Removing Gourds

[D'Nese]

I have 2 T14's with 4 gourds mounted under. Last season my numbers were down a bit and I think it was due to GHO attacks. Found remains of martins multiple times, nests with eggs abandoned, typical signs of GHO activity. The gourds seemed to take the brunt of the damage even with one of the porches damaged pretty good but still intact. So after long thought, I figured I would remove the gourds and only offer the T14's. My concern is that the first arrivals always occupied the gourds. Will they move on? Pick a cavity in the T14 as a substitute? Very concerned also due to the cold weather here for the first arrival. Thoughts?

[avesrun]

This wannabe thinks you should strongly consider building a cage for the houses that would be big enough to cover the gourds so you can continue their use. Thinking that GHO will be harassing your T-14 almost as badly as the gourds. Sorry to hear of the incident; that's gotta be tough to experience both for you and the colony. Good luck.
Tim

[tonyg]

Would have to agree with Tim..they go by sound and sight..they'll punish your T-14 if they hear them..sorry to hear about your problem..

[KathyF]

D'nese - Tim and Tony are right - doesn't matter the type of housing you offer, the owl will still go after the martins. At this point, a cage would be a great option for you and you can keep the gourds.
I'm friends with a guy on Facebook that has only a T-14 and he suffers with a GHO every year.

[avesrun]

D'nese: As a followup, here is a link to a photo of a T-14 with owl cage. This was built by forum member Dave Duit at a public site in central Iowa. The cage is built from 2in x 4in welded wire. You could do something similar that would not need a roof. Looks like you have a great colony that would be worth the effort to build a similar cage; Great Horned owls are not migratory and the same owl is most likely still in its home range around your area. I have a T-14 as well but no martins as of yet. When/if I get a colony started, I plan to build an owl cage pronto! Good luck and hope you're able to implement a plan; here's that photo link:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h136/ ... jgr9td.jpg

[Davlyn]

D'nese , sorry about your OWL problem ! How many pair did you have last season that were successful , and how many pair did you lose if you know . In 2010 I like to have lost my entire colony to a barred OWL , if the OWL that attacked your colony is still breathing he will be back ! If I were you and if you are able I would try and get a cage up as soon as possible . The barred OWL and the great horned OWL both can wipe out a entire colony in no time at all ! Best of luck !

[D'Nese]

Thank you so much for all the advice. So I need something that will prevent the GHO from landing on the actual house? Does anyone know who made this cage? I would love to get some tips on how to build and mount. Hated taking down the gourds as they have always been the first occupied. I will show the hubby and post updates. Thank you again.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

D'Nese, I love your atttitude, its so important to do something to solve a problem....Hope that something will work out for you.

I am still fighting the Barred Owl problem too

[avesrun]

Hi D'Nese me again. I've yet to find anything close to a step by step for an owl cage. Probably cause everyone's setup size varies and type of housing/gourds etc. I dread the time it's going to take me to build a couple of these but again it will happen either the first or second season after I successfully get nesting martins depending on how many pairs I have.
Most of the posts I've read have been for owl guards around gourd racks; see this link by KathyF
http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2014/11 ... art-2.html

For T-14 it's mainly going to be a Do it yourself adventure Im thinking but I'd keep in mind some of these keys:

-Cage should be 2x4 welded wire; with cutouts in front of each entrance enlarged to 4x4 or so.
- The distance between the cage and the T-14 entrances should be at least 6" or greater; probably closer to 9 to 12 in.
-You'll have to decide whether you want your cage to be attached to the house or to the top of the pole; personally mine would stay at the top of the pole when my house is lowered.
-Cage should hang low enough to deter owl from flying up underneath the cage

Once again good luck in tackling the job.
Please anyone feel free to add to my list or correct anything this wannabe has offered that may be errant!
Tim

[KathyF]

Thanks Tim for referring to my post - I tried to share a list of all the materials I used in the blogposts.
D'Nese- the materials are all basic and can be used to fashion a cage around your house. Just make sure the cage itself sets far enough away from the entrances so the owl can't grab the martins as they exit. There is nothing that will prevent him from landing on your housing - your goal now is just to keep him from being able to grab them when / if they do flush.

Let me know if you have questions!

[pmartinlover2]

This is kind of off your subject but you bring up a point I hadn't thought of yet. I thought the purpose of an owl guard was to prevent an owl from being able to reach to the back of the cavity and snatch the babies, etc. So if we're trying to prevent a snatch when they fly out of the gourd (here's my real question) do the owl guards for the Excluder gourds work? Do they even prevent a "reach in" attempt? Looks to me like a cage offers the martins the best chance of escape.
______
Jody

[Louise Chambers]

Cages do offer the most protection, by blocking owls or hawks from grabbing gourds or houses - the long prong type owl guards do that, too, although less effectively than a cage, they block air space in front of gourds. The smaller guards for Excluder gourds may help keep owls from getting as close to the gourd entrance, but not as well as longer guards or cages.

[Trishy]

Will 2" x 3" fencing work? I bought the green garden fencing because it is lighter. I am not sure my gourd racks will do well with the heavier stuff. I lost martins to a barred owl last season, and I will have to make a guard for both of my racks this spring.

[pmartinlover2]

Louise the Excluder gourds look like they have an off-set attachment (from the side) so I don't believe the long prongs would work for this gourd. Is that right? The Troyer verticals would work but I really like the look and depth of the Excluder. My son-in-law can whip me up a cage if I show him a picture. Do you have any for the GRSK? Thanks for your great advice.
_____
Jody

[Louise Chambers]

The long prong-type guards attach to the rack/gourd arms, not to the gourd - which I think is better, since a guard that attaches to the gourd will allow an owl to grab hold of gourd and shake it to flush martins - the prong guards block space so an owl can't grab hold of the gourd.

http://shop.purplemartin.org/Gourd_Rack ... tails.aspx
Designed for the Deluxe Gourd Rack, these guards also fit the Expandable and Trendsetter Gourd Racks (Except when equipped with arms for horizontally hung gourds)

The GROG work on those racks and a few others, with vertical gourds like Excluder & SuperGourd. Since all Troyer gourds use horizontal arms, the guards don't work with them. We use the prong guards at our PMCA sites and I have used them at public site and others. Nest checks are done all season, so we know we are not losing birds.

[pmartinlover2]

Ok Louise I figured it out. Thanks for your help.
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Jody