First Sightings

[John Pearson]

Hi Gang,

I was on the general Round table conference and saw that 'Sugarland' was looking for confirmation that there were birds spotted in Houston. No one has responded to her but I got to thinking when our average sighting has been through the years, so I researched our last 3 years colony data. The average seems to hover around the last week in February (21-27) but I did notice where a number of our club's landlords have reported first sightings in the first week of February. And that's northern Texas.

Based on our data from previous seasons the purple martins are very likely in Houston and heading north by this time. Unless this is an unusual year, one or two of our landlords should be reporting sightings next week. Personally my birds always arrive the first week in March like clock work but I'm starting to get jazzed that a new season is underway. I never thought I would say that after the debacle of last season. I guess time heals all.

When do you put out your houses/ gourds? Is there an optimal time? When you first put them up, do you close off all the holes or do you leave some open? Do you have a better chance picking up some early scouts if you open early or do you attracted S&S pests sooner?

Good times are coming.
John

[ranchonodinero]

Last year they arrived January 24th. I am a bit West in Parker County. It seems the weather was more temperate than this year. I poured the post for an AAA gourd rack and will have 16 gourds. I have a "grandma" martin house and although it did attract Martins, I was constantly practicing my marksmanship on sparrows and starlings. I hope to get the AAA up this weekend and start the electronic caller.

[John Pearson]

Good luck with your project this weekend and I hope the weather is not an obstacle. The weather has been much colder this year than last so I hope it doesn't affect their food source of insects.

I'm going on my 6th year as a landlord and I'm finding that the longer I do it the less and less sparrows and starlings I get each year. I also have an S&S controller that I made from plans that I swear by. It's almost funny how my neighbor across the street will have a flock of starlings in his front yard and not one will cross over and go into my back yard. It's almost like they know what is going on. However, I still can't stop completely or I'm sure I would be inundated. I also have insert traps for every house compartment and gourd I have. I never heard of a "Grandma" house- is it old?

Please keep us posted on any Purple Martin activity out your way.Thanks.
John

[John Balga]

Hi John,
Nice to see that martins are coming in to your area and are holding back due to cooler weather .
The TG-8 Trio Grandma martin house is a commercially manufactured, aluminum martin house produced by Nature House. It has 8 compartments and the rope lanyard system to raise and lower the house vertically. It also has all aluminum construction, guard rails, individual flip-out doors, dri-nest subfloors, door stops, a standard 14' sectional steel pole, and other features that make managing your martin colony very easy. It is recommended that you modify the TG-8 Trio Grandma house from it's standard 6"x6" compartments to larger 6"x12" compartments.
I found this information on another website and am not sure whether it is still made. Hope this helps.
JOHN
ECPMA

[John Pearson]

Thanks John. I have two poles now; one with house compartments and one with gourds. The gourd pole is a telescoping pole and it wears me out. It's a sturdy pole that handles the wind fine but it's more of a chore raising and lowering. I keep talking about replacing it so I'm always interested to hear what other folks are using and what they like about their setups.

[Robert Mohler]

Hi John,

This year we put up two new Coates WaterEdge 8 room suites. Have the nice square pole and winch. It is like the one you have setup. Bought two more Super Gourds making four now and we have the Trio "Mini Trio" Castle 12compartments that we converted to six rooms last year. Our houses are up, entrance holes are plugged, and all compartments are filled with pine straw. We're ready to go. Looking forward to this year since we will have double the compartments and triple the enjoyment of watching, listening and mothering our colony. This is the first year we've put up decoys so may entice a few more to stop on their way north. :wink: Thanks for all your help on housing recommendations and for moderating our sight here at The Round Table. Always enjoy reading and hearing what others have to share.

Wishing all a very sucessful 2010 Martin year.

Robert & Sammie
Fort Worth, TX

[John Pearson]

Hey Robert,
I still have all my housing and things packed in the garage. Maybe this weekend I'll get going with my colony housing. My birds arrive almost like clock work on the Sixth of March so I feel like I still have some time. I'm probably missing some opportunity to thin the S&S masses with my Controller. I'll definetly get that up this weekend.

You close all your entrances? I usually leave one or two open but invariably get a sparrow or two. Hopefully this will be a better year!
John

[ranchonodinero]

I put my gourd rack up this past weekend. It was chilly, but not too bad and despite all the cold weather, there are bugs-no dragon flies yet. Of my 16 gourds, all but 2 have SREH entrances. I positioned those 2 where I would have a clear line of sight. I am going to move the "grandma" house closer to the trees and plug all the entrances on the back side so that I will have a better sight picture of them. I got the plan for the S&S controller, but just haven't got the materials to put one together.

Marty

[Robert Mohler]

Hey Marty,

That new gourd rack should be a nice place for the martins this year. Do you modify your gourds with a 90 degree PVC elbows for venting the hot interior air of the gourd? We installed them on our gourds last year and I believe it made a big difference. This year, we covered the exterior part of the elbow with screen and fixed a hose clamp over to hold the screen in place. This way if there are any mud dobber wasps around they can't get up into the elbow and block the vent.

Keep us posted if you see any Martins over there in Parker County.

Robert

[John Pearson]

Hey Marty,
I got the plans and built mine too. I did buy the teeter toter and then just built a box around it. It's only up about 10 feet in the air on a 12 foot 2X4 I cut 2 feet off to mount on the bottom of the box/ controller. Then I attach the controller to the longer 2X4 with screws at 90 degrees through the piece attached to the box into the 10 foot piece from the ground. The funny thing is that I swear the S&S vermin seem to be more attracted to the trap than the colony compartments. I think that is especially true when the martins arrive because they are competition for the colony housing but have no interest in the trap. The trap is shorter and closer to a tree in my backyard. I tell other landlords that I couldn't live without mine. Good luck.
John