Dear Landlords,
I came across a very
interesting article and I like to share it with all our PMLNT members. If
you are going to purchase any man made gourds or you already have some gourds,
you really need to read this very important article by Terry A. Suchma.
Thanks Terry.
Nesting material in
man made gourds is a
"MUST". Please read on:
Lack of Nesting Materials
Inside Plastic Horizontal Gourds May Entomb Purple Martins
By Terry Anne Suchma
It has come to our
attention that Purple Martins can become entrapped in plastic horizontal gourds
(both round and crescent holes). The problem does not arise from a flaw in the
entrance hole design but rather when unknowing landlords fail to fill the inside
of the horizontal gourd bulb with adequate amounts of nesting materials. With large horizontal plastic gourds, it is
most important to add large amounts of nesting materials to raise the height of
the nest to the bottom of the stem tube. In this way, martins can easily reach
their nest, and, at the same time, facilitate an easy approach and departure
from the gourd.
On several occasions
already this early martin season, three landlords from Florida,
Louisiana and Oklahoma
found birds trapped within the confines of a plastic horizontal gourd. In one
instance at the colony of Gilbert Scales in Louisiana,
a second instance with a man in Plant City, FL
and a third occasion with a woman, Shelly Harris in Oklahoma.
In the two cases
involving the gentlemen, both experienced dead birds. Mr. Scales found four
adult males dead, all in the same gourd. In the case of Mr. Scales, he was
informed by a reputable martin source that the birds died of ?old age.? We find
that this explanation to be an ?incredible coincidence? and most likely old age
was not the cause of deaths. When four birds are suspiciously found dead in
martin housing and weather conditions have not been adverse, we must scrutinize
the situation and find the real cause. We owe it to the martins and to others
in our interest.
As for the Plant
City landlord, in this scenario, the landlord found two
dead martins in separate horizontal plastic gourds.
The very cautious woman
from Oklahoma
read postings on various Purple Martin forums regarding the recent martin
deaths in plastic horizontal gourds. So, she decided to purchase one and test
it before she would use any additional horizontal gourds. Mrs. Shelly Harris
ordered her gourd last week, received it on Friday (3/11), and, later that day,
installed the gourd along with a wide angled, video camera designed for
observing Purple Martin gourds.
Late Friday, she observed
no martin action with the gourd. However, early Saturday morning (3/12), she
observed a pair of martins entering the gourd. Within a short time, they tried
to exit the gourd. A video of her observations www.eagle-flight.com/stuckmartins shows the frenzied and frustrated
martin pair trying to exit the THG without success. Though the video's length
is about ten minutes, the entire observation was some fifteen minutes long.
It is important to also
note that Mrs. Harris also observed a single male enter and depart effortlessly
from her test horizontal gourd.
Mrs. Harris told me in an
extensive interview on 3/14 that she continued her test of the birds inside by
observing their activity. Although, she became quite concerned about the martin
pair's panic, she allowed it to go on for a very short time after which the
pair did actually manage to exit the gourd. In order to exit, the female successfully
used the back of the male to propel herself to the stem tube hole and exit.
Spurred on by the female?s successful leave, the male also departed one minute
later, apparently by a successful leap up to the hole and a grasp onto the
internal porch.
Shelly Harris knew that
the day before (3/11) brought warm sunny weather and the pair most likely had
been well fed. She felt that the martins were not in a weakened condition.
Neither were they experiencing bone-chilling weather in Oklahoma on 3/12.
As the Harris Video
showed, the birds made many frenzied attempts to exit the plastic horizontal
gourd without success. The main problem was the vertical depth of the gourd
without the proper amount of nesting materials and the subsequent problem with
the martins flapping their wings to bring themselves up to the level of the
gourd stem tube. By spreading their wings to elevate themselves to the narrow
opening of the gourd stem tube inside, the birds were unable to quickly
withdraw their wings tightly to their body to immediately enter the narrow hole
and proceed down the stem tube to egress.
Those in the bluebird
interest know that with bluebird nestboxes with long vertical depth one must
carve notches into the inside front wall of the birdhouse or provide a piece of
1/4" x 1/4" metal mesh and attach to the inside front wall. This will
prevent Tree Swallows, like these Purple Martins, from dying inside the
bluebird boxes because they are unable to jump up to the hole and exit the box.
With the notches and mesh screen, the birds can easily climb up to the hole and
exit.
So, what is the problem
here with plastic horizontal gourds and how can it be fixed?
[B]Background info on
manufactured plastic gourds:[/B]
Due to being hung
horizontally with the bird entrance at the end of the gourd stem, horizontal
gourds provides (1) a very large nesting chamber for martins and (2) a long
tunnel (stem) that provides effective owl predation control. Horizontal gourds
are considered to be ?owl proof? not ?owl resistant.?
The most prominent,
commercially-made, plastic horizontal gourd is the Troyer Horizontal Gourd
(THG). With every Troyer Horizontal Gourd order there is a fact sheet delivered
to each customer. On the fact sheet, there is an advisory with the following
advisory:
"VERY IMPORTANT!--A
MUST!"
"This is no option.
It is a must! Put pine needles, cedar shavings or dried grass (preferably pine
needles) inside the gourd before the martins come. Fill to 1/2" below the
front entrance hole. This means that nest materials shall also be laid out into
the neck of the gourd."
From what we now know, it
is imperative for every martin landlord with a THG to provide more than ample
amounts of nesting materials to the inside of these gourds. The materials
should rise to the level of the inside gourd stem tube so that martins may have
a level arrival and departure from the tube of the gourd to and from their
nest. From what we know now, many landlords do not always read the attached,
pertinent information before they install their gourds. Therefore, many
landlords are not aware that ample amounts of nesting materials should be
placed in the THGs to prevent the needless occurrences of martin deaths.
What does the THG
manufacturer say?
I have spoken with Andrew
Troyer whose family business manufactures THGs. Mr. Troyer was sincerely and
deeply saddened to know of the recent deaths of martins. He has viewed the
video footage (note: above website) and is thankful that this has been brought
to his attention.
The fix?
All new Troyer Horizontal
Gourds will come with a modification inside the gourd so that unknowing
landlords who install plastic horizontal gourds devoid of nesting materials or
provide only a small amount of nesting materials will not lose martins.
Providing a modification on all new horizontal gourds will provide that martins
entering empty gourds will be able to exit them.
For those customers that
read the fact sheet that accompanies all THGs, it is crucial that ample, even
more than ample, amounts of nesting materials be added to the THGs before the
martins arrive in the spring.
Bottom line:
Fill plastic horizontal gourds with nesting materials BEFORE martins
arrive!
The Purple Martin
Society, NA?s take on this:
We continue to believe
plastic horizontal gourds to be a good martin product. It is important to note
that the PMS/NA does not sell any product that is not, (1) good for the Purple
Martins, and, (2), good for you, the Purple Martin stewards. Because we believe
Troyer Horizontal Gourds to be a good martin product for martins and landlords,
the PMS/NA will continue to sell this product.
We also believe that
Purple Martins should be seriously managed and monitored. Purple Martin
stewards should take the time to read the simplest of directions that accompany
every Purple Martin product. And, as always, we encourage landlords to monitor
and be observing of the martins at their colony, particularly in early spring
weather when martins may perish inside or outside martin houses for various
and/or suspicious reasons.
For many years now, we
have always mentioned to those folks, new to our interest, that it is good idea
to put nesting materials inside of ?all? martin compartments and gourds for the
insulative value of the materials alone. It may also be an incentive for new
martins to reside and nest at a colony site. Now, we will tell this to
?experienced? landlords. And, finally, we will most definitely tell all of our
customers that are considering purchasing plastic horizontal gourds to put in
more than ample nesting materials to bring the nest height of the gourd bulb to
bottom of the inside gourd stem tube. Hopefully, no more Purple Martins will be
entombed in these plastic gourds and perish.
A word of thanks:
We would like to take the
time to thank Gilbert Scales (LA), the landlord from Plant
City and Shelly Harris (OK) for bringing this serious
matter to everyone?s attention. We pay particular thanks and gratitude for foresight
and wisdom of Shelly Harris in testing a plastic horizontal gourd with an
installed video camera to see for herself if empty plastic horizontal gourds
posed an exiting problem for Purple Martins. Thank you, Mrs. Harris. A job well
done!
We thank Andrew Troyer
for his quick response and fix to his horizontal products so that in the future
martins would not die a needless death.
Finally, we thank the
folks above because their love of Purple Martins precipitated them to do the
right thing. They brought this to all of our attentions. With such knowledge,
we are all better prepared in our management of martins. By communicating
facts, experiences, techniques and observations, we are a closer Purple Martin
community. In the end, we all remember that the bottom line is, as always, the
Purple Martin.
Terry
Promising Fix for PMs Exiting Horizontal Gourds
By Joe D. Bryan
Central Indiana Purple Martin
Association (CIMPA) Greenwood,
IN
Shelly
Harris, a landlord from Oklahoma
that found a frantic martin trapped in a horizontal gourd, is now testing a Troyer horizontal gourd with
a spray-on product that makes the interior of a plastic gourd rough. It
looks very, very promising.
I think it will possibly give plastic gourds most of the
advantages of natural gourds. My Krylon Fusion (hunter green) which I will use
as the primer has been on for a couple of years now, and I'm betting that this
will do just as well. Hopefully, no more slippery nest bowls in plastic
gourds. Note the ease of
their walking in and the one clinging to the side at the end of this video:
Flex Stone can be bought
at WalMart. It comes in many colors. I bought a can of Santa Fe Sand and
a can of Clear Kote. They were about $5.00 each. I will be spraying
it inside some of my plastic gourds as soon as it warms up.
plasti-kote.com/plastikote/homefash/template.jsp?searchcode=FLE&product=Fleckstone
I called Valspar,
manufacturer of Flexstone. I was concerned about all the warnings about some of
the ingredients being unhealthy.
See:
spar.com/val/msds/pdf/1111505066852.pdf
They assured me that the warnings were only for the spraying
process, and there would be no residue on the sprayed insides of the gourd.
They did caution me to be sure to use the Clear Kote over it to be sure that it
doesn't flake off.
So, anyone using this
product should take precautions while spraying and
do it outside.
v Use only
in a well ventilated area.
v Paint
when the temperature is between 60F - 80F (16C - 27C) with relative
humidity of no more than 60%.
v Square
coverage varies depending upon color of surface being painted, method of
application (i.e. thickness and number of Base Coats applied).
In order to maximize coverage and avoid a bumpy uneven texture, it
is suggested to first prepare the surface with a multi-purpose or decorative
spray enamel in the color range of the Base Coat. This is especially important
when spraying large objects.
Attempting to cover in
one coat will result in an uneven surface.
Hold can 14-16"
from object being painted. Spraying too close to the object will cause paint to
"blow off" and not adhere.
Several light coats are preferable to one heavy coat. Allow at
least 5 minutes dry time in between coats.
Your project will be dry to handle in approximately 2 hours after
Top Coat is applied
G I S E L A
