We have a Purple Martin Colony that has been active for many years here at Leisure World in Silver Spring Maryland. This season we added 2 new nesting gourd sets - 12 gourds in total. We had 2 successful nests in the new gourds and several in very old (20 years old?) condos which we could not monitor. We did get them cleaned out at the beginning of the season, but could not successfully lower the condos for monitoring. We counted as many as 40 martins flying overhead as they came back to the colony in the evening to use the older condos and watched the fledglings emerge from them.
Our question is:
When can we remove the older condos that have become impossible to monitor and are falling apart and how shall we do that?
We have a plan to do this gradually. We'll add one new nesting gourd set to the area next season and remove at least two of the older condos that are really beyond repair. We'll leave at least two or three of the older condos.
Does anyone have experience with this? Any advice is appreciated!
I know that martins come back to established colonies. I understand subadults are more likely to use the new nesting gourds.
Will returning adult martins use new gourds or look for where they nested the previous year?
Thank you for helping!
Cheryl
Colony Transition
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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
Hi Cheryl,
Public colonies are a challenge at times! Appriciate you caring for them.
From what you describe, your plans are definitely an upgrade and in the right direction. Yes, they are dedicated to the site, so a gradual replacement is spot on. We went from a trio mini castle and gourd racks to a lonestar goliad alongside the racks, houses are quite diffrent in design, yet they took to the change with no problems at all. Its a 6 year old colony.
As far removing the old poles, if you have no plans on keeping the poles, id suggest simply cutting it off right at ground level, you'd want to do that before they come back of course. Id hang onto the houses for parts until your project is done.
Worst case, some of the very oldest birds will not like it and may leave, but that is the absolute worst case...but having some of the older houses still up until the transition is done, will probably keep that from happening. Id wager your older pairs will go right to those gourds.
What id do with the new gourds is smear a bit of mud on the entrances, make it looked used.
Upgrades are necessary, as is access to those cavities, so they will appriciate your efforts.
I hope this helps!
Tom
Public colonies are a challenge at times! Appriciate you caring for them.
From what you describe, your plans are definitely an upgrade and in the right direction. Yes, they are dedicated to the site, so a gradual replacement is spot on. We went from a trio mini castle and gourd racks to a lonestar goliad alongside the racks, houses are quite diffrent in design, yet they took to the change with no problems at all. Its a 6 year old colony.
As far removing the old poles, if you have no plans on keeping the poles, id suggest simply cutting it off right at ground level, you'd want to do that before they come back of course. Id hang onto the houses for parts until your project is done.
Worst case, some of the very oldest birds will not like it and may leave, but that is the absolute worst case...but having some of the older houses still up until the transition is done, will probably keep that from happening. Id wager your older pairs will go right to those gourds.
What id do with the new gourds is smear a bit of mud on the entrances, make it looked used.
Upgrades are necessary, as is access to those cavities, so they will appriciate your efforts.
I hope this helps!
Tom
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
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John Miller
- Posts: 4863
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
The martins should switch to the new gourds okay, with one caveat. Probably the old housing has round holes, and the gourds may all be SREH. Martins that nested the previous year at a site that used round holes sometimes struggle with SREH for a few days; finally one will enter and others follow -- but it can be a several day process and might deny an early arrival shelter from cold weather. As you say some nested in the gourds last season, that should help, but I'd consider offering a couple of gourds with round holes.
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Carlton
- Posts: 1959
- Joined: Tue May 17, 2005 6:42 pm
- Location: Florida/Deerfield Beach
- Martin Colony History: I moved to South Florida, from Delaware, in August of 2015.
I care for a 6 condo Sunset House as well as two Deluxe Gourd Racks, with 24 Chirpynest/Excluder gourds, along a canal in Pompano Beach, Florida.
At Quiet Waters Park, nearby in Deerfield Beach, I care for a Deluxe Gourd Rack with 12 TVG's. I also care for a Deluxe Gourd rack with 12 Excluder gourds with Modified Excluder entrances. I am substituting 6 Chirpynest boxes for 6 of the Conley II entranced gourds in 2026.
At another local park, Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, I care for a Trendsetter 12, 5 gourds rack with 60 Excluder gourds with Modified Excluder Entrances and 1 Deluxe Gourd Rack with 12 Troyer Vertical Gourds with Starling Stoppers over the Conley II's to keep out smaller starlings.
Hi!
Leisure World in Montgomery County, Maryland! A friend of mine, who lives in the community, sent me a picture, a few years back, of the martins there. Loved reading your post. I used to live in Aspen Hill many years ago, but now live in South Florida. Small world! I grew up in Colesville.
At three different locations, over the past 20 years of hosting martins, I have switched out their housing with no problems. Yes, it is so important, especially in areas with house sparrows, to be able to easily raise and lower the housing. I think you are on the right track in making the change, gradually removing the worst of the housing first. In my case, I went from leaking houses to Excluder gourds, with the Modified Excluder Entrances and the martins had no trouble making the transition. Starlings were unable to enter with the porches mounted just slightly below the bottom of the entrance. Be sure to have a good predator guard on each pole. I also found that the martins loved the Chirpynest boxes that I provided in place of some leaking houses. Good luck to you, and I am elated to hear that Leisure World continues to host a successful martin colony. Thank you for all your efforts! - Carl
Leisure World in Montgomery County, Maryland! A friend of mine, who lives in the community, sent me a picture, a few years back, of the martins there. Loved reading your post. I used to live in Aspen Hill many years ago, but now live in South Florida. Small world! I grew up in Colesville.
At three different locations, over the past 20 years of hosting martins, I have switched out their housing with no problems. Yes, it is so important, especially in areas with house sparrows, to be able to easily raise and lower the housing. I think you are on the right track in making the change, gradually removing the worst of the housing first. In my case, I went from leaking houses to Excluder gourds, with the Modified Excluder Entrances and the martins had no trouble making the transition. Starlings were unable to enter with the porches mounted just slightly below the bottom of the entrance. Be sure to have a good predator guard on each pole. I also found that the martins loved the Chirpynest boxes that I provided in place of some leaking houses. Good luck to you, and I am elated to hear that Leisure World continues to host a successful martin colony. Thank you for all your efforts! - Carl