Hello All
Any one here Mulch there nesting.
Got to thinking about cutting up pine needles. Never have cut up pine needles for my nest. Just used them as they were.
Google found you can mulch pine needles. So the picture will show what I saw.
They also said a lawn mower will mulch pine needles' to..
The other day when I saw $29 for 4 pounds of a type mulch. That did it for me. Just buy me a
a mulcher. Going to buy this one.
I would be curious to see how they turned out if they are mulched. The long needles are better then the short ones because the longer ones are more pliable and thus not as "pokey" as the short thicker pine needles. The pine straw also sheds water really well. I wander if you mulched them if they would be more likely to retain moisture. I don't see any need to change them at all. I put some in some of my cavities so the martins have something to help keep them warm if it's cool for the early arrivals. All of the ASY martins I have build a substantial nest over the pine needles. Occasionally an inexperienced SY pair will not add anything to the nest. I don't think there is anything to gain by messing with pine straw.
I agree with flyin-lowe. It's hard to beat the pine needles as they are. They won't hold moisture but make a good base layer for whatever the Martins want to add over the top of them.
Hello all
Thanks for your post input.
Like the old saying goes, Time will tell
Rest of gourds came. Got to looking at all the hole i n the bottom of these gourds,
Must be for all the condensation. moister.
I was thinking if the inside of the gourds was sprayed or coated. Might cut down some condensation.
Later and stay safe
I also think the needles should be left long. You need to grab a handful and form them into into a round shape before putting them in the nest cavities. They will provide some cushion for the birds and eggs. If you mulch them, then they will not maintain any type of shape and the eggs might get lost if the mulch is too deep.
Don't try to overthink it, the Martins will use the pine needles to their liking, and some might even remove the needles from the nest compartment altogether. No way they can do that if it is a mulch. I 'm thinking the baby birds would really have a problem with the pointy pieces of mulched pine needles.
Hello All
My electric mulches arrived today.
Putting it together was a breeze well designed.
Wen I looked down in the mulcher. You could have nocked me over .
No blades . I had brought my self a tub weed eater. --
You can set the size of mulch needed. That's a plus.
Later
Going to buy this one. 
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