possess a lot of knowledge that is helpful to all.

Good luck this season.

Coolwhips

[billb]

Whippy:
Still early, but 1st arrival this afternoon. May have visited earlier in the day and I missed him, but ASY male did several fly-by's and finally landed and entered the new house for the evening. This is 2 days earlier than last couple of seasons. Looks like the housing change out will not be a problem.
Good luck with your season.
Bill

[Whippy]

Whippy:
Still early, but 1st arrival this afternoon. May have visited earlier in the day and I missed him, but ASY male did several fly-by's and finally landed and entered the new house for the evening. This is 2 days earlier than last couple of seasons. Looks like the housing change out will not be a problem.
Good luck with your season.
Bill

Thanks Bill. That's good to know. Glad you have one already and I hope the cold doesn't reach that far south. I'm hoping mine don't show up until the end of the month.

Go stock up on hand warmers before all the little league sports teams do. By Thursday you may not be able to find them if you need them.

Good luck to you.

Coolwhips