When to Bring Down the Houses
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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
Elmo, I'm glad you and your birds did well this year. I'm just south of you in Corpus, while we see martins around they have long lost intrest in housing.
A good time is when you can find a break in the heat I suppose. Ours are all in and safely tucked away.
My rule of thumb is: if seeking martins, keep it up until they are long gone from the area, never know. Established colonies, couple of weeks after you see martins at the houses. Some take theirs down almost immediately. Just too stinking hot in August!
Best,
Tom
A good time is when you can find a break in the heat I suppose. Ours are all in and safely tucked away.
My rule of thumb is: if seeking martins, keep it up until they are long gone from the area, never know. Established colonies, couple of weeks after you see martins at the houses. Some take theirs down almost immediately. Just too stinking hot in August!
Best,
Tom
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
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flyin-lowe
- Posts: 3788
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:49 am
- Location: Indiana/Henry Co.
When I have a very young colony with less then 10 pair, I leave the housing up until the birds north of my have completed their migration, just in case some hatched this year will be looking for a place to move into next year. Once you have 10 pair or more, they will drawn in plenty of additional martins for you next year so it's not as important. Now that I have a well established colony I remove my housing the first chance I get after all my birds have fledged. Someyears that end of August, some years its in October...
2026 HOSP 26
2025 62 pair HOSP 20
2024 60 pair, HOSP 44
2023 60+ pair, HOSP 8
2022 60 nests with 262 eggs, HOSP 14
2021 62 pair, HOSP 9
2020 42 nest, HOSP 8
2019- 31 pair
2018- 15 pair 49 fledged
2017 3 SY pair, 12 eggs , fledged 10. 4 additional lone SY's
2016 1 pair fledged 4
2015 Visitors
2014 Visitors
2013 Moved 6 miles, 1 pair fledged 2.
2012 30 pair fledged 100.
2011 12 pair 43 fledged.
2010 5 pair 14 fledged.
2025 62 pair HOSP 20
2024 60 pair, HOSP 44
2023 60+ pair, HOSP 8
2022 60 nests with 262 eggs, HOSP 14
2021 62 pair, HOSP 9
2020 42 nest, HOSP 8
2019- 31 pair
2018- 15 pair 49 fledged
2017 3 SY pair, 12 eggs , fledged 10. 4 additional lone SY's
2016 1 pair fledged 4
2015 Visitors
2014 Visitors
2013 Moved 6 miles, 1 pair fledged 2.
2012 30 pair fledged 100.
2011 12 pair 43 fledged.
2010 5 pair 14 fledged.
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Dave Reynolds
- Posts: 2441
- Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 4:35 pm
- Location: Little Hocking, Oh.
- Martin Colony History: Satellite Site “Oxbow Golf Course”..
2018 - 15 Pair, 36 Fledged
2019 - 26 Pair, 97 Fledged
2020 - 30 Pair, 137 Fledged
2021 - 30 Pair, 144 Fledged
2022 - 27 Pair, 125 Fledged
2023 - 31 Pair, 130 Fledged
2024 - 41 Pair, 198 Fledged
2025 - 44 Pair, 168 Fledged
Home Site "Little Hocking, Ohio".
2019 - 1 Pair, 5 Fledged
2020 - 1 Pair, 4 Fledged
2021 - 8 Pair, 36 Fledged
2022 - 13 Pair, 46 Fledged
2023 - 16 Pair, 84 Fledged
2024 - 22 Pair, 104 Fledged
2025 - 28 Pair, 83 Fledged
,, Generally ... My Martins leave the first week of August.. but this year some stayed until August 18th.. So I waited about four weeks and took them down here in the Southeastern Ohio Valley.. Good luck nest year.. .
Dave
Dave
PMCA Member
Little Hocking, Ohio
Little Hocking, Ohio
I have had consistent colonies for over 35 years. I typically take the houses down and clean them out on Labor Day weekend. This year they seemed to finish early and I wanted to clean them out before the August heat baked the debris on any harder. I clean them, removing the doors and flooring and then lower the houses until March when I spray them with vinegar and reinstall the flooring and doorways. The Martins lined up on the wires above and watched the process when I lowered and cleaned them August 1. I remove the snake guards after the fledglings are flying. It’s exhausting keeping on top of the sparrows. This ends this fight for me.
I’m in Lacoste Texas. My colony is out hunting every day and they return at night and sometimes during the day. All the nests have fledged. My issue is the sparrows are moving in all the nests now. Is it OK to go ahead and take the gourds, down and clean them out this early? Maybe just plug them? And rehang them?