Understanding nest building

[deancamp]

As to not hijack the thread Cleaning out my Gourds, I started this one. My Mom had Trio housing and never prenested. Mud dams were the rule in her nests. I have mostly all gourds and have always prenested with pine needles and no mud of any kind added to nests. Is this more a prenest vs not prenesting or Trio style vs gourds or neither?

[SSMartin]

I have seen half gourds with mud and half without at a second colony I manage. This year I upgraded all the gourds and added tunnels. I do not think I’ll see mud dams in them again now with the tunnels adding more privacy. I think it depends on the environment, nest size, and the individual birds themselves. I always find it interesting but have always noticed it in smaller gourds or housing. I do not get dams in my troyers, or expanded room housing.

I used to never prenest. Now I do because it allows the martins to get down to egg laying much faster. Think of how long it takes some pairs to fill a large gourd. They are also very vulnerable to predation while gathering materials on the ground. If 80-90% of the material is already there they usually will only add a few minor touches and leaves compared to spending several days gathering material.

[DBH]

I have never pre nested before and I’m torn wether to do it or not. Yes I understand it helps the martins out and they can go straight to laying eggs. But at the same time I feel like we are taking even more wild away from the birds, one day they might not even know how to build a nest if we do it for them. That being said I’m not against it at all, I just have never done it and they seem to do fine

-Austin

[brent]

I started to prenest after learning about it on the forum. We've had a few cold nights and the early arrivals find it comforting to snuggle in I'm sure. I use pine needles and noticed last year some pairs used the pine needles to build on while others moved the needles out and about. As I heard, it depends on the wife.
Brent

[D. Doll MN]

[quote=DBH post_id=294664 time=1611521025 user_id=24288]
I have never pre nested before and I’m torn wether to do it or not. Yes I understand it helps the martins out and they can go straight to laying eggs. But at the same time I feel like we are taking even more wild away from the birds, one day they might not even know how to build a nest if we do it for them. That being said I’m not against it at all, I just have never done it and they seem to do fine

-Austin
[/quote]

I am sorry for picking on your post and single you out. But here is my thinking of adding nest materials, anyone that doesn't is just being lazy or cheep. Adding nest material like said above helps prevent martins from landing on the ground to gather materials. And for that fact alone keeps them from being cauight by predators. Some birds add too the nest and some just make the nest cup and start laying. Nest building is just part of there bounding and courtship. Depends on where you live but in MN when they come back you can have some very cold nights and added nest materales helps keep them warm. Any extra stress cold, working to build nest all takes away from there build up strength reserves. I think it helps the Female to have one more egg to get them 6 and 7 egg clutches. In true nature there would have been some remaining nest material from the pervious year, the martins would just add a little new to it if they want too. We remove the old nest material because we know thats where the bugs and mites over winter in. And thanks for giving the martin a home, nest material or not, but as good landloards nest materials should be added.

[flyin-lowe]

Every year I have early arrivals that pick cavities that do not have nesting material, I have also had some remove my pine straw and use different material to build their nest. I always offer a majority pre nested but leave some empty, seems every some choose the ones that are empty.

[deancamp]

Has anyone prenested and then had mud added to that nest?

[brent]

Yes, last year I prenested with pine needles and some martins built on it by adding mud and grass. Some of the most beautiful nest I've ever seen. Strong and full.

[Whippy]

I've had some Martins remove half the pre-nest material and bring in only green leaves nesting on the bare minimum. I've had other Martins leave all the pre-nesting but add to it leaves, zip ties etc. I've found some crazy stuff. I've never had any mud brought into any of the nests. I've also put a few leaves in the gourds to make it look like they were used before and those usually get tossed and replaced but the pine needles under them remain. Bottom line is every gourd and pair has it's own style and behavior. I don't really see a constant across the board method of nest building. Although they are all similar you can see individual personalities.

My favorite one has always been my first pair. They brought in zip ties, weed eater line, ticket stubs, and a pull tab among other stuff. When I discovered all of that on a nest check I started keeping my hand on my wallet when I went outside.

I've not tried to offer a cavity without pre-nesting material but maybe I'll experiment with a couple of the new gourds I put up this year. I'll use a gourd that was not occupied last year along with a new one added this year. If they get used I'll follow up with the results which, naturally, will include a photo.

Coolwhips