SREH for a new colony?

[Jim 1990]

Hello

I had 1 pair of purple martins nest in my gourd rack last year after 10 plus years of trying to get them to stay and nest. The entrance in the gourds have a hole in them. I would like to switch over to SREH as we have starlings around . I do trap them a lot but I am at work during the day so I can not monitor it all the time.

I thought about getting some of the AJUSTABLE SREH as I am nervous about using the 1 3/16 opening and losing my first pair when they come back. Should I leave the gourd that they nested in last year as is and change the other gourds to SREH ?

Is their a chance that altering that gourd that the pair that nested in last year cause me to lose them.

I also want to put put nest check caps and some owl gaurds on this gourd and the others also.

If I alter the gourd to much in this way will my 1 pair nest or will their be a chance that if the gourd is altered to much they will not use it?

Thanks

[Martin man RI]

Hi Jim
Here in New England the SREH was slow to catch on. They have gotten
more popular. I took a chance with all my sites new and old I have
All SREH sites no round holes the birds did nest in round holes. I went to
Crescent gourds,houses,ConleyI,ConleyII, And a new site SREH The birds
had no problems at six different locations. And this is a area saturated
with round holes its the large cavity that is a draw for many Martins not the
size of the hole. Wait till birds are use to SREH... caps are fine but hold off
on owl Gaurd until birds are used to there new holes. The birds should
return and fly in the holes depends on the personalty of the birds some
learn fast and others may take a hour or two but they will not fly off.
Ray

[CraigMo.]

I think you would be fine by changing the entrances. It sure makes it easier to be gone from home when you know most starlings can't enter the gourd. I have a Trio Grandpa with round holes and a gourd rack with 12 Super Gourd crescent openings and the gourds fill up first before the round holes. I too was nervous when my first martins attempted the new crescent openings but they learned and a lot of my worries are gone now. I do have to worry about my Grandpa with Starlings so I shoot as many as I can. If ever I do lose martins to a starling I will be very sad and will then have to modify my Grandpa and put SREH doors on them. Maybe add the owl guards during the middle of the season after eggs are laid. Good Luck

[rehab]

empty

[John Miller]

My hunch -- and it's just that -- is that at a new site that martins more readily enter SREH entries on porched tunnel gourd entrances than on flat SREH entries on a house...and talking about new sites.

That said, I've started several sites with aluminum houses and all crescents, but I think you can be even more confident with your gourds, if you use a good porched SREH entry.

If there are starlings around, I'd not use role holes. It's too risky for martins. Further, if a starling pair sets up in a round hole gourd, others will be even more motivated to try the SREH gourds too and maybe get in. Once one starling pair moves in at a site, others follow unless trapped or shot quickly.

Good luck this season.

John M

[Guest]

I think you've heard good advice here. The bottom line is: if you have starlings around (and you should already be seeing them every morning), then you should definitely use the best SR entrances you can get. If you want to leave a few holes round for a few weeks, go ahead. When the birds are starting to build their nests (some would even wait till egg-laying time), switch them over.

You should start trapping for starlings ASAP. You can build a starling trap in a few hours that is very effective. And there are good ones you can buy. You can put a serious dent in your S&S population by trapping. If shooting is allowed where you live, then FIRE!

[Jim 1990]

Thanks for all the response !!

I did forget to mention my 1st and only pair last year did fledge 5 martins

I do have a SNB trap that works like a starling magnet during the nesting season. I get about 50 starlings . I also have a HS trap that I use. I can shoot them in my area being out in the country.

Another ? is will a pair chose a different gourd or do they use the exact gourd they nested in the year before?

thanks again

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

Jim, the answer to your question is under the title "What Do You think, Returning To Same Cavity Or Not?"

[Bob Buskas]

Jim, go with the SREH, the Martins especially the females prefer them as they know they are more safe. I have been starting new colonies here in Alberta for 10 years now using total SREH. Good Luck!

[KathyF]

Jim, you didn't mention what type gourds you are using - natural or manufactured?

If naturals here's a great archive article that I read just yesterday. Chuck is an experienced landlord and I read everything he writes!


http://purplemartin.org/forumarchives/a ... reSREH.htm

If you've got Troyer Horizontal gourds, then I can tell you from my own experience that I put on the WDC tunneled entrances last year, and my birds actually preferred those gourds over the round-holed gourds.

This tunneled entrance is also available for natural gourds.

http://purplemartin.org/shop/product_in ... 8dc040357a

[Jim 1990]

THe gourds I am using are natural gourds that I have grown. I have more gourds that I have grown last summer that I am going to cut crescents in
and put crescsents in the the older gourds that have holes
Is it best to have porches on crescents. Has anyone used the ajustable crescents from Amish Gourds?

jim 1990

[Tim Stover]

here some natural gourds i put up this weekend i am gonna offer three type of entrance hole i put 90 up like 30 more

[Joe Zorn]

Jim, my two cents...

My original gourd that the colony patriarch has returned to each year is exactly as he found it the first year. All others have either crescents or clingers with porches, and all sorts of changes and innovations in sizes, ventilation schemes, paint techniques, etc. He keeps taking the same one each year.

Why disappoint him? After all, he started it all!

Joe

[Jim 1990]

I hope that I get more pairs this year. while the 5 fleglings were starting to fly and it was late in the year I would see 25 -30 martins visiting every morning until they started there migration south.

If I do leave the one that started my colony like it was when it first came the rest will have will have SREH

I have been starting the trapping early this year. I do think that the starling nest box trap I use during the nesting season has put a dent in the area population.

[Joe Zorn]

Jim, I beleive that you're correct in thinking that those original five babes are going to be the heart of your colony this year. Not all of them, but a couple, I think. And a few of the 25 or 30 who were visiting last year at the end will come back as sell. Those will bring in a few others that have never been there, too. I am betting that you have at least eight or 10 pair this year.

If I do leave the one that started my colony like it was when it first came the rest will have will have SREH

That's the way I did it.

But since I started using the porches with the clinger entrances, I have had no more Starling problems. They do show up, and lots of them. But they can't get in. One problem was that they seemed to like to stand guard, and keep the martins from getting in either.

That's where the pellet gun came in. Starlings are very intellegent. Shoot two or three, and the rest finally leave and stop harassing the site. Then the martins have free run of the colony site.

Sparrows, on the other hand are not so easy to dissuade. They just keep coming back, no mattter how many get blown away.

[Jim 1990]

I remember a couple years ago I came home and seen a starling putting in nesting material in a gourd that had a canopy that I made from aluminum flashing I plugged the hole and he would fly up on that canopy just start pecking like crazy on that canopy he was so fusterated . He wanted in that gourd. That aluminum canopy was shredded with holes that he had pecked in it.
I did get him with the pellet gun.

[DaveHRRTX]

I made some porches out of sheet metal and attached them to the two top compartments on my PM house. Last year I had repeated problems with Starlings inhabiting these compartments.

Glad to say that I have watched the Starlings on several occasions trying to enter these compartments after the porches were attached and in spite of repeated attempts to enter, they have not been able to do so. I watched a trio last weekend spend almost 30 minutes attempting to enter with zero success.

After confirming the success of the porches, the pellet rifle ultimately made sure the Starlings never succeeded.

Hope to see this years PM's soon.

Dave.