Gourds Are Meant To Swing...At Least Some

[Steve Kroenke]

Gourds Are Meant To Swing?At Least Some

Gourds are meant to swing some, not rock and roll, and there is a difference. There is something special about a natural gourd hanging from a crossbar and gently swinging in the wind or in response to a purple martin landing at the entrance or exiting. A rigid gourd seems to lose its character and becomes almost house-like! Oh, the God of Nostalgia curses the natural gourd that is tightly bound to a crossbar and never moves when caressed by the wind! Though I have had and still have gourds which rarely swing and martins did and do just fine in them, I still prefer to see that gourd swinging some in the wind or moving to and fro when a martin enters or exits.

There are a number of ways to suspend gourds from a crossbar, rod or cable and the swing can vary with that configuration. I have used several methods and all worked well. Some produced more swing than the others and I saw no difference in preference by the martins or breeding success rates.

Swinging Gourd Problems

While I like gourds that swing some, problems can result if you are not careful. Several factors need to be considered when hanging gourds to avoid potential disasters.

First, you want to suspend your gourds so they don?t hit each other when swinging; that is partially what I meant by ?rock and roll?. Natural gourds which go ?bump in the wind? can create problems for not only the nesting martins but for the structural integrity of the gourds. Martins may not stay in gourds which crash against each other during windy weather or the eggs could be harmed during violent contacts. Natural gourds may even be damaged through constantly hitting each other. The actual hanging method and the spacing of the gourds on a rack can greatly impact the chances of gourds hitting one another during windy weather. So when you are hanging gourds on a rack, do a little testing and see if a gourd will strike its neighbor when you initiate an artificial swing.

Second, you don?t want to suspend gourds so that they twist too much around in the wind. This can occur by using string, rope, thin wire or similar material. If the gourd completely turns around in the wind then the martins may be unable to locate the entrance on the other side to enter. A little turning is ok as long as the entrance returns to the same general location so the martins can find it and enter. The key here is that the gourd may twist a little but it always returns back to the same direction.

Third, when selecting hanging wire, it may be best to use a pliable but firm material. I have had good success with No. 10 plastic coated copper wire. If you use wire which is too thin, it may gradually weaken and eventually break via subtle bending to and fro as the gourd swings in the wind. Also, thin wire may even twist some during heavy winds, causing the gourd to permanently change in direction. I have had both the previous problems occasionally occur with thinner wire strands such as No. 12 plastic coated copper wire. However, this problem with No. 12 or comparables can be minimized by keeping a short wire hanging distance, such as one or two inches, between the gourd neck or back and the crossbar.

Big owls like barred and great horned can turn a gourd a full 90 degrees or more as they pull a martin from the entrance hole. The violent twisting of the owl as he/she flaps its wings to extract a martin can even turn gourds that are hanging with the No. 10 wire. I have seen my natural and Super Gourds turned almost completely around on the hanging rods or crossbars after a huge barred owl violently dragged a martin from one of them.

And wire which is too thin can sometimes ?cut? into the natural gourd substrate at the hanging holes as the gourd ages. This may create a greater rainwater inflow portal and perhaps even cause the gourd to weaken structurally at the neck area.

Fourth, the way you thread your wire into the crossbar or hanging rod can sometimes create problems. Inserting wire directly through a hole with a sharp edge in hollow metal tubing may result in later problems. The friction of the wire as it moves against the sharp metal surface may eventually degrade the wire and cause it to weaken and maybe break over time. You can wrap wire around a metal rod/tubing and have some kind of blocking system to the keep the wire from moving laterally or create hanging hooks for the wire. You could probably attach pieces of wood first to a metal crossbar. Then you could insert hanging wire through a portion of the wood that may extend below or above the metal. You can usually insert appropriately strong wire through a hole in wooden or plastic crossbars without this problem because this substrate is not sharp or hard enough to possibly damage the wire in the long run. Also the thicker wire will not bend nearly as much thereby greatly minimizing the chances of breaking. When I used wooden crossbars for my gourd racks, I never had a problem with No. 10 copper coated wire breaking when used for hanging my gourds. I did have some breaks and twisting with thinner wire because of the gradually bending over a period of time. If you thread hanging wire through hollow metal tubing, keep an eye on the structural integrity of the wire during the nesting season.

Fifth, if you hang your gourds with long wires from a crossbar, rod or cable, then this may increase the chances of gourds hitting one another, twisting around permanently during windy weather or bending and breaking over time. Such gourds will also have a much greater swing during strong winds and you can overdo a good thing. Gourds which are violently twisting and swinging on long wires during strong winds are more likely to damage any eggs and possibly young.

The closer the gourd is positioned to the crossbar there is usually a reduction in the amount of swing and possible ?wear and tear? on the hanging wire. I try to keep the top portion of gourd necks for verticals or backs for horizontals within one or two inches from the hanging rods, crossbars or cables. As mentioned previously, No. 12 copper coated wire is more immune to twisting and eventual breaking with a shorter hanging distance from the gourd neck or back to the crossbar. On cable systems, some folks even press the gourd neck tops or backs up against the cable to create greater stability and reduce the chances of the gourds sliding.

Here are some styles for hanging gourds that I use or have used. I am sure there are many other methods folks use.

Front To Back Swing

One of the most common methods of hanging a gourd is the front to back swing. Insert a piece of wire through the gourd neck and then attach the wire to the crossbar with entrance hole facing forward. The gourd front is facing outward from the crossbar, rod or cable.

Depending on the shape of the gourd it may tilt forward some when a martin lands on the entrance hole or any attached porch. Porches or tunnel extenders may increase the amount of the tilt, depending on their length and shape of the gourd. I prefer not to use this hanging method with horizontal gourds or ones with long tunnel/funnel entrances because of the tilting propensity. Also in these type gourds as the martin young become larger and start clustering around the entrance hole, their combined weight can cause some gourds to tilt downward, particularly with more horizontal designs.

This method may allow more gourds to be hung on a crossbar because they will not hit against each others? side with a front to back swing. You don?t need much space between the gourds from a contiguous position as they will not hit each others? sides. The front to back swing prevents it. However, the closer you hang the gourds toward the inside of a rack and near the pole then these gourds may be close enough to strike others on different crossbar arms during windy weather.

Side To Side Swing

Another method is a side to side swing. This style works well with horizontal gourds like the Troyer brand or similar naturals. It is fine for traditional vertical gourds, too. It also is great when you have tunnels/porches on the front of the gourds and you don?t want to create any tilting downward when martins land on the entrance or on a porch. The position of the hanging wire inside the gourd neck or back and attached to the crossbar holds the front of the gourd up. I use this method on my ?funnel? gourds and it works perfectly. When the martins grip the entrance to the funnel or sit on a wire perch, the gourd does NOT drop down in the front. I like that. The martins can easily enter the entrance. I had tried hanging these funnel gourds so they would swing front to back, but when the martins grip the entrance, the gourd would tilt downward. This may not be a big issue, but I prefer more stability so that that entrance hole area remains relatively rigid when martins land there or the young martins cluster at feeding time.

Free Swing With Closed Hanging Wire Hook

A third method is to allow a free swinging movement on a hanging hook where the entrance is still always facing the same direction though the gourd may move front to back or side to side. I have used this method MANY times in the past with traditional vertical gourds on my old wooden crossbars and martins flourished. I simply created a hanging hook from No. 10 plastic coated copper wire that was inserted through a hole in the crossbar. Then I would bend the bottom of the wire into a narrow hook about an inch in height. In the neck on my gourds, I would insert a piece of wire and create a triangle shape hanging configuration. Then I would hang the gourd on the hook and squeeze and bend the wire hook over so that the gourd could not swing off during windy weather. When I first tried this method many years ago, I did not bend the hook over and some my gourds actually ?swung off? during strong winds. By using a closed hook, this prevented the gourd from swinging off and allowed the gourd to swing freely front to back and side to side, but it never twisted around and the entrance hole remained in the same general location

This method does require more space between gourds to ensure they don?t hit against each other. I had to use longer wooden crossbars and create a larger spacing between my gourds with the free swing method.

One possible advantage of this free swing method is a possible reduction in wind resistance to the gourd rack system. The gourds would swing more easily and not be rigid in certain directions as found in the front to back or side to side methods.

However, the biggest disadvantage of this hanging system in my opinion is the spacing requirement to keep the gourds from hitting one another. It is not practical for many commercial gourd rack systems like the PMCA Deluxe. Because of this, I no longer use this method.

Wireless Approach To Hanging Gourds

Everything seems to be going wireless these days and that can apply to hanging gourds, too. One excellent method of hanging gourds on certain kinds of metal rods is the wireless approach. The PMCA Deluxe commercial gourd rack system efficiently uses this method, particularly with Super Gourds. In the wireless approach, you drill an appropriate size hole in the neck of a natural gourd or already have one prepared in a commercial Super Gourd to match the diameter of the hanging metal rod. Your hanging metal rod end is then inserted through the gourd neck hole and the gourd held in place with metal pins or perhaps bolts.

This method usually employs a front to back hanging motion for vertical gourds and a side to side swing with Troyer/natural gourd horizontals. With the wireless approach, I have noticed the amount of swing is reduced and is more subtle possibly because the gourd is so closely attached to the hanging rod without the hang normally realized with wire suspension. There is still some swing but it is minimized in many situations. Such a hanging method would also greatly reduce or even eliminate any violent twisting or jerking during strong winds.

Centripetal Force At Work: Physics 101

Many folks often wonder about the safety of martin eggs/young inside a swinging gourd. Surely a swinging gourd will hurl the eggs against the gourd sides or dislodge the babies from their nest! For most situations, you have little to worry about as the forces of physics will keep both martin eggs and young in place in spite of a swinging gourd. There is a concept in physics called centripetal force in operation when a gourd is swinging or rotating in the wind. It is centripetal force that ?keeps? the eggs/young toward the center of the gourd and the swinging gourd is not going to sling the contents out the nest hole or against the insides. I have NEVER seen eggs or young hurled out the holes or damaged because of the swinging motion of gourds and I have had them swing almost parallel with the crossbars during violent storms, including Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Now that does NOT mean it can?t happen, particularly in a vicious storm where the gourds are jerking up and down and to the sides wildly. The jerking motions could possibly throw the eggs from the nest bowl because the effect of centripetal force would be minimized without the rotating motion. Gourds that are suspended on loose cables as opposed to metal or wooden crossbars may be more prone to the jerking motion during strong winds and I have seen that happen on my Lone Star racks with such a hanging system. The cable may be more inclined to be lifted up and down during strong wind down bursts.

Wind Resistance Factor For Swinging Gourds

Another possible plus of swinging gourds versus rigid ones is wind resistance. If gourds will swing some, there may be less resistance to the wind as it flows through a rack. The gourds will give some with the wind and allow it to pass more freely. Rigid gourds will stiffen resistance to wind and may increase the chances a gourd rack and pole will topple during violent storms. A large rack with all rigid gourds becomes almost house like as the wind pushes against the setup and the gourds ?fight the wind?.

Avian Predation

A swinging gourd may offer a little more protection to the martins from barred and great horned owls, Accipiter hawks and fish crows. This is particularly true of gourds without porches that swing front to back or more freely swing on a hook. Avian predators may have a harder time clinging to an entrance hole with that kind of swing. A gourd that swings only side to side is stable in the front to back situation. So an avian predator may have an easier time clinging to the entrance hole or a porch because the gourd would be more rigid and provide more stability. However, barred owls in particular will learn to effectively raid all kinds of hanging gourds as these predators are cavity nesters and know how to cling to entrances or sides of trees.

Summary

Here are some of the key concepts related to gourds and their swing.

I like to use a strong hanging wire like No. 10 plastic coated copper wire to reduce chances of breaking or twisting over time. This is relative strong wire and I have had great success with it. I have used No. 12 wire and it has worked in many situations, but I have seen some breakage over time and occasional permanent twisting during strong windy weather.

Whatever method you use to hang your gourds, keep the distance between the gourd neck top or back and the crossbar, rod or cable relatively short. I prefer a one or two inch range to produce some but not excessive swing. Also, the shorter the distance the wire hangs down, the greater the protection from excessive bending or twisting and possible breakage. The shorter wire is more resistant to bending.

If possible, maybe try the ?wireless? approach to hanging your gourds and this works well with the PMCA Deluxe rack system or ones with small diameter hanging rods. These hanging rods often protrude out in a circular fashion and the gourds are inserted at the ends. This method produces a little swing and you don?t have to worry about breaking or twisting hanging wires. This method may not be appropriate for some natural gourds with thick or very rounded neck areas.

Keep an appropriate distance between gourds on the crossbars, rods or cables to prevent gourds from hitting each other during windy weather. Each hanging method produces its own distance factor. You can test your gourds on a rack by pushing them back and forth or from side to side and determining the distance necessary to eliminate collisions.

If you insert wire through holes in hollow metal tubing, be sure to check the wire at the hanging location from time to time because of the possible chances of eventual breakage, particularly if the holes have sharp edges. As the wire rubs against the metal edge of the hole when the gourd swings, the wire may weaken over time and be more prone to breaking. Inserting wire through wood or plastic probably minimizes the chances of breakage from frictional forces. Thicker No. 10 wire is less prone to these problems than thinner brands like No. 12.

Gourds and swinging go together and have been dancing their magical waltz for perhaps hundreds years when Native Americans first started the tradition of providing gourds for purple martins. Gourds can swing front to back, side to side, both ways, and each method has it advantages. So let those gourds swing a little and the martins may even appreciate the ride.

Steve Kroenke

[Guest]

Steve...............I know that took a hefty chunk, of time, unless you archive such nice works. Either way thank you. Are there pictures that relate, to your post?

[RC Moser]

I'm gourd stupid so some of these questions maybe elementary . My only concern is the scully test showed the gourd at or near 90 degrees to the ground at 70 MPH. I am concerned what would keep eggs from rolling out during straight line winds, gusts, or winds approaching 70 MPH. Is there a built in stop bent into the wire or rods to stop the gourd at certain angle ?

Another concern is once an owl figured out how to bounce a martin out of a gourd what stops him from raiding the rest? I've seen the two rods out in front of the entry hole, but do they detour or stop raids?

I do understand how Starlings and sparrow could be discouraged by the swinging movement of a gourd vs. a rigid one.

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

Steve, nice job on the variabilities and options related to hanging gourds! For the aspiring Martineer, your advice can either provide guidance or in the case of us wannabees, "stark terror" that maybe we've done something wrong in the past that makes our sites completely undesirable. If Martins ever check out my place, they're pretty much going to have to take the housing "as is" because there's nothing else I can do to improve my chances except move. Still a good read though...thanks. Fred in Michigan

[Steve Kroenke]

Docgipe,

Thanks for those comments. I don?t have any specific photos addressing the hanging of gourds, but if you look back at many of my close up pictures of my various gourd designs you will see how the gourds are suspended from the crossbars, rods or cables. These designs are usually hanging by the front to back or side to side methods. These photo postings are a little farther back on the Forum and deal with horizontal, funnel or woodpecker gourds. Good luck in 2006.

Steve


RC,

Your questions are good ones and I may need to go back an edit my posting some to include some of the commentary provided below!

Gourds which are suspended CLOSE to the crossbars and gourds which are more rounded with shorter necks than elongated with longer ones tend to have a lower angle of hang during strong winds. The shape of a gourd can impact the amount of swing it will realize during strong winds. My Super Gourds which are now all ?wireless? with the hanging rods inserted through the necks swing VERY LITTLE during strong winds. The gourds are almost part of the hanging rods and create their own resistance to significant swinging. I would suspect that the Troyer horizontal gourd where the hanging rod is inserted through the back would do the same.

Also, the eggs in gourds with thick nests tend to be nestled deeper in the nesting material and this probably helps create a safety barrier. If the female is inside, she will be incubating the eggs during the storm and protecting them from displacement.

The actual hanging method greatly impacts the amount of gourd swing during strong winds. Both the front to back and side to side gourd hanging systems only produce swing in the appropriate direction so these methods have a built in barrier to keep gourds relative stable about 50% of the time. The front to back swing moves little side to side and the side to side moves little front to back. The wind burst has to hit these gourds at the appropriate angle to create the right conditions for the gourds to move and remain at a specific hanging position long enough to possibly cause egg displacement. With both these methods, if you hang your gourds close to the crossbar, say an inch or two from the gourd neck/back, then the angle of swing tends to be reduced during strong winds.

I have never used any kind wire to impact the angle of swing of gourd during windy weather. If you had such barriers, a gourd may hit them during strong wind gusts.

To this day, I have never seen eggs roll out of any of my gourds during strong thunderstorms. This includes all kinds of shapes. I have seen my front to back hanging gourds at around 75 degree angles to the crossbars it seems during some really strong winds. But, I am sure it can happen under certain conditions. During Hurricane Agnes in 1972 I was using the free swing hanging method with my gourds. These gourds really swing! During the strong hurricane force winds my gourds would be almost parallel to the crossbars, but no baby martins or eggs were displaced that I could determine. Of course, the gourds were also producing some rotation and centripetal force may have been in operation. However, with really violent winds, then the entire gourd rack and pole may topple or bend. Probably for most situations, swinging gourds would hold up during storms and few eggs would be displaced.

Big owls, particularly barred, can learn to raid all kinds of gourds. These owls may see a martin sitting in the entrance hole early in the mornings or at dusk and then they swoop up and grab the martin. Or, the owls return late at night and learn to hover in front of the gourds and grab the entrance hole to create panic. The double rod owl guards which protrude out in front of the gourd entrance holes are pretty good at keeping many owls at bay. But I still had barred owls harass martins with such gourd guards and cause the martins to abandon the colony. I saw a barred owl hang on the double rod guards one night and the martins in that gourd deserted the colony the next day or so. I even had barred owls circumvent my wire baffle barriers that I placed in front of my gourds and still pull martins out. Barred owls are cavity nesters and KNOW how to cling to cavities, tree limbs and tree trunks.

At my Grandparents? old colony site, house sparrows would take over and nest in swinging gourds. I didn?t have any starlings in gourds at the site. So swinging gourds may or may not deter house sparrows and starlings.

I hope you will give gourds a try at your colony site and see how the martins react. The wind issue is real at times, particularly with violent thunderstorms. But I believe under most situations, gourds which swing some can hold up.

Good luck.

Steve

Fred,

Glad you enjoyed the commentary! This discussion was just my experiences with ?swinging gourds?. I am sure folks who are really trying for martins will do all they can to ensure their colony sites are the best possible to attract these elusive birds. In the Deep South where I have lived all my life, swinging gourds and martins go hand in hand. There are huge natural gourd colonies located throughout many areas of the south and I suspect many are swinging in the wind! I know it is difficult in many areas of Michigan to attract martins and I suspect this situation exists in other areas of the upper mid-West and northeast. Good luck in 2006.

Steve

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Steve, I started hanging my gourds using pvc pipe to slip over the emt. Formerly, the gourd would swing forward or sideways, but I fixed mine so they would swing a bit both ways by inserting the pvc pipe at an angle. It swings a bit when a bird lands but not very much, and I have a slot cut into the pvc, so it can swing a bit, but it cannot swing all the way up.

Here is a photo of my square entrances, hanging on my gourd rack, with flat floors and a porch. (by the way, those are SREH entrances)

I am currently hanging all my new gourds from this years gourd crop on this rack, notice I still have about 4 empty arms. These entrances were made from a 4in pvc fence post from Lowes, the floors have some ppca smeared on them with sand on top of that, so the pvc porch & entrance have very good traction. The homemade rack holds 24 gourds

[Steve Kroenke]

Emil,

Your hanging method looks real good! It incorporates the "wireless" approach by inserting the crossbar through a portion of the gourd neck using a PVC base. This should minimize significant swinging and keep it pretty much under control. I have seen that in my SuperGourds where the hanging rod is inserted through a hole in the neck. Your idea has given me a way to go more "wireless" with natural gourds. Thanks for that great tip.

Steve

[Guest]

Steve; You are amazing when it comes to writing. I can't type any where near as fast as i think so if i were writing about the same subject it would have been a paragraph. HeHe. Thank god for people like you. Keep up the great work.
Have a Great Day- Jim

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Jim,

Before computers and word processing software, I did my writing either by pen and ink or through an old manual typewriter! Now it is much easier and do find myself getting ahead of my thoughts sometimes while pounding on the keyboard! I appreciate those kind words. There are many folks on this Forum that share their wisdom and thoughts through writing. Good luck in 2006.

Steve

[RC Moser]

Steve, I have another question? I guess this depends on the gourds and there weight, How many qourds can be expected to get on one gourd rack and muli-puropose pole? Also, which poles are stronger In Your Opinion?

[Steve Kroenke]

RC,

On an individual gourd rack, you can have a large number of gourds depending on the strength of the pole. The most I had was 32 on a two inch diameter water pipe at about 16 feet in height. However, I prefer smaller racks and the most I am using this season is 18 on a PMCA Deluxe rack. Most of my racks have 12 gourds on the PMCA Deluxe and my Lone Star systems have 16. On the multi-purpose pole, you have 4 hanging rods for 4 gourds and 2 mounting arms for two houses.

The strongest commercial pole I have used has been the PMCA Deluxe systems. The multi-purpose pole is the same system. These are super strong tempered two inch square aluminum and they have held up to strong winds, possibly over 70 mph. My Lone Star two inch square metal poles have bent when exposed to the same wind speeds.

My neighbor uses 1 and ? and 1 and ? inch diameter schedule 40 water pipes for his gourd racks. During the same storm which hit on March 31, 2005, a number of his poles were bent, some very badly. He was using 24 gourd rack systems.

Based on what I have used so far, the PMCA Deluxe systems including the multi-purpose pole have a very strong pole and withstood strong winds at my current site in Louisiana.

Steve

[John Atteberry]

Hello Steve,
I finally read your post on swinging gourds! I've been busy trying to get my martin projects done and hoping this weekend I will be done and have poles up! Did you get my private message that I sent to you some days ago? I didn't hear from you and was just wondering if you got it? So what your saying is the natural gourds will not do good on the deluxe gourd rack on the hanging rod because it will break the gourd over time? Is it best to hang by wire? And I agree with the strongest poles that will not be bent or damaged are the deluxe gourd racks and your right about the multi-purpose pole too on being the same pole! I am switching my Trio poles (MSS-12-MSS-8)houses on them to the multi-purpose pole(s) because of the strength factor. Thanks John!

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey John,

I checked my message box and I didn?t see your message. I don?t know if I mistakenly deleted it when I deleted some old stuff! If I did, I?m sorry.

Natural gourds do well on the PMCA Deluxe gourd rack. Most of my Deluxe gourd racks have natural gourds. My horizontals would not ?fit? because the commercial hanging rods are too short, but I added the copper tubing which solved that problem. On the Deluxe racks I use the No. 10 plastic coated wire and the vertical gourds swing front to back. Just bend or wrap both ends of the wire over the curved portion of the hanging rod and it works perfectly. The 90 degree angle in the hanging rod prevents the wire from sliding that way and the pin in the hole at the end of rod stops the sliding from that direction. You can see how I suspended my naturals on the photo of the modified PMCA Deluxe rack. You probably could insert the hanging rod through a hole in the gourd neck provided the neck area is not too round and thick. I just didn?t use that approach with my naturals.

I have just finished assembling my new round hole WatersEdge suites and will be installing them on a multi-purpose pole soon. They look real good. This pole with have two 8 room suites and 4 natural gourds. I will take a picture of this set-up and post it on the Forum.

Good luck.

Steve