Good Afternoon,
I was planning on starting a colony on a nearby golf course that is adjacent to a large body of water where Purple Martins are fairly regularly found on migration. However, first I have a few questions:
1. Would a single T-14 house be enough to start a colony?
2. While this is relatively far from buildings, would regular foot traffic compensate for that distance?
3. Would SREHs discourage the founding of a new colony?
4. The house will have about 50' of clear space around it, however, it is still surrounded by trees in two directions beyond that. Should I make the pole taller to make the house more obvious?
Some Questions About New Colony
Hello Aiden:
I manage a colony at a local golf course near me and I must say that is has been a wonderful experience. It has been a lot of work at times with setting it up and getting rid of the sparrows however it has been well worth it. I would erect a combination of gourds and houses to broaden the appeal of your site to more martins. I personally prefer Troyer gourds as I find them the easiest to manage and I prefer gourds over houses. My gourds and houses are far from buildings and the martins don't seem to mind however there is activity most of the day with golfers and grounds crew. I had the same concerns about SREH and actually switched the openings over to the regular entrances for a spell and was quickly rewarded with buckets of starlings. If martins want to colonize your site they will enter SREH entrances no problem, it might take them a few tries but they will get it done. I am confident SREH entrances have saved many a martin at my colony.
Finally I would put the birdhouse in the most open area available to you preferably close to the water because I think they like that the most. Placing the birdhouse higher relative to the trees will make the site more attractive. I believe that proximity to trees is not as important when water is close by however I could be wrong since I am still a novice landlord. Another piece of advice I can give is to never give up, it just takes one martin pair to colonize and they will bring the rest of the birds in, it is quite amazing to see. Good luck, raising purple martins is an awesome and addictive hobby.
Les
I manage a colony at a local golf course near me and I must say that is has been a wonderful experience. It has been a lot of work at times with setting it up and getting rid of the sparrows however it has been well worth it. I would erect a combination of gourds and houses to broaden the appeal of your site to more martins. I personally prefer Troyer gourds as I find them the easiest to manage and I prefer gourds over houses. My gourds and houses are far from buildings and the martins don't seem to mind however there is activity most of the day with golfers and grounds crew. I had the same concerns about SREH and actually switched the openings over to the regular entrances for a spell and was quickly rewarded with buckets of starlings. If martins want to colonize your site they will enter SREH entrances no problem, it might take them a few tries but they will get it done. I am confident SREH entrances have saved many a martin at my colony.
Finally I would put the birdhouse in the most open area available to you preferably close to the water because I think they like that the most. Placing the birdhouse higher relative to the trees will make the site more attractive. I believe that proximity to trees is not as important when water is close by however I could be wrong since I am still a novice landlord. Another piece of advice I can give is to never give up, it just takes one martin pair to colonize and they will bring the rest of the birds in, it is quite amazing to see. Good luck, raising purple martins is an awesome and addictive hobby.
Les
I have used wooden houses for years and was surprised how the Martins quickly switched over to plastic gourds. Troyer horizontal gourds offer good protection against owls, a late night predator.
I would start with Sreh openings and see how it goes. There may be allot of Starlings and sparrows there or may not.
A higher pole (14'-16') will give the Martins a better chance to escape from Hawks. Unfortunately, if you are successful it will draw a certain amount of predators.
Open water nearby is a big asset to Martins. They will hunt small bugs there and it will provide drinking water for the adults and young.
Good Luck with your setup.
I would start with Sreh openings and see how it goes. There may be allot of Starlings and sparrows there or may not.
A higher pole (14'-16') will give the Martins a better chance to escape from Hawks. Unfortunately, if you are successful it will draw a certain amount of predators.
Open water nearby is a big asset to Martins. They will hunt small bugs there and it will provide drinking water for the adults and young.
Good Luck with your setup.
Colony started in 2002
Offering 82 Troyer Horizontal Gourds
2018 - 45 PAIR - FLEDGED 203 MARTINS
2019 - 68 PAIR - FLEDGED 268 MARTINS
2020 - 82 PAIR - FLEDGED 392 MARTINS
2021 - 78 PAIR - FLEDGED 349 MARTINS
2022 - 76 PAIR - FLEDGED 373 MARTINS
2023 - 68 PAIR - FLEDGED 355 MARTINS
*2023 Added 2”X4” wire cages to all three Troyer Gemini Gourd Racks to deal with Great Horned Owl predation on Colony.
Offering 82 Troyer Horizontal Gourds
2018 - 45 PAIR - FLEDGED 203 MARTINS
2019 - 68 PAIR - FLEDGED 268 MARTINS
2020 - 82 PAIR - FLEDGED 392 MARTINS
2021 - 78 PAIR - FLEDGED 349 MARTINS
2022 - 76 PAIR - FLEDGED 373 MARTINS
2023 - 68 PAIR - FLEDGED 355 MARTINS
*2023 Added 2”X4” wire cages to all three Troyer Gemini Gourd Racks to deal with Great Horned Owl predation on Colony.
-
Dave Reynolds
- Posts: 2441
- Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 4:35 pm
- Location: Little Hocking, Oh.
- Martin Colony History: Satellite Site “Oxbow Golf Course”..
2018 - 15 Pair, 36 Fledged
2019 - 26 Pair, 97 Fledged
2020 - 30 Pair, 137 Fledged
2021 - 30 Pair, 144 Fledged
2022 - 27 Pair, 125 Fledged
2023 - 31 Pair, 130 Fledged
2024 - 41 Pair, 198 Fledged
2025 - 44 Pair, 168 Fledged
Home Site "Little Hocking, Ohio".
2019 - 1 Pair, 5 Fledged
2020 - 1 Pair, 4 Fledged
2021 - 8 Pair, 36 Fledged
2022 - 13 Pair, 46 Fledged
2023 - 16 Pair, 84 Fledged
2024 - 22 Pair, 104 Fledged
2025 - 28 Pair, 83 Fledged
Aiden -- Welcome to the PMCA and the forum.. I started my colony on our local golf course. This was my first year at being a landlord. I put up two Trio Houses with expanded rooms on a single pole with 4 Troyer horizontal gourds under the houses. I used the Conley11 Entrances on all of the houses and gourds. It was a great success for the first year. They took to the Troyer Horizontal gourds first and then fill up the houses.
Have 15 pair this year.. Good Luck
Dave
Have 15 pair this year.. Good Luck
Dave
PMCA Member
Little Hocking, Ohio
Little Hocking, Ohio