when the asy male came this year he would go into an obround hole in the t-14. when the female came she wouldn't enter the obround hole. so after 2 days of this we drilled a round hole next to the obround in the same compartment the male had staked out. This is the compartment they selected. they just piled up cedar mulch in front of the obround.
well I want them to be used to obrounds for next year...starling season is March to June 1st....so this morning we covered the round hole and just offered the obround hole.
the female came, landed on the right compartment floor, looked into the obround, wouldn't enter, and then started investigating any compartments on that side of the t-14 that had round holes. including the gourd that she actually entered (she had a bug in her mouth). After about 5 minutes of looking in all the round hole compartments she sat on a perch and ate the bug and then flew off. About 10 minutes later she came back and repeated all this...never going into her nest. about 30 minutes went by until the male came back with a bug...the female was right behind him. they landed on the nest floor, the male knocked the female off the porch and she flew off, and he looked into the obround and entered. Later she came back and entered too. Now they are still landing sometimes on the wrong floor, but eventually they go to the correct floor and feed the young.
looks to me like there is some key to them on the shape of the hole as well as the exact position in the t-14.
well finally all is well.
sharon
anxiety..switched hole shape...
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Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Yes, Sharon - it is the location of the hole. Ordinarily, when landlords switch to SREH, the hole stays in the same place and the orientation to the nest is the same. It sounds like your female was having trouble locating the young in the nest because the orientation of the nest to the hole had changed.
This would be a big no-no in most cases. I'm glad your parent birds have worked out the change. I'm sure you can see why everybody stresses, "don't change the orientation of your housing". I always thought this to mean, don't let the housing turn on the pole - but, your example shows that we shouldn't be making drastic changes to the entrance hole location, either.
Please keep an eye on them and make sure they don't have any more problems. I honestly believe some PMs wake up in a new world everyday - duh...
This would be a big no-no in most cases. I'm glad your parent birds have worked out the change. I'm sure you can see why everybody stresses, "don't change the orientation of your housing". I always thought this to mean, don't let the housing turn on the pole - but, your example shows that we shouldn't be making drastic changes to the entrance hole location, either.
Please keep an eye on them and make sure they don't have any more problems. I honestly believe some PMs wake up in a new world everyday - duh...
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne
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Guest
Laverne.
I knew not to change the orientation in terms of direction.
just want to talk this through....
on the T-14 on a wooden pole you cannot change the direction of the hole opening. remember the nest box had two openings, one round and one obround. they had put mulch in front of the obround. what I did was close up the round and open the obround, all on the same compartment on the same floor, and pole did not swing.
so are you saying that changing the opening a few inches to the left is in effect changing the orientation? I guess it is changing the orientation to the center of the nest itself. but barely changing the orientation on the pole. interesting. my husband was telling me to leave success alone, and not worry about next year or hawks.
well, I am watching them, and they are going in and out, but standing on the porch now sometimes. they never used to do that. will continue watching them.
sharon
I knew not to change the orientation in terms of direction.
just want to talk this through....
on the T-14 on a wooden pole you cannot change the direction of the hole opening. remember the nest box had two openings, one round and one obround. they had put mulch in front of the obround. what I did was close up the round and open the obround, all on the same compartment on the same floor, and pole did not swing.
so are you saying that changing the opening a few inches to the left is in effect changing the orientation? I guess it is changing the orientation to the center of the nest itself. but barely changing the orientation on the pole. interesting. my husband was telling me to leave success alone, and not worry about next year or hawks.
well, I am watching them, and they are going in and out, but standing on the porch now sometimes. they never used to do that. will continue watching them.
sharon
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Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Yes, Sharon, I was talking about orientation of the entrance hole in relation to the nest (not the pole). That's what I was surprised about - I didn't know it would bother them at all. Obviously, it does cause some confusion on the part of the parent birds.
I would just trying to point this out to everybody - to keep it in the back of your mind - Purple Martins can be easily confused by the simplest change. I was also trying to stress the point that entrance holes can be changed to SREH or back again without a problem as long as the hole itself does not change position on the nest cavity.
Am I making any sense?
I would just trying to point this out to everybody - to keep it in the back of your mind - Purple Martins can be easily confused by the simplest change. I was also trying to stress the point that entrance holes can be changed to SREH or back again without a problem as long as the hole itself does not change position on the nest cavity.
Am I making any sense?
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne
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Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
you didn't do anything wrong, Sharon - you just discovered another little quirk we need to be mindful of when messing around with our PM housing.
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne
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Guest
well life is interesting...would not have thought the confusion was the position of the hole. since the female was looking at all the other round holes I thought it was the shape. she didn't look at other obround holes on that side of the house.
but...she didn't tell me what she was thinking, so maybe shape and position all played a role. thank goodness the asy male used to go in that obround hole in the same compartment, so he went in quite easily.
was a little worried though when she flew off 2 times without entering the hole. and then didn't come back for 20-30 minutes. big anxiety!!
sharon
but...she didn't tell me what she was thinking, so maybe shape and position all played a role. thank goodness the asy male used to go in that obround hole in the same compartment, so he went in quite easily.
was a little worried though when she flew off 2 times without entering the hole. and then didn't come back for 20-30 minutes. big anxiety!!
sharon