Frustration Builds with SREH

[Guest]

I live on about a 7 acre lake in a subdivision and I'm trying to attract martins to my house. Several of my neighbors have houses up and one person across the lake has an active colony with approx 16 birds (just from counting them in the sky). My frustration comes from the fact that I'm the only one with SREH on my house. I have had several martins stop by, check out the holes, but have a hard time getting into them. They then fly off , usually to other houses. I'm worried that when the subbies start to arrive that they will take the same approach and take up residency in one of the other houses. I also hoping these were birds from the other colony just stopping by for a visit and not ones looking for a home.

The other frustrating thing I have is that no one on the lake tries to manage S&S. Even the person with the active colony. He opened his house up 3 weeks ago and it was immediately overtaken by starlings. Then his martins arrived and somehow they have managed to bully their way back into his colony. You can still see starlings and sparrows intermixed with the Martins.

Do you guys think I am at a disadvantage by having the only house that is "harder" for the martins to get into?

BTW- on a positive note, I opened up BB house this year and almost immediately had a pair take residency. They are cool birds.

Thanks
Mike

[Guest]

hey hatchetman last year i started out the year with 12 sreh gourds, 18
sreh holes in a house and 4 gourds with round holes. i duct taped the 4 round holes closed until those birds returned and took thir houses back, as more birds returned i flipped my holes over from sreh to round on my gourds. i did this on 4 more gourds that faced my house so i could shoot non desirable birds from a window. the rest of the gourds i left the sreh
openings as they were. the new birds took to using them fine. last year i ended up with 12 pair, plus a few extra males. they will use the sreh openings. the martin yen master (emil) helped me and a friend of mine out last year with a similar question, also mary dawnsong was also very helpful last year when the weather got cold and birds started to die around here last year.martins like the round holes, but so do starlings. if you cant guard your houses, due to work,kids sports or location, sreh is the way to go.
wally

[RC Moser]

IMO when the PM's gets booted from the round holes, guess where they are going to come? IMO you just put up the house and the PM are checking it out. They haven't decided where yet. When they want to get in your sreh's they will. There is a small learning curve. But, if your neighbors don't manage S and S, you will eventually be the benefactor and the Martin hog in a few short years IMO. Doing things right you will eventually get rewarded.

[Nanette]

Hi RCMoser,
Last year I went to all SREH's and watching the Martins trying to get in was excruciating to say the least! A couple of the martins figured it out pretty quickly but one tried and tried and tried. It took over an hour to finally get in. I was riveted to the window watching and silently cheering her on. I noticed a few others that struggled too but they all came back eventually and figured it out. This year when my first scout (male) arrived, he went directly to one of my houses and in. This is what makes me feel he was a returning Martin. The next day he had a mate who struggled and struggled to get in which is what made me think she was new to the colony. She finally got in and all is well.
Hang in there, SREH are a good thing!

[Guest]

Stay the course, Hatchetman. While PMs might find ORHs (Old Round Holes) easier to get into, they much prefer to have a house to themselves with no starling competition, and so they'll adapt to the SREH.

Also, you mention that there's already an established colony. It may be that the PMs gravitate more towards their own kind, and so may not show much interest in your site...for now. But when there's more of them around, subbies and such, they'll take a good hard look at your place, and maybe settle in.

You could also try painting 2" diameter black circles above the SREH opening. Make the entry seem larger than it is. I haven't tried it, nor do I know of anyone who has done this, but I believe this would make your site more attractive. From a distance, your site would look like it had ORHs instead of SREHs.

[Guest]

Mike , It's a tough one. PMs will take the easy way out and until one gets in and shows the others how easy it is you might be in for a long wait. In your situation I would start of with round, or even better adjustable crescent and switch over to sreh once you get them hooked.
In my 1st year I started of with all crescent but broke down after a week, I had instant success and went back to crescent 2 weeks later without any birds leaving.

[Guest]

Geez Mike, Talk about similarities!
St. Louis metro area on IL side check
neighborhood lake check
poorly managed neighborhood housing with ORHs check
100% SREH check
BB success with their own housing check
similar frustration check check

On the bright side I started out in 2004 all SREH and had a successful year. Grew slightly in 2005 so there could be 30 PMs in the area familiar with SREH. So starting out all SREH can be done. Whether or not it is the best method has yet to be determined. One thing for sure, I know I sleep better knowing I have done absolutely everything I can for the PMs. The rest is up to them!

[Guest]

That's Ironic Kent, I'm glad to hear you're having luck, and at least I know there's hope.... Well it's a tough call. The first year I tried for PM I used ORH's and I fought and fought Starlings. I think I wasted my entire spring shooting at starlings. I can remember my joy when I modified my house with SREH's and watching the starlings desperately try to get into the house... haha. I really appreciate all the advice. I have a trio style house that I have modified to dual compartments. I can easily open the other compartment and close off the SREH's for a short period until I lure them in. I may try this on one compartment to see if it brings me any luck. Fortunately I have a clear shot at the compartment. Another question... Once I have them, will it screw them up to rotate the house slightly to put the SREH in the same location as the ORH? It would be into the same compartment, just the other half.... Just a thought. I know what I should do, and that's leave the SREH's in place. I'll probably do this for another month or so and see if it brings me any luck. On a positive note, It sure is wonderful to watch my neighbors play over the lake. At least I get that joy. I just can't help but be a little bit jealous..

Mike

[Guest]

Sorry for the second post

[klcretired]

Mike,
Like meem said stay the course and it will pay off for you. all the other's w/ the round hole entrances are soon to meet disaster w/ a Capital "D".
You are saving your martins and your eggs and your young w/ the sreh's.
I was completely wipped out a few year's back and learned a lesson i had all round hole entrances....my heart was broke...i lost my whole colony.
I changed to all sreh's and have prospered ever since, you will get martins.
Maybe the ones that are checkin out your house are someone elses martins , what i would do is put up a few decoys and play the dawnsong.
Good luck and don't give up.

[Guest]

Wow, I never thought that far in advance. That's terrible KC. That solves it for me. I'll keep them on. I think I've done just about everything possible. I play the dawn song every morning, I have a decoy up, nesting material, smeared mud in the holes, wire trap up and waiting for s&s, ran out last night and bought some cane poles for additional perches. My wife really thinks I'm possessed. I'm sure every one here understands. I'm going to sit here and wait for the subbies to arrive. I'll get them.. I have to stay positive.

Thanks everyone..

[klcretired]

Believe me Mike you are doing the right thing and when all the other sites around you start having problems/Deaths and declining numbers your martins will thank you for the added protection in saving their lives, eggs & young.Just be patient ...."If you build it they will come"!!!!!.
You will get martins.

[Sigundo]

Also, make DARN sure that the holes are large enough. Our birds were having a hell of a time getting in our plastic gourds, we just got them a week or two ago. Well, using some information I got on the forum, I tried the ol' "insert one of those film canister thingies" and none of the gourds would let one pass.

Was trying to figure out how to enlarge them SLIGHTLY with a razor knife, but didn't want to mangle them, then figured to just slide the blade rapidly back and forth on the bottom of the SREH instead of trying to cut the hole bigger.. this allowed me to enlarge the hole in smooth, very small amounts and I just made it large enough for the film canister to slip snugly through. Repeated for all the gourds and now the martins can get in with a bit of wiggling. Starlings trying the same thing can't get in at all.. but they make one heck on an easy target while trying!

Usually I don't have a problem with these entrances being a hair (feather?) too small, so I didn't bother checking them, but I will from now on. If they are changable and you can watch the martins closely, you might try using round holes also then switch, but you need to watch close, especially if your neighbors have starlings nesting as they are pains in the butt, but not stupid, so they learn about human supplied homes, just like the martins do.

[John Miller]

Mike

I hope you will get over to Forest Park, St. Louis, to see some of our housing, now in its second year.

Last year I started our park colony with a three story Trio and a lot of SREH anxiety. SREH works, but there are compromises. You can use needle nose pliers to open up a few holes just a bit, using a 35 mm film canister to measure. When it slips in very very snugly, you've opened a little less than 1/32. Don't over open. With the Trio houses it's feasible to get extra factory SREH doors and put those on later after your martins have begun using the slightly enlarged ones. I have not had starlings enter the slighted enlarged, and you know Forest Park is swimming in starlings, but the SREH is somewhat compromised. I also would not advise trying this on a SREH hole that's more than one-fourth inch above the floor.


You can go all standard SREH with success, especially if you have a good open site and patience.

Good luck to you,
John Miller
St. Louis

[Guest]

... Another question... Once I have them, will it screw them up to rotate the house slightly to put the SREH in the same location as the ORH? It would be into the same compartment, just the other half.... Just a thought....

Martins are rather picky when it comes to their house orientation. If the house is rotated too far, the PMs might view this as not the same site as before, with the possibility of abandoning the site.

I don't know how far is "too far" when it comes to orientation, but I'd try to keep the house, and its openings, as steady as possible.

(Off topic: I heard a story once, told by a frustrated wife. Her husband would go out drinking with his buddies till all hours of the night, come home in the wee-smalls of the morning, reeking of booze, stumbling through the darkened house. When pressed, he would say "this is the last night, I promise," but nothing ever came of it.

I told you that story to tell you this story.

To head off what could become alcoholism, the wife called over a few of her friends one night, while the husband was out drinking. They rearranged the entire living room, moving all of the furniture so that the room was effectively rotated 90-degrees from what it used to be.

Early the next morning, she hears her husband come through the door. Bang! Crash! Thump! ugghhhhh.

The husband got the message.

So, the moral of the story: don't rotate your PM house, because you don't want the PMs to get hurt when they come home from an all night drinking session!)

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

Cool story! I should have thought of that when the kids used to have parties here........

[Nanette]

Sigundo,
Were they SuperGourds? I have yet to have a Martin even try to get in the ones I put up this year. I still have scouts arriving and going into the old houses. I am hoping the subbies will find them attractive.

[TreeGreenwood]

Hatchetman, I also started in ORH territory. I work rotating shifts and can't be around to protect Martins all of the time. I chose to stick with crescent SREH.

I succumbed to 'SREH anxiety' twice and was sorry both times. Two years ago, I enlarged some of my SREH. The compartments were taken over by starlings the next day and I was ordering replacement doors. Last year, after seeing Martins on a new BoVilla rack but not going in the SREH, I opened the round entry holes before leaving for a day shift. When I got home that evening, starlings had taken over all of the Bo Villas with round holes and had driven the Martins away from the rig. Martins nested successfully in my house and gourds with SREH on adjacent poles but the Bo Villas stayed empty last year even though I closed the round holes, opened SREH and shot all the starlings.

It may not be easy or quick. I tried unsuccessfully for three years, jealously looking at Martins on old style houses on fixed poles with round entry holes while my housing just attracted house sparrows to shoot or trap. All it takes is one bird to discover a site free of S&S and to figure out the SREH. I'm confident that I'll have more pairs this year.

Hang in there,

Tree

[Rich Klockenga]

Hatchetman: I use 100% SREH and have all cavities filled every year. If you are useing metal housing make sure you have good footing so the martins can help push themselves through the holes. I used sandpaper type adhesive backed non skid tape at the front of the entrance holes when I had my Trio Castle. I have since changed to all natural gouds with inside and outside porches and the martins are wild about the natural gourds. No matter which housing you use just make sure that you have something the martins little claws can grip into so they can help push themselves through the entrance holes. Once one bird makes the trip others will see and also learn to enter the housing. All of my openings are 1/4 to 3/8 inch above the outside platform. Using various starling and sparrrow traps will also help your control problem. If startings cannot get into the martin housing then they will readily go to a handy nearby trap and you can then dispose of them. If you now have metal housing also hang a few gourds either plastic or natural beneath it, they are real martin magnets and much less male porch dominance. I live a little west of Peoria and the martins are here in force early this season. Good Luck--Rich.

[starling shooter]

Add a couple of gourds underdneath. Also, you could put up a second house, you could go inexpensive and get the SK SREH. Enlarge the compartments

Extra house with gourds underneath and you odds went up dramatically.