One more thing to try

sully · Wed Mar 19, 2014 1:03 am

About 4 or 5 years back I wrote a message about helping a friend get a colony started. He did everything perfect,houses,gourds,all types,bed & breakfast,dawnsong. Anyway after about 4 years he was stuck with 2 pair every year. He would get visitors but they didn't stay. With nothing to lose we decided to take some of my gourds that fall with nest and we exchanged 8 gourds. Next spring he got 10 pair and they used every gourd we exchanged. the following year we exchanged 10 more and the following year they filled up all 10. We soaked these nest with liquid sevin and let them dry a couple of weeks. Anyway my point being he had 4 years for the 2 pair to attract more birds and it didn't happen. And there is no way it was a coincidence that they just happened to use those 18 gourds out of 36 possible plus 2 T14 houses. I also called the company that produces sevin. They had a chemist return my call and he told me it turns inert after 7 days. He now has a very large colony and most everything is filled but the T14 houses.

taxidermy lady · Wed Mar 19, 2014 5:52 am

Hi Sully, do you think they knew that birds had nested in your gourds????
Did he put the nesting material in his???? I am wondering if mine has to much straw, it may look to puffy. I cut my straw in smaller pieces so it would lay flat. Could be a person has to make that perfect nest look for them. have a great year.

Emil Pampell-Tx · Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:13 am

I have a lot of natural gourds, and occasionally a couple will rot, and I must replace them. I too noticed that the martins were reluctant to use the new replacement. I think that they like to use gourds that have been used before.

I even leave some old nesting material in the nest. Before I hang them, I take the dry gourds, and shake out all the loose droppings, then hose down the remaining sticks, pour out the dirty water, rinse again, and then i leave the old sticks in the nest. I think that this saves them a lot of time in nestbuilding. When they again are good and dry, I then add some clean pine needles and leaves, a little bit of sevin, and they sure do seem to like them. All the nests then have a good solid base

taxidermy lady · Wed Mar 19, 2014 7:57 am

Hi Emil, So what is recommended for nest that never been nested in. I have cut up straw and mud. Is there anything else you recommend me to do??? Any suggestions will be appreciated!

Emil Pampell-Tx · Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:02 am

Sorry, no recommendations. I will tell you a story: We had a purple martin organization started and the college professor that started it could not attract martins. I gave him a used gourd, he put it up, and attracted his first martin, and it nested in that old used small gourd. He thinks that it helped him get started, but who knows?

Do you believe in prayers?

sully · Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:28 am

We left the old nest undisturbed except for spraying it with liquid sevin to insure no parasites survived the winter. We also picked the best looking and cleanest looking. I'm convinced it works like a magnet. Eight the first year and ten the second year. 18 for 18 pretty much removes any doubt in my mind. Good Luck

chickadee · Wed Mar 19, 2014 9:22 am

Research shows martins like to nest where they think other martins have been or nested. So that's why people start out and put nesting inside the gourds and smear mud all over the porches and inside the gourd entrance. My martins would of loved if I didn't clean out their gourds yesterday. But sorry had to do it. They where black and nasty from the rain last year. If they ever leave them half way nice I may leave them for next year and just add seven. And sully, your story does not surprise me about the nest. But it does when for years he had other pairs that could not get any other martins to come and nest? They are the proof for other martins. That is a puzzler?

sully · Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:18 pm

I just talked to my friend Bennie, the friend we transfered gourds to leaving the old nest inside. He said he has a friend who had been unsuccessful for a couple of years and last year he saved some of the material when he cleaned out his gourds. They put it inside the new gourds and they got his colony started. Again he soaked the old nesting material in liquid sevin then let the gourds air out for a couple of weeks. Have not seen his colony yet but may get to next week.

Ed Pace · Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:48 pm

These are some real good threds that will help a lot of new members out.

taxidermy lady · Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:39 am

Thanks to everyone for the information. I greatly appreciate it. I'm going out right now and getting some pine needles to put in a couple gourds and I will put some in the house compartments also. I have straw in mine right now. Will have a few with straw and have a few with pine needles. The pine needles should pack better and if you say it drys out better then I will try it.

avesrun · Sat Mar 22, 2014 2:02 pm

I have a new mini trio castle up for the season. should I spread mud on the porches or anywhere else? it has expanded compartments. right now I have placed white pine needles in the back compartment only.i could smear mud inside the entrance compartment. thanks.
tim

taxidermy lady · Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:57 pm

Hi Tim,
I sure would I've been told you can't do to much to make it look like it has been nested in before. They must feel very secure if they think another martin has nested there. Good luck!!!

avesrun · Sun Mar 23, 2014 2:01 pm

thanks Tlady. you've made me feel a lot better about what I did yesterday. I got a little mud crazy. I took a plastic bowl and made a concoction. I have troyer tunnels on my t14 and smeared mud inside the tunnels and also on the outside porch and face of the tunnels.kind of regret putting on the outside face as now when I look at the t14 each entrance looks like a dark hole.hope it doesn't scare the pms away! same for the trio house.i put mud in the entry compartments and around the outside face of the crescent openings on the white doors which looks like h_ _ _ _.
oh well please anyone if you think I should wipe off any mud from around the outside face of the entrances for any reason I le me know; but remember Taxidermy Lady said I"can't do too much"!
tim

4th Gen Martin Fan · Sun Mar 23, 2014 3:23 pm

Tim,
I am doing just the opposite of you. I have smeared the mud on the outside of the entrances and did nothing on the inside.
Hopefully one of the "mud dabbers" in the Forum will help us out.
Mark.

avesrun · Sun Mar 23, 2014 4:46 pm

lol I actually mud dobbed inside and out. did you smear mud on the outside of the doors around the entrances?

taxidermy lady · Sun Mar 23, 2014 6:25 pm

Yeah guys I think they do the mud at entrance to keep eggs from rolling out is what I have read. It is like a mud dam. But when my kids played in the mud they tracked it everywhere. so I am sure the purple martins get it on there feet and track it?

sully · Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:31 am

When I first started my colony I had trio houses with round holes and the martins would make a damn across the bottom of the door almost creating their own cresent entrance. Now all my entrances are starling proof and I don't see mud around the entrance anymore but sometimes a small damn across the front of the nest. They always build the nest against the back wall and the depression for the eggs is about the size of your palm. The mud I find now is about the size of a tootsie roll along the front edge of the egg depression. Good Luck

MamaBruff · Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:56 am

I did like Mark and smeared mud on the outside of the entrances and on the porches of my house and gourds... I do think Tim is onto something, daubing and smearing mud on the inside ought to help as well, giving it a "lived in" look. Probably need to mash down the nap on that pine carpet too

Tim, if you get a houseful of Martins this year, you can write an article... "Decorating for Purple Martins: This Old Martin House" and the sequel "This Old Gourd".

Good Luck!

avesrun · Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:47 am

Hi Mary. I tried to post a photo the other day of my trio with the mud smeared around the crescent entrances cause it looked so goofy. It was a tough decision to smear a little inside as I contemplated Fall cleanup of the house. I decided "what the heck" if it helps get martins I can deal with that aspect. What's interesting is that the mud I smeared around the crescent openings on the trio and the troyer tunnel conley openings on the T14 from a distance give the appearance of large, dark round entrances which I'm hoping will further entice Progne subis to check things out !
By the way, what is the best cleanup method for a metal house? Hose it down and use a scrub brush and then let hang out in the sun to dry for several days till all the nooks and crannies dry out? Can't see any other way. I will hesitate to use my pressure washer as I could see that blowing the house apart by not being too careful and getting too close with the wand.

If I get ANY nesting martins this season I will writing about the grand adventure in some way shape or form!