Martins will not enter gourds

[michelle612]

So I need some input. A Little background. I have been in the Martin world for years. I moved from my last home on the water and left my martin house with the new owners. The colony was wonderful and grew very large. Since this time I find myself back on the water a little further north in Harrison Twp MI. When i moved in the neighbor to the south had just started his colony using the older style house -metal rows-three rows of three, he has been successful. He has done great. Two years ago I put up the gourds with cresent entrances-the neighbors martins come to my gourds and look inside, but have never nested. Last year they made nests but never stayed. Neighbors house is much much higher than mine. I have included photos. I am unsure what is going on and what can I change to attract. Years ago the nabor next door, had quite a colony right next to my set up, He has since passed and the house has been down for years. He also had the old style house, metal -any input would be great. Not sure if they like the height of house next door. we are right on lake st clair. See pics-The first photo is the nabors martin house, its a 3 row round holes, the next two photos are my gourds rack, with crescent entrances. Any suggestions would be great-Thanks in advance

[Unk Bond]

Hello
Had 2 T14 houses
Bought some gourds Too them 3 years to except them
They would perch on them But wouldn't inter [ Later Unk

[Bird Brain]

I'll take a stab at this since nobody else will. When martins are used to the round hole, a starling resistant hole might seem a little bothersome and difficult to maneuver. Martins are lazy birds. They don't want to work any harder than necessary. Imagine having a 2 door sedan with a back seat and also having a 4 door sedan. Which back seat is easier to get in and out of? All things take the path of least resistance. Your neighbors martins like the round hole because it's easier for them. They probably have no idea that the SREH is for their own protection. I witnessed my own martins struggling at first with my Conley 2 entrance holes. It was obvious to me that they were used to different entrances at their last breeding site. They now maneuver them very well, but it took some practice. If starlings aren't an issue, maybe offer some round holes to get your colony started. Then gradually switch back over to SREH entrances. Also, gourds with porches make SREHs easier for martins to maneuver. Remember, you're only competing with your neighbor if both of you have empty cavities. Once his site fill up, you won't have any competition and your SREH entrances will be more readily accepted. I think a little patience might be required if your entrance holes are more difficult to maneuver than your neighbors. I'm not 100% sure this is the problem with your sight. Hard to tell with your pics. Just thought I'd relay my observation. Good luck.

[Unk Bond]

Hello
Beg to differ
My 3 T 14 houses and gourds Had the same inertance hole
Neither hole was round. And my T14 houses was almost field to capacity

Maybe I didn't have lazy birds Smile ] Later Unk

[jhcox]

I have over 80 cavities and they are all the crescent style entrance. I believe as the neighbors colony fills to capacity the over flow of martins looking for a place to nest and raise their young will gravitate to your site. Whether they a SY's ASY's over time they will figure out the new style of entrance. Their desire to mate and nest will push them to figure out the entrances. Just don't give up they will get it.. If they can figure out how to migrate to south America and back and find the same gourds as the year before i don't see the style of entrance being to difficult for them. And just my two cents the round holes can be a major issue if you have a large number of startling's (AKA Rat birds) in your area. They can stop a colony from ever starting or ruin an already established colony. The Crescent and Conley style entrances stop 98% of the starlings from ever entering the cavities at all.

God Bless,
JHCox Heiskell TN

[SE Wisc hopefull]

Michelle,

Best of luck, side note... have any PMs returned to you so far. You are about 42.5N and so am I just further west in WI. I had 3 nesting pairs (and many males) that fledged successfully last year. So far there are returns reported all around me but mine are AWOL ... nervous nelly here. Weather is cold and first pair arrived Mid May last year, so not at full blown panic yet, but getting close.
Rob

[Matt F.]

Bird Brain - I agree with you 100%. Though there are a lot of people that are lucky enough to start colonies right off with all SREH entrances, however there are some that were not able to get any takers until they first offered some round holes. I don't understand why some people feel the need to disagree with that, as each situation is different.
There are many that will say, "if the Martins want in, they'll stay, and learn to use the starling resistant entrances".
This is true, but it can be a bit more complicated than that.
True, there are many folks that have been blessed with being able to start a colony with no problems, with all SREHs.
If the conditions are right (very open site, Martin-rich area, etc.) the Martins will quickly force themselves to learn, and accept SREHs, because the site and conditions are very good.
If conditions are not right (non-open area (lots of trees, etc.), an area with low overall Martin numbers, etc.) the potential landlords are dealing with a situation where investigating Martins may be much less enthusiastic about a site, and any hurdles (which may include a foreign looking entrance hole that is hard to traverse for a Martin that has never seen one), no matter how small, may be a deal breaker.
Offering a few, small compartments with round holes, or better yet, a few larger compartments with the ability to switch to an SREH on the fly once a pair has committed, has been the key for many (including myself) to attracting that first pair.

[C.C.Martins]

So I need some input. A Little background. I have been in the Martin world for years. I moved from my last home on the water and left my martin house with the new owners. The colony was wonderful and grew very large. Since this time I find myself back on the water a little further north in Harrison Twp MI. When i moved in the neighbor to the south had just started his colony using the older style house -metal rows-three rows of three, he has been successful. He has done great. Two years ago I put up the gourds with cresent entrances-the neighbors martins come to my gourds and look inside, but have never nested. Last year they made nests but never stayed. Neighbors house is much much higher than mine. I have included photos. I am unsure what is going on and what can I change to attract. Years ago the nabor next door, had quite a colony right next to my set up, He has since passed and the house has been down for years. He also had the old style house, metal -any input would be great. Not sure if they like the height of house next door. we are right on lake st clair. See pics-The first photo is the nabors martin house, its a 3 row round holes, the next two photos are my gourds rack, with crescent entrances. Any suggestions would be great-Thanks in advance

Here's my go: those look to be excluder gourds, good gourds!
Measure your entrances, PMCA sent out a note from the manufacturer about entrances being too small. I know I had to fix a few. Should be 1 3/16. Ours came in at about an inch. Its an easy fix, just a bit of careful cutting.
Hope this helps,
Tom

[RC Moser]

My question do you have starlings in that area? if you do then IMO you need srehs (crescents) protect PMs. The one checking out you're gourds maybe your neighbors that already chosen nest and just curious. IMO all you can do put housing up and hope you will get them eventually. IMO nothing wrong with location or height. I also think it early I season way up north so see out works out. I've had Crescents entries also pass years the PM can easily get in them if the want to IMO.