Owls, tunnels, and wire guards

[Bulldog1]

From a newbie planning for next year. I only had one pair last year and lots of visitors.

I will be offering 12 gourds next year; 8 Super Gourds all with porches, and 4 natural gourds with tunnels. All have SREHs. I do live close to tracts of woods.

Since I am new to the game, do I wait to put wire owl guards out until martins have nested with eggs laid? This is one option I have read. And I don't want to spook my pair from last year when I had no wire owl guard or tunnels for that matter.

Or do I put wire guards on all the gourds except the guard that was nested last year? Do I need the wire guards on the tunneled gourds?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I would try it both ways to see if they have a preference. I really however don't think that it makes any difference. If your pair makes it back, they will attract some more martins so the guards probably will not affect their choice.

Keep in mind, the owls will not wait until the eggs are laid, they will try to catch your martins within a few days of the martins arrival.

Its best to have guards of some kind on the tunneled gourds.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Back when I only had 2 pairs I didn't dare take a chance of spooking by adding wire gaurds. I installed my gaurds after the young were hatched out.The parents looked everything over for a while then went right back to feeding as usual. I just felt there was less chance for desertion by waiting but like Emil says it might not make any difference at all. I did however have an incident with a gourd containing 3 eggs that has me thinking be very careful what you change and when. The gourd was a troyer horizontal gourd with a cracked lid (1/16th inch crack about 3'' long) I changed out the lid with a new one and the martins immediatly abandoned that gourd, eggs and all. Might have been an extra picky pair and didn't like the skylight removal. I guess in your case there's a risk either way.

[John Miller]

I'd install before the martins arrive. What's reasonable and that they find when they arrive doesn't startle them as much as changes after they have settled in.

The prong-like factory owl guards provide extra perching space. I think martins like them. I see them sometimes slide down the fronts like firemen poles.

There's a description on Sandy Bunn's web site of a GHO gliding in silently at dusk and grapping a martin off a porch. Guards may help preven this, even in tunneled entrances.

Whether the factory guards are good "enough" is a question I ponder...we know that under severe owl pressure, some landlords resort to fencing, but I think the factory guards surely are a good start.

John M

[Linda Reynolds]

Bulldog, certain owls are most definitely threats to martins and considered enemies. Owls are magnificent birds and only doing what they need to do to feed themselves and their young, so while we can be angry when they attack our colonies, we should not blame them for doing what they need to do.

Providing protection in the form of commercial owl guards will help, but because of the owl's mating timeline, I think you should install the owl guards as soon as you can. Martins are very adaptable and will quickly get use to any credible guards that are installed when they arrive for the nesting season.

Considering martins behavior, bear in mind, any wild animal or bird will either FREEZE, or FLEE when confronted by a predator. It is the martins that flee that the owl depends upon. Tunnels provide deep protection, and they *might* prevent a martin from fleeing the cavity if it is attacked. Tunneled entries certainly can't hurt (we offer 100% tunneled SREH entries). To what degree they might help is undetermined. The addition of owl guards gives you an extra layer of protection, but nothing short of caging the entire rack is close to being owl proof.

Because it is off season and things are slow, below you will find some extra information that might help you and others understand the *enemy's* behavior and reproductive timeline.

The mating season for GHOS is in January and February and after mating and laying eggs, they will hatch in 26-35 days. It is at that time they need to find EXTRA food (and perhaps smaller than normal) in order to feed the young. That puts the timeline need for food in the same timeline as martins arriving at colonies in the mid-west (March-April). Your area will also be at risk.

Here is a link that will provide some insight into the GHO and the behavior.

http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus= ... irginianus

Barred owls breed a little later than GHOs, but they are also an enemy of martins. Here is the information, including breeding info, about the barred owl:

http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus= ... cies=varia

Providing protection early in the season is the best thing you can do. Remember, martins are VERY adaptable, and will accept most anything we toss their way. Using SREH is a wonderful example.

[John Miller]

Linda's links provide good information. Want to add my experience that owls in the area certainly are worrisome, but don't always translate to problems. The scattered housing I manage in Forest Park, St. Louis, has not been attacked, that I know of, and each year there's a pair of GHOs that nest in the park. One guy tracks them and posts updates on his website and has even given them names, Charles and Sarah..(whew).

I suspect having housing in a very open area -- where an owl can't sit nearby an listen to sounds coming from the house -- and maybe limiting the size of the colony helps, but there are variables to every location. Having lots of rabbits and squirrles around probably helps too.

John M

[Bulldog1]

Looking forward to next spring. I will have a variety of options for the martins to choose from. This forum has been invaluable.

[Penny Briscoe]

I had the same concern last summer about whether the owl guards would frighten my martins, but I decided to go with the owl guards from the beginning of spring on ALL gourds, but the owl grates around my three, 12-unit metal houses was progressive. I held off on two of the metal houses until I saw that the martins actually LOVE the metal grates and gourd owl guards. They perch all over them and actually seem happier! These birds LOVE to perch! My neighbor had problems with owls this year, big problems, so I was very thankful I had these guards. I'd say attach to half of your housing in the beginning while pretty much knowing that you will need and want more BEFORE nesting season sets in. Now if only there was something so simple to ward off house sparrows, which I eliminated one by one all season, totaling well over 30, by traps on the ground, bird house traps on poles, and a Daisy Red Rider BB gun. Starlings, of some concern for me, have been controlled with starling resistant entrances. I have 54 housing units altogether, and fledglings numbered over 100 last year, even with losing some to sparrows and the heat (likely mites and blow flies and some jumpers).