Owl problem

[snowbug]

Great horned owl problem has really gotten bad so I am going to try this guard in 2012.
I just finished making and erecting this system. The winch system allows lowering of the houses while the fence guard stays up top in place.
Question: Is the fence low enough? The bottom of fence is 6" below the lower porches and it is 9 1/2' diameter.

[Louise Chambers]

You did a beautiful job on the owl cage & support structure. A couple of landlords have reported owls flying up from the ground, or up inside a cage from below, so you might want to extend the bottom guards further, or attach some fencing to the bottom of each of the three housing units, so it can ride up and down with them.

If you look in the archives, and search the forum for posts by Kent Justus, he has a lot of experience with owls and making cage guards.

Edit: here's a thread about owl guards

http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewt ... highlight=

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

That is a very nice looking guard, and I hope it works for you. It seems to me like it will work but that is just my opinion.

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

Wow, perfect job! The next time I need some metal work done I will give you a call!

[John Miller]

Can martins get through this fencing? I was looking at the thread by Kent and he says he is using 2 x 3 inch, and looking at his photos, it looks like his fencing is positioned so the holes are 3 inch wide by 2 inch tall. Your fence look to be the same size, but appears to be turned opposite -- so two inch wide, and I'd think would be harder for martins to navigate? Just concerned. Others with more experience on this may know.

John M

[Kathy in VA]

That's a really nice-looking guard around your housing, snowbug! I, too, had noticed the orientation of the wire "boxes" and had remembered seeing this forum archives article: http://www.purplemartin.org/forumarchiv ... guards.htm with a bold note added at the end that recommended attaching the wire so the openings are longer, horizontally, even though the photo at the top shows the boxes running the other way (tall and skinny)--but it doesn't say why. I don't have any experience with using wire in either direction, but it's just an observation. But the guard looks super...really sharp--great job!

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I have about 10 of my tunnels that are 2in wide, and a few that are about 1.9in, and the martins don't seem to have any problems entering. After all, a lot of round holes are 2in holes, so I definitely don't think that the orientation is wrong. I would think that either method is fine, its probably not an issue

[Guest]

I'm sure the PM's will zip right thru either gap orientation,the entrances on housing does'n't slow them down much at all..The orientation of the fence putting the longer dimensions in the horizontal as mentioned would be easier and may just be the split second a PM may need to escape that hawk.

Good idea Louise about attaching some fence material to the bottom of the housing and it may just act two fold as a safety net for jumpers,hmmmmmmm

Good Job

dick

[John Miller]

I think if starting from scratch I'd still prefer a horizontal opening to a cage because I'd want the martins to pass through the cage more quickly -- their wings still partly open -- in route to the houseing entrances, or exiting. I do see birds like robins and cardinals jump right through chain link fencing, so it may be okay. Of course the primary goal is owl protection and this should work.

Welcome to the Forum!

John M

[~Ray~Gingerich]

They will use 2x4 wire in both vertical or horizontal orientation. Horizontal orientation provides more tail support. The only thing I don't like about wire fencing is the wires slip between the tail feathers when perching, I've been thinking of possibly weaving in a thin piece of plastic below the entrance space for tail support.

[snowbug]

Thanks to all for your responses! I probably should have researched the fence orientation a bit more. Now it will be a wait and see as to how it works. I do have a plan to close the bottom with fence if needed.

In addition to this 36 rooms of Lonestar housing, I have a gourd rack with 21 porched super gourds that I will probably be covering with fence also for owl protection. I installed owl guards (from PMCA shop) before the 2011 season but additional protection is needed.

Question: If I was to cut some of the openings to be 4"x4" (rather than the 2"x4"), what would the effect be? Is 4x4 to large? My primary predator is the Great Horned Owl which is very large, but Coopers Hawks are also an issue. Thoughts?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

The 4x4 should work fine for larger owls, but a small owl like a screech owl could get thru the opening. If you have no small owls, then it sure should make it easier for the martins to have the 4x4 opening