Heat and metal houses

[Rupert]

We have had a a farm in north Florida since 2004 with eight Martin houses . This year, as of the first of May, seven were being used with nests established. I was there last weekend and all of the metal houses ,four in all, were abandoned. One wood and the two plastic houses were full and happy.I can only attribute this to our drought and high temperatures. Has anyone experienced this type of event before? I checked all of the empty nests and they were in good shape with no signs of trauma.

[flyin-lowe]

I would think in Florida you should have had eggs and or babies already. I don't think martins would abandon a site completely based on heat alone assuming they still had eggs and babies. If there were babies and they all died I guess they might leave but I think there would have been some evidence of that. It sounds like you don't live at this site, is that correct? There could be any number of reasons that they are gone but if this late in the year the nests were empty I would say a predator attack is the likely cause. I do not know if they would have emptied a nest if they had babies that died.

[Louise Chambers]

I don't think good quality metal houses would be hotter than other types of housing. Are there guards on the poles to keep snakes and raccoons from raiding the nests?

[Thurman Seber~TN]

It sounds to me as if you have had other problems with your martins. My first guess would be a snake problem.

[Rupert]

I appreciate the response. The confusing part of this problem is that our wooden and plastic houses are next to the abandoned ones with active feeding of young . They are grouped 3,3,and 2 with each group 300 to 400 yards apart. I have no hawks no known snake problems and no sign of any damage to the nests in the metal homes . Therefore it still seems to be a metal / heat issue. But this is only a guess.

[Mary Dawnsong]

Hi Rupert,

Thermal qualities of various types of martin housing:

http://www.chuckspurplemartinpage.com/thermals.htm

http://purplemartin.org/forumarchives/a ... lastic.htm

Do you do nest checks?
If so, at what stage of the breeding season were the families in those houses?
If you found no dead nestlings in the compartments and no jumpers on the ground, then I would assume they fledged.
If fledging age, then I would expect them to leave ASAP if heat is excessive.

My best, Mary

[Rupert]

Mary, thanks for the information, it would not appear my metal/ heat thought is correct. We do not do nest checks as our farm is currently some 300 miles from where we live, and we are there only once or twice a month.My concern being that the birds are not accustomed to our presence and are nervous when I approach their houses. We were there on May 3rd and not again until last Friday.On May 3rd all seven houses had birds actively constructing nests and last Friday the houses being used were full of young birds whereas the abandoned ones had completed nests that were in good shape, and showed no signs of ever being used. Maybe this mystery has no solution.

[Rupert]

Mary, one correction, I meant to say my metal/heat idea does not appear to be correct.

[Louise Chambers]

If the houses were raided by a snake, there is no sign afterwards except empty nests, so that is one possibility. Do you have guards on the poles? If not, adding them to the remaining houses would be a good idea.

[Rupert]

More confusion on my part, guess I said it right the first time. Hunt and peck typist.

[Rupert]

Louise, no snake guards at this time .The active houses are about 25 feet from the empty ones,and the houses are grouped 3,3,2,with each set some 300 yards apart. Therefore snakes would not seem to be the problem.

[jmeyer]

Without any guards I would bet money it was a snake. If it cleaned out an entire house without damaging the nests it was most likely a snake. If you do not add guards to the other housing they will be empty the next time you go there. Never assume a snake cannot be the problem. When you do that, it just makes it easier for them to sneak in. They can climb any type of pole. Just because the other houses have not been hit doesn't mean they won't be soon.

[Scott D.- La]

I have done temperature testing on Coates Aluminum houses. Mine are insulated so I may not be able to convince you that it is not the heat. My testing revealed that well insulated aluminum houses can perform close to wood houses with much thicker wall's, and outperform any gourd on the market as for as temperature is concerned. Coates houses have reflective roof's that make for effective radiant barrier's. Like other's have stated, it was most likely a snake and snakes are a problem no matter how far your houses are apart. You got very lucky! There are predator's that will catch a snake and could have been the reason it did not get to your other housing.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

My guess is that snakes got into some of your housing, so please do not discount that possibility, I think that is why some were abandoned.

[Thurman Seber~TN]

Snakes are a common problem. It got all it could eat before...but will be back for the rest before long very likely