Troyer Horizontal Gourd with 45 Degree Angle Turn

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

In preparation for the start of 2015 martin season, I have been attempting to modify a few of my THG's with 45 degree angle turns. Obviously the reason is to prevent an owl or hawk from being able to look directly into the gourd to the nest area. It took me several hours each day over the weekend to come up with my prototype. Here a few pictures of my finished product. Am asking for suggestions before making the connections permanent.

Tim

[apundt-TX]

I believe Sandy Bunn did something like this a few years back with good success. You might want to rough up the inside of the neck or put in one of those rubber mats for traction as the martins walk in/out of the entrance to the nesting chanber.

[Berndog]

TIM,
Way to think" outside of the box" ,I like that...Well Done !......Berndog

[4th Gen Martin Fan]

Tim,
It looks great.
Is this modification as easy as it looks? Are you using ready made PVC supplies?

It appears that you have already added the PVC pipe to waterproof and overcome the oversize holes which can develop from the gourd mounting arms.
Mark.

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Since it is not finished, I probably should have mentioned that the finished product will have traction tape on the flooring and I will be caulking all crevices on the inside preventing any toenails from getting stuck. At the very top of the gourd, you will notice a screw. I use this screw to go through the top of the PVC, through the piece of PVC pipe to keep water from getting into the gourd and the screw goes about half way into the aluminum rod. This prevents the gourds from swinging in the wind and since it will now be off centered with the 45 degree turn, it will keep the gourd straight and not leaning to one side.

Tim

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Tim,

I used the 45 degree angle approach with PVC on some natural gourds with good success. Martins did well in them.

On the Troyer Horizontals I wonder if the additional weight of the extended "curved" tunnel would cause the gourd to tilt downward toward the curved direction. Have you suspended this gourd prototype on a gourd hanging arm to see if there is any "balance" issue? Just something to check out!

Other than that possible issue, your prototype looks real good relative to minimizing owl/hawk predation issues.

Steve

Edit: Just after posted this, I see where you quickly addressed the "balance" issue! That should take care of it!

[apundt-TX]

Tim,
I didn't see the metal screw until you pointed it out. Do you caulk or cover that screw with anything to keep a martin from lifting their head and impaling themselves on it?

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Steve:

I followed your lead with the PVC insert in the hole where the mounting rod goes through and modified all my gourds during this past off season. This was a fantastic idea and didn't take me long to also make the modification. Also see you have your first martin back. Congrats. I remember when I lived in Arkansas, I could count on getting my first scout approximately two weeks after you received your first one. Takes a little longer where I now live in SE Kansas.

Apundt:

The screw you can see, when screwed in, is flush tight with the top of the gourd. No way to cause any problems for the martins. Since the point does not go all the way through the aluminum mounting arm it cannot cause any harm to the martins from the inside.

Tim

[apundt-TX]

Tim,
Sounds like you got everything covered then. I can't wait to see some picture now of it being used by a martin family.

A.P.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Looking good Tim. I like that setup.

[4th Gen Martin Fan]

Tim,
I did not make my question clear enough.
What size 45 degree PVC elbow are you using?
I do not have access to a Troyer gourd or tunnel at my house.
Mark.

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Mark:

I used thin wall 3" PVC pipe. I could not find it at Home Depot so made a trip over to Lowes in Joplin to get materials I needed. With my miter saw, I made two 22&1/2 degree angle cuts making a 45 degree angle turn and joined together with PVC glue. I then used couplers for 3" thin wall PVC and placed them inside both the gourd and tunnel for the gourd.

I did have to cut about an inch off of the end of the gourd so it was straight. For those who have the THG's, they do face down a little right at the end. If I had not done this, then the tunnel with the porch would have been sitting down at an angle which I did not want. I wanted it to sit level from front to back once mounted on my rack.

If there's enough interest, I will provide pictures of materials used after I have completed the modification.

Tim

[4th Gen Martin Fan]

Tim,
I have got it from your description. I suspected that it was thin wall PVC pipe but the couplers were what threw me off. I can see them now.
Even the 1 " shortening of the gourd neck is apparent in retrospect. Good information.
You have a great idea and pictures will be very helpful for visual learners among the Forum.
Thank you very much for sharing this information. American ingenuity at work.
I plan on modifying my sister's 18 THGs which go onto her K-Series Gourd Rack.
Mark.

[KathyF]

Tim - it looks nice!

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Hey Kathy:

You are correct about noises, especially from nestlings during periods when it is dark, and martins on porches and perch rods, both adults and fledglings, attracting the attention of owls. Don't know of anything we can do as landlords to totally get away from those situations. I have read several accounts of landlords witnessing an owl fluttering in front of an opening to a nest. With the keen nighttime vision of an owl, no doubt they are attempting to look directly into a cavity to catch a glimpse of potential prey. I think by eliminating a direct line of sight into a nest to see it's potential prey, it can only help.

I also totally agree that a 2" x 4" wire mesh cage is the best defense against owls and hawks and you exerted a lot of time and effort in the construction of yours at your colony. Unfortunately where we now live in a new sub-division, I would not be able to enclose a cage of this type around the housing on my pole. I am also limited due to the size of our yard to having only one martin pole.

Should I be fortunate enough to have returning martins to grow my first year colony at our new residence, I am hoping for two things by adding 45 degree angle turns to a few of my gourds. First, I am hoping any returning or new martins will feel the added security of the angled entrance and secondly, if I ever do experience owl attacks, they at least will not be able to look directly into the nest and have a straight shot with their 12" reach directly back to the nesting area. I hope to have returning martins within the next five or six weeks and I will be anxiously waiting to see if any of them select the gourds with the 45 degree turn.

Tim

[M.Stephens]

Tim that was a very well written and informative post. I liked it..........

[KathyF]

Tim, at one time you had posted a picture of individual cages you were making for the Troyer horizontals. I think I am going to try that design on one of my other rack, instead of these modifications (too much work for me - LOL).

Would you mind posting that link again, along with your instructions on how you secured the wires, please? I thought I had copied it, but I lost it.
Thank you - you always tinker and develop good ideas!

[KathyF]

Tim, I understand that you're trying to eliminate one more advantage for the owl (seeing the martins), but with the other factors - noise & martins roosting on the systems at night - I think it's good to be aware that's just one factor and it's a lot of effort (in my case 72 gourds) for something that may be a minor factor compared to the others.
But I see your point with the cages / subdivisions, etc. What a pain! I'm so lucky to live out in the country where I can put up the ugliest contraptions one can think of and no one can do anything about it!
I really liked your other idea with the individual gourd cages and will try that on the system where I can't put in a full blown cage.
I think I'm resisting this modification because I am just so exhausted from the modifications needed to vent, and prevent predators, etc. Not to mention, deterring owls was the reason I purchased the long-tunneled horizontals / verticals & Trendsetter. And yet, with the best equipment, he came here repeatedly and now I'm concerned about the future of my colony.
So here are my thoughts: basically, the design you have above is the way my Trendsetter is designed, right? The nests cannot be seen from the entrance, as the martin enters and has to do a 90% turn to the right or left, yet this is the first system that my local GHO attacked. As they were all adults, they weren't roosting on the porches at that time, but they do make a lot of noise in that house - I've sat outside at 3 AM and have been shocked how much noise they make. And even after attaching a cage, he still went after the fledglings on the porches by grabbing hold of the cage.

Some of the videos I had from last year also indicated he was 'bumping' the gourds and scaring them out. I had one video where 6 gourds were rocking wildly and the owl flew past the game camera (he was a blur). My banded martin whose bands I later found in the owl pellet was in one of those gourds that he bumped.

Lastly, I haven't shared it yet, because I'm so stunned - in going through all the pictures that I archived (for "review later") from my game cameras, I actually found a series of photos where the GHO flew up to my Deluxe system with THGs and snagged a martin that was sitting on the porch. The pictures were so subtle, I didn't notice it at first review.

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Kathy:

I think these are the pictures you are referring to. After I got it cut the way I wanted it, I attached it using a metal hose clamp. I recall putting a lot of pressure on it and it did not move. I am fairly certain IF an owl were to land on top of it, it would stay intact. I don't know how much time it would save you versus an entire cage around your pole but possibly after doing one the way you want it, you could use it as a pattern for the rest cutting way down on time. I still have this gourd with cage in my shed and plan on putting it on my housing this year just to see if it draws any interest. Possibly you will have time to do a few with the remaining month or so we have till winter fades away. Good luck.

Tim

[KathyF]

Thanks for the pictures, Tim - yes, those are the ones.

I should have been more clear - I'm going to try these out on just the top rows on my 2 Deluxe systems (so 12 gourds) as I'm thinking those were my most vulnerable gourds on those systems.