Closed Houses...

DornCounty · Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:02 am

I know we've discussed this before, but humor me...

How long do you think the scouts hang around if a house is raised but the doors are closed?

I manage a colony in the middle of town that I can't really monitor often and I want to squeeze as much time in as possible before I remove the door stops.

John Miller · Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:23 am

I don't know, but my concern always is that an early arrival that nested in established housing the previous year may well perish if it arrives and does not find shelter for the night. If there is some open housing nearby to the housing the scout prefers, then I always hope it can roost there, but I don't know this for sure.

This situation causes me a little stress each year. Sometimes a single martin may arrive 10 days to two weeks before a trickle of others at older, established colonies. So in St. Louis at park colonies, we have had a martin arrive as early as early as March 10 I think, maybe even earlier, but generally we don't get a few until about March 20, give or take a few days.

Took my cat to the vet just now for a concern and I didn't get a straight answer there either - ha.

DornCounty · Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:10 pm

yeah.. just trying to decide if I should open the parsons colony and start the sparrow fight. In theory a martin could arrive any day. But records suggest we are a couple weeks away from probable arrival.

John Miller · Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:33 pm

Rethinking what I said.... If there is some housing in town that was more highly colonized, then all the local martin clan within a mile or two probably know about it and I'd try to make sure that location did have some open cavities sooner. How far out to apply this is where I have uncertainty.

John M

Anthony Neira · Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:34 pm

Andrew, to what John M. Noted & Being this is a Terrible start due to the cold, I would make this season an exception , & open it up now, & put up with the Sparrows , Only because of the cold, better safe (?) than... Good luck, Can 't wait to hear (see) your restored Castle up !

DornCounty · Fri Mar 06, 2015 2:00 pm

Opened up a house in each segment of the colony today. HOSP yipping everywhere.

Surprised there has not been a Kansas arrival yet. The latest the first arrival has been recorded is March 8th... if my digging was correct.

Matt F. · Fri Mar 06, 2015 2:08 pm

LOL.....they'll be yipping, until you roll up with some Spare-O-Doors......
I think you still hold the Spare-O-Door record for the most house sparrows rounded up within a certain time frame.

DornCounty · Fri Mar 06, 2015 2:25 pm

Matt F. wrote:LOL.....they'll be yipping, until you roll up with some Spare-O-Doors......
I think you still hold the Spare-O-Door record for the most house sparrows rounded up within a certain time frame.

Here are my Spar-o-door records as I can remember

2 caught in 50 seconds

6 caught in 1 hour

250ish caught in one martin season Mar-July

The interesting thing is the locations I have been trapping the longest show very little(relative to when I started) sparrow pressure year to year now.

A section of housing that I started trapping in in 2012 went something like this(estimates). 18 houses in this area.

1st year - 100
2nd year - 75
3rd year - 15
Will be interesting to see what the year to year totals are.

Matt F. · Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:15 pm

Those are some seriously awesome numbers Andrew!

To make a Kansas reference and comparison - you are to house sparrows in Parsons, what Wyatt Earp was to outlaws in Dodge City.

jr 2 · Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:02 pm

Andrew;;;have had 2 of my trio up here for a couple of weeks with 2 spar-a-door in each one with other compartments closed;; I haven't seen or heard a hs here yet[too cold and snow on ground];starlings keep knocking my traps down;;;going too try and get other houses up in a day or 2 as it is going too be 60 here by Tuesday;;;good luck too everyone this year;;;jr2