Well, our PMs are back. They're circling above our neighborhood, and especially above our yard. It's a joy to see!
However, the only time they land on our houses is in the early morning hours. They make quite the chorus as they do so.
Only problem is: they don't stay. They land, once or twice, and then they fly off again, circling above the houses.
I'm concerned that the SREH, which we only recently installed (during last season's nest-building phase) may be making the PMs think twice about coming back to the house. I've not seen a feather of a starling for a very long time, and the HOSP that investigate the house are easily trapped and dealt with.
So, I have two questions.
1) Is the behavior I described above (circling, landing, but not claiming nest cavities while SREH is installed) normal PM behavior? When do they actually settle down and claim a cavity?
2) Does the PM have enough of a memory that it can tell the difference between the original round entrance of last season, and the SREH entrance of this season, and be put off by it?
(I've done some reading, and I know that SREH shouldn't be a problem for returning PMs. It's just that their behavior is a total mystery to me.)
Also, I'm keeping a close eye on the housing. If I see a starling in the area, I'll slap those SREH back on there, no hesitation, whether the PMs like them or not.
Concerns with SREH on Trio
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klcretired
- Posts: 2174
- Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:06 am
- Location: Grand Prairie,Tx
AggieMEEN,
You will be just fine, stick w/ the sreh's you won't be sorry, the pm's will learn to negotiate them in their own time.It's like a ritual with the martins, they will stick their heads in and what we see is that they act like they can't get in but they can and will, they check things out then the fly off and then return again and again. If they are comming in the mornings to keep them interested play the dawnsong/daytime chatter and have a few decoy's on your housing.
I am telling you through my experience as a PM Landlord that lost his whole colony a few year's ago and had to start off with nothing, on starting off fresh I had all sreh entrance holes and like you at first i had Questions & Thought's??/, should i have done this or not??...but i stuck with it, held my ground, watched a few struggle to get in and now i'm back up to 24 Martins and all i offer is the sreh entrances.Be strong, Hang in there.
You will be just fine, stick w/ the sreh's you won't be sorry, the pm's will learn to negotiate them in their own time.It's like a ritual with the martins, they will stick their heads in and what we see is that they act like they can't get in but they can and will, they check things out then the fly off and then return again and again. If they are comming in the mornings to keep them interested play the dawnsong/daytime chatter and have a few decoy's on your housing.
I am telling you through my experience as a PM Landlord that lost his whole colony a few year's ago and had to start off with nothing, on starting off fresh I had all sreh entrance holes and like you at first i had Questions & Thought's??/, should i have done this or not??...but i stuck with it, held my ground, watched a few struggle to get in and now i'm back up to 24 Martins and all i offer is the sreh entrances.Be strong, Hang in there.
Pictures Taken with Canon Rebel XT Digital using a Sigma 50-500 Long Lens.
Wishing everyone a Great Martin Year
Happy Martining for 2022 to everyone,
K.C.
[email protected]
Wishing everyone a Great Martin Year
Happy Martining for 2022 to everyone,
K.C.
[email protected]
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John Miller
- Posts: 4866
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
Aggiemeen
I don't think the SREH entrances are a factor -- yet. Martins sometimes "zoom" unestablished housing early in the season. They are checking it out, but I bet these guys have their sights set on an establised colony and are out cruising. When they land and poke their heads into the SREH holes, then they are serious and indeed it may take a few days to learn to enter.
John Miller
I don't think the SREH entrances are a factor -- yet. Martins sometimes "zoom" unestablished housing early in the season. They are checking it out, but I bet these guys have their sights set on an establised colony and are out cruising. When they land and poke their heads into the SREH holes, then they are serious and indeed it may take a few days to learn to enter.
John Miller
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Guest
Thanks for the replies.
This is a small colony, but one that's been around for about four years now. We've got water features (swimming pools) on both sides of our property, and a natural creek behind us, so I'd say we've got a good spot for PMs. Some close trees, but the PMs don't care about them, as the flyways are wide open to and from the housing.
We installed our SREHs last year when we used to have starlings, and saw them poking about the PM house around the time the PMs were getting around to nestbuilding. The PMs made do with the SREHs, naturally, and the starlings were SOL for housing after that, and have since moved on to greener pastures (read: easier targets).
Tomorrow morning I'll make it a point to observe the behavior of the PMs. We saw a definite change in behavior once we switched to the old round holes (ORHs); the PMs were doing some serious investigating of the nesting chambers, but that was with a pair of adult martins. The mornings are a lot busier, so we'll see what happens.
Don't worry, though. I'm well aware of the threat starlings pose while I have the ORHs on, so I make it a point to frequently check the airspace out back. And if I'm not scanning the sky, another member of the family is. If any of us see a starling, the SREHs go back on immediately. If there aren't any starlings in the vicinity when the PMs have settled in and are nestbuilding, I'll put the SREHs back on anyway. Either way: the SREHs go back on. It's just a matter of how soon.
This is a small colony, but one that's been around for about four years now. We've got water features (swimming pools) on both sides of our property, and a natural creek behind us, so I'd say we've got a good spot for PMs. Some close trees, but the PMs don't care about them, as the flyways are wide open to and from the housing.
We installed our SREHs last year when we used to have starlings, and saw them poking about the PM house around the time the PMs were getting around to nestbuilding. The PMs made do with the SREHs, naturally, and the starlings were SOL for housing after that, and have since moved on to greener pastures (read: easier targets).
Tomorrow morning I'll make it a point to observe the behavior of the PMs. We saw a definite change in behavior once we switched to the old round holes (ORHs); the PMs were doing some serious investigating of the nesting chambers, but that was with a pair of adult martins. The mornings are a lot busier, so we'll see what happens.
Don't worry, though. I'm well aware of the threat starlings pose while I have the ORHs on, so I make it a point to frequently check the airspace out back. And if I'm not scanning the sky, another member of the family is. If any of us see a starling, the SREHs go back on immediately. If there aren't any starlings in the vicinity when the PMs have settled in and are nestbuilding, I'll put the SREHs back on anyway. Either way: the SREHs go back on. It's just a matter of how soon.