New Guy Question - When to Put House Up

MJM · Thu Mar 10, 2022 11:47 am

Hi guys, I noticed none of my "neighbors" have their houses out yet- but the Martin scout report suggests they are in my area now and also this is about the right start time for them (Central KY, officially my band says March 15th).

Maybe a dumb question- but if a scout comes and my house isn't out- is that it? I missed my shot? I was planning to put the house out on Sunday- it's supposed to be just terribly cold late in the year this weekend (in the teens, very unusual)... so should I just go ahead and put it up?

I guess in fact, I'm not sure why I would be waiting to put it up anyway?

tor · Thu Mar 10, 2022 12:06 pm

You can put it up now. Can't go wrong with that.

C.C.Martins · Thu Mar 10, 2022 12:13 pm

Lots of folks wait to put it up to keep the sparrows from thinking its a great place to live. Some put it up early and block entrances until they are in the area, and open some or all when they show.

MJM · Thu Mar 10, 2022 12:18 pm

I haven't had any Sparrow problems before, in my vast one-season of experience (but yes, to tree swallows!). So if that is the main concern, I think I can manage for a week or so and will just put the house up. Maybe it can provide some shelter for some poor freezing martin this weekend.

C.C.Martins · Thu Mar 10, 2022 1:22 pm

Good plan, hope you get them back!
I have not seen many sparrows this season, a few but none interested in the houses...yet; perhaps i knocked them back a tad last season. they seem attracted by the martin activity and then come in a flood.
Yeah weathers going to get crappy once again!! Or stay crappy, depending on your location.
Wish you all the best!
Tom

deancamp · Thu Mar 10, 2022 3:30 pm

I would suggest going ahead and putting it up. If you miss the first scout, you have not missed out. The window is just starting to open for you. There is a chance you could snag an asy bird that was not successful nesting at their old location last year or for some reason that landlord is not putting housing up this year and they need a new nesting spot. The sy birds won't even start coming in for 4 to 6 weeks after the asy birds. So put your house up and get your Dawn Song on. A couple decoys and prenesting with pine needles is a couple other things that might help them call your place home. Good Luck and keep us posted.

mwren · Thu Mar 10, 2022 8:18 pm

MLM,
Good advice from Landlords concerning how to and when to open up your colony. We have a storm tracking towards us here in Athens, Ohio, so I probably won't launch my colony until that storm blows through.

"Bird"

MJM · Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:12 am

Thanks all for the comments. I put my house up last year really for looks and got ~14 birds who raised about 6 little ones. So my understanding is they should be coming back? I hope so I spent a ton of time building a huge new second house for them lol.

I had no decoys and no songs playing last year... they just showed up one day. Is that something I should be doing this year?

deancamp · Fri Mar 11, 2022 8:52 am

Wow MJM, you must be in a great spot for Martins. I think the number is 6 pair to "guarantee " some will the migration back. Sounds like you had several birds that weren't paired up. How many nests did you have that produced the 6 fledglings?

MJM · Fri Mar 11, 2022 6:12 pm

6 youngsters was my best guess honestly. I know for sure I saw 3 heads out of one hole and at least 3 in other holes. When I took the house down, I see there were 2 nests in gourds, maybe 3 partial nests / abandoned and in the main house there were 3 nests.

Here's a couple pictures of them when they were in town.

: IMG_0199 (1).jpg (133.54 KiB) Viewed 2152 times

: IMG_0034.jpg (90.23 KiB) Viewed 2152 times

deancamp · Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:20 pm

Beautiful site and the Martins look great too. I think your good without playing the Dawn Song but if you have one it couldn't hurt until you see them return.

Zheeeem · Thu Mar 17, 2022 5:58 pm

Really, figuring out when to put your house up is a matter of experience. The best way to get experience is, well, to put your house up and get some experience..Once you become an established landlord you'll pretty much know when to put the house(s) up.

I typically put our house up around the time I start seeing tree swallows. Around these parts, the martins soon follow. Now that the martins are established, even if the tree swallows get interested, the martins arrive in such large numbers the swallows, so far, have departed for more suitable homes. (I have a couple of bluebird houses that the swallows seem to prefer... at least for a while.)

I think a concern some folks have with putting a house up too early is getting HOSPs who then keep the martins away. This happened to me my first year. I took the house down, cleared the HOSP efforts to nest, then 2 weeks later put the house back up. I did get some martins, but it was a battle all summer to prevent the HOSPs from dominating. My second year, I waited a week or so longer, and the martins came before the HOSPs. Still a battle, but one where I could shift the tide in favor of the martins. Two dozen martins and an old man with a pellet gun can, in time, discourage most HOSPs. Eventually.

So, put 'er up when the scouting reports show the martins near, and then learn by experience.