I would appreciate any ideas/descriptions of how to make homemade owl guards for my Supergourds with crescent shaped entrances. I would like the guards to be fairly attractive as my house is in an area that other people view all the time. I have never seen an owl at the gourds but I do hear an owl at night once in awhile. I have the gourds mounted on a S&K double gourd rack and really do not want to drill any additional holes in the Supergourds.
Carl[/b]
Homemade Owl Guards
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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.
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Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Hi Carl.
I wasn't sure where to go to find some pictures of owl guards on gourds, so this is what I did:
Go up to PMCA Home Button (click), then scroll down to the "search" feature, type in "owl guards" and then check out the results. You will find several different styles of homemade owl guards plus some that can be purchased from PMCA.
I didn't see any that required putting additional holes in the gourds themselves. The owl guards mount to the gourd rack...
I hope this is what you need.
I wasn't sure where to go to find some pictures of owl guards on gourds, so this is what I did:
Go up to PMCA Home Button (click), then scroll down to the "search" feature, type in "owl guards" and then check out the results. You will find several different styles of homemade owl guards plus some that can be purchased from PMCA.
I didn't see any that required putting additional holes in the gourds themselves. The owl guards mount to the gourd rack...
I hope this is what you need.
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne
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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.
Thanks Laverne!
I may have the smaller screech owls. I have only heard the owls but not seen them. I do know that the small owls can be a problem with cavity nesting birds as I once erected a screech owl box, years ago at another home I owned, and later found the box filled with bluebird feathers and bodyparts. I was just SICK as I had numerous bluebird birdhouses too.
I found this statement on the site you suggested. I do have the crescent shaped entrances:
Crescent starling-resistant entrance holes (SREH?s) might also help to deter owl predation by presenting the owl with a smaller, narrower entrance hole in which to insert its powerful talons. If a hovering owl were to grab a crescent SREH with one foot, there would be less room for it to insert its other foot to clutch martins; the SREH has about 20% less ?entrance area? than a 2" round hole. Of course, a crescent SREH will also exclude Screech Owls, an occasional predator of martins that can enter a 2" round hole.
THANKS for your help my friend.
Carl
I may have the smaller screech owls. I have only heard the owls but not seen them. I do know that the small owls can be a problem with cavity nesting birds as I once erected a screech owl box, years ago at another home I owned, and later found the box filled with bluebird feathers and bodyparts. I was just SICK as I had numerous bluebird birdhouses too.
I found this statement on the site you suggested. I do have the crescent shaped entrances:
Crescent starling-resistant entrance holes (SREH?s) might also help to deter owl predation by presenting the owl with a smaller, narrower entrance hole in which to insert its powerful talons. If a hovering owl were to grab a crescent SREH with one foot, there would be less room for it to insert its other foot to clutch martins; the SREH has about 20% less ?entrance area? than a 2" round hole. Of course, a crescent SREH will also exclude Screech Owls, an occasional predator of martins that can enter a 2" round hole.
THANKS for your help my friend.
Carl
