Professor BirdBrain
06-21-2010, 05:31 PM
It isn't that White Pine needles are the one and only nesting material for martin nests, it is just that White Pine needles (a.k.a. pine straw) is soft to the touch. When you put nesting materials inside a martin nest, you want it to be safe for martins.
Not all pine needles are the same. Some are very stiff and sharp--sharp enough to stab a small little fledgling. This is why we recommend soft to the touch and squeezable pine needles.
White Pine is indiginous to the Mid Atlantic States and some of the Midwestern states and is widely used by landlords. They are the dried needles that fall to the ground from the White Pine Trees. When they fall to the ground, they are brown in color, not green.
Texas, my dear students, is one of our states, east of the Mississippi, that has so few pine trees. However, more pine trees are found in the eastern side, coastal side of Texas.
You can also do a search online for pine needles for sale. Call the companies and ask if they are soft. I did purchase a box of pine needles from South Carolina some years ago but in the process of production, the long needles were cut in some way. And, I am not sure if it is because they are now some five years old, that they break down quickly in the nests and need to be replendished. But, for someone who doesn't have any resources to pine needles, if you do not have access to White Pine or any other soft pine needles, a box of brittle needles will more than do.
What you could also do is to gather some of the same coarse materials that your martins use in your area and put them inside the martin house then allow your martins to build their own nests.
When they have their nests completed, then provide for them an artificial nest of heavy duty Styrofoam.
Here are two photos of homemade Styrofoam nests:
http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/nestinserts.jpg (http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/nestinserts.jpg) (Are those Big Foot's Feet in the photo? I think they are!)
http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/3-nest-1.jpg (http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/3-nest-1.jpg)
Also, I have a copy of an article on Styrofoam Nest Inserts that appeared in the hard copy Scout Report some years back:
Quote:
Styrofoam nest inserts are mentioned here on the RTC often. These are an idea originally conceived by Purple Martin Society of Illinois member, Ed Donath, Arlington Hts, IL in the early 80's. For many years, he has promoted this idea in the PMSI Chapter in Illinois.
Styrofoam Nest Inserts are made from heavy-duty polystyrene.
With Styrofoam nest inserts, Purple Martins have a warmer and dryer nest in spring and times of adverse weather when they are nesting and breeding. Most martins do not bring much nesting materials to these inserts; they readily recognize them as a nesting cup. With Styrofoam Nest Inserts, we find that the martins merely bring green leaves to cover their eggs and very little, or no, nesting materials to their compartments.
With such artificial nest inserts, it is thought that the martins lay more eggs and fledge more quality young.
Artificial nest inserts also make nestchangeouts much easier. And, best of all, in metal houses, they keep the delicate young off metal floors. If young nestlings in poorly constructed nests have constant contact with slippery metal floors, they can develop splayed leg deformity, rendering the young birds useless in the bird world.
Artificial Styrofoam nests are also most helpful to subadult birds and their first breeding season. These first-year birds are known for not being very savvy and are not very experienced or successful in the breeding rituals of nestbuilding, egglaying and rearing of young. When subadults arrive on the breeding scene in your backyard, they have little time to spend in finding a mate, building a nest, etc. The result, many times, is a poorly constructed nest whereas their young are on, or close to, the bare metal or wood floors. We already know that eggs laid on the floor do not have great expectations of hatching. With the use of these artificial Styrofoam nest inserts, your subadults will hopefully show higher reproductive successes.
Rick Cruz writes:
“I have been using these nest inserts for several years. It was an innovation of the Late Ed Donath. It is basically extruded polystyrene. Most know it as the 2-inch thick pink insulation they use to insulate concrete. It comes in 4x8 sheets at any home improvement store. It is basically Styrofoam with all the air removed. DO NOT use the white packing Styrofoam. Do not be cheap and decide to use this. It makes a mess, doesn’t hold up and its possible the birds can accidentally ingest it. The pink or BLUE boards will do just fine. I prefer to use 2-1 half inch board. I have a special tool that cuts a perfect concave bowl. My martins do not make nests for the most part they just line it with leaves. I put a pencil hole through the center incase water gets in. I do not recommend this for 6x6 compartments for I do not trust that size to keep water out of the nesting compartment. All my nest cavities are deep and do not get exposed to rain.
The benefits are many.
Nestchanges? Just dump the whole thing and put the babies back in. You don’t need new nesting material. I dump the whole nest within a day or two of hatching.
These artificial nest inserts dramatically reduce the amount of nestparasites. No nest material! No substrate for the parasites to live in. There will still be mites but fleas, their larva and blowfly maggots will be reduced. With each nestcheck, I remove the babies, take out the nest inserts, brush it off, look around for any pests and just return it to the compartment babies and all.
Save the martins valuable energy by reducing the time needed to build a nest.
Ed Donath believed the martins could put more energy into egglaying by reducing the amount of time the birds need to make a nest.
The insulative qualities of this artificial nest keep the young cool in the heat and warm during cold spells. No heat from the brooding mother or the babies’ bodies gets absorbed into the metal floors of most martin houses.
SY birds are not the best nest builders; they can lay their eggs right in these no nest material needed.
Since I have been using these, I have not had a nest lost to cold or heat. With all the heat and drought last summer in our area, not a single baby martin attempted to leave the nest. I even checked on the hottest days. The babies would be equally spaced out allowing the air to circulate around them. On cold days they would bunch up in the center of the cup. I can also remember a spring in which all the birds laid eggs and then a terrific cold spell came and lasted two weeks. All the incubating females hatched young successfully when others around me had nest failure.
There is a way to make these without the tool I use. It’s not as effective but it will work. First get 2 pieces of 1-inch thick PS board. It’s usually light blue in color. Take a 4-inch hole saw and cut a hole out of one. Take simple wood glue and glue that to the other cut piece. The martins will actually scrape a bowl in that. You can also heat up a large round ladle and melt the bowl shape in it. That works quite well.
As far as I am concerned it is a huge time saver at the end of the season as well. No nasty parasite filled nesting material to remove. This innovation is something very few people use and it’s a shame. I have also found that martins will take a compartment with this over an empty one every time.”
Very well said, Rick!
To this I would like to add:
Click below for a photo of the tool that Rick Cruz uses to make artificial Styrofoam Nest Inserts. It is a modified saw blade on an arbor that can be used in a drill press machine to hone out the nest cup in the Styrofoam block.
Harlow Fox's Tool for Making Artificial Styrofoam Nests (http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/cuttintool2.jpg)
An important thing to know about Styrofoam Nest Inserts is that the starlings and sparrows hate them, chew them up and destroy them. They prefer nests of their own construction. Keeping this in mind, I don’t offer nest inserts to martins until I know a martin couple has a definite pair bond and is in the serious process of constructing a nest. I remove the nesting materials, maybe, throw on a piece or two of their original nest construction materials on top of the nest insert. After a few wary glances inside at the nest insert, they go in and it is fine with the martins after that.
And, in another blurb feedback to this article is another suggestion by Russ Nixon, Niagara Falls, NY, on his way of making artificial nests:
"
I've developed a technique to make the Styrofoam nest inserts for your houses. Using both 1" & 2" thick construction grade (blue or pink) dense Styrofoam panels.
The technique requires using a radial arm saw with either a 7" or a 10" carbide tipped blade along with some type of a turntable. Like the old lazy susans but not as high. I was able to find a lazy susan at a local toyshop. It was a 5/16" high metal turn table use for mounting dollhouses but now I can find them in Builders Square. I mounted a ¾" piece of plywood, just large enough to accommodate the 6"x6" or 6"x12" nest inserts.
The Styrofoam should be securely attached to the board either by tape or some type of mounting frame. By raising the saw blade and placing the turntable with the nest insert attached squarely under it you are ready to begin.
Predetermine how far you will need to lower the blade to achieve the proper depth without going too deep. Turn your saw on and begin lowering the blade gradually ¼" at a time and slowly rotate your turntable.
Repeat the lowering and the rotating of the table gradually until you have reached the desired depth. I mark my radial saw arm with a piece of tape at the desired depth. It's like cutting butter and you end up with dished out nest insert 5" across and ¾" deep on the 1" Styrofoam and 17/8" deep on the 2' Styrofoam.
Or, still yet, you can make them to the measurements of the inside compartment, say 6" x 12"
Purchase the large sheet of styrofoam at Home Depot, Lowe's or Menard's, etc. It comes in 4' x 8' x 1" sheets--snough to make them for the neighborhood!!
Cut out enough 6" x 12" x 1" pieces. Then cut a 4" hole in half of them. With glue (for styrofoam) glue one solid piece to the one piece with the 4" hole.
Now, you have a nest cup for your compartments.
If the styrofoam meets right to the entrance hole and blocks it, cut a slanted upwards ramp so that the bird enters the hole and goes right up the short ramp and onto the artificial styrofoam nest insert.
The bottom line to this dissertation, and as a Professor, I know all about dissertations, is that, with artificial nestinserts, you won't need much in the way of pine needles of any kind!
__________________
Not all pine needles are the same. Some are very stiff and sharp--sharp enough to stab a small little fledgling. This is why we recommend soft to the touch and squeezable pine needles.
White Pine is indiginous to the Mid Atlantic States and some of the Midwestern states and is widely used by landlords. They are the dried needles that fall to the ground from the White Pine Trees. When they fall to the ground, they are brown in color, not green.
Texas, my dear students, is one of our states, east of the Mississippi, that has so few pine trees. However, more pine trees are found in the eastern side, coastal side of Texas.
You can also do a search online for pine needles for sale. Call the companies and ask if they are soft. I did purchase a box of pine needles from South Carolina some years ago but in the process of production, the long needles were cut in some way. And, I am not sure if it is because they are now some five years old, that they break down quickly in the nests and need to be replendished. But, for someone who doesn't have any resources to pine needles, if you do not have access to White Pine or any other soft pine needles, a box of brittle needles will more than do.
What you could also do is to gather some of the same coarse materials that your martins use in your area and put them inside the martin house then allow your martins to build their own nests.
When they have their nests completed, then provide for them an artificial nest of heavy duty Styrofoam.
Here are two photos of homemade Styrofoam nests:
http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/nestinserts.jpg (http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/nestinserts.jpg) (Are those Big Foot's Feet in the photo? I think they are!)
http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/3-nest-1.jpg (http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/3-nest-1.jpg)
Also, I have a copy of an article on Styrofoam Nest Inserts that appeared in the hard copy Scout Report some years back:
Quote:
Styrofoam nest inserts are mentioned here on the RTC often. These are an idea originally conceived by Purple Martin Society of Illinois member, Ed Donath, Arlington Hts, IL in the early 80's. For many years, he has promoted this idea in the PMSI Chapter in Illinois.
Styrofoam Nest Inserts are made from heavy-duty polystyrene.
With Styrofoam nest inserts, Purple Martins have a warmer and dryer nest in spring and times of adverse weather when they are nesting and breeding. Most martins do not bring much nesting materials to these inserts; they readily recognize them as a nesting cup. With Styrofoam Nest Inserts, we find that the martins merely bring green leaves to cover their eggs and very little, or no, nesting materials to their compartments.
With such artificial nest inserts, it is thought that the martins lay more eggs and fledge more quality young.
Artificial nest inserts also make nestchangeouts much easier. And, best of all, in metal houses, they keep the delicate young off metal floors. If young nestlings in poorly constructed nests have constant contact with slippery metal floors, they can develop splayed leg deformity, rendering the young birds useless in the bird world.
Artificial Styrofoam nests are also most helpful to subadult birds and their first breeding season. These first-year birds are known for not being very savvy and are not very experienced or successful in the breeding rituals of nestbuilding, egglaying and rearing of young. When subadults arrive on the breeding scene in your backyard, they have little time to spend in finding a mate, building a nest, etc. The result, many times, is a poorly constructed nest whereas their young are on, or close to, the bare metal or wood floors. We already know that eggs laid on the floor do not have great expectations of hatching. With the use of these artificial Styrofoam nest inserts, your subadults will hopefully show higher reproductive successes.
Rick Cruz writes:
“I have been using these nest inserts for several years. It was an innovation of the Late Ed Donath. It is basically extruded polystyrene. Most know it as the 2-inch thick pink insulation they use to insulate concrete. It comes in 4x8 sheets at any home improvement store. It is basically Styrofoam with all the air removed. DO NOT use the white packing Styrofoam. Do not be cheap and decide to use this. It makes a mess, doesn’t hold up and its possible the birds can accidentally ingest it. The pink or BLUE boards will do just fine. I prefer to use 2-1 half inch board. I have a special tool that cuts a perfect concave bowl. My martins do not make nests for the most part they just line it with leaves. I put a pencil hole through the center incase water gets in. I do not recommend this for 6x6 compartments for I do not trust that size to keep water out of the nesting compartment. All my nest cavities are deep and do not get exposed to rain.
The benefits are many.
Nestchanges? Just dump the whole thing and put the babies back in. You don’t need new nesting material. I dump the whole nest within a day or two of hatching.
These artificial nest inserts dramatically reduce the amount of nestparasites. No nest material! No substrate for the parasites to live in. There will still be mites but fleas, their larva and blowfly maggots will be reduced. With each nestcheck, I remove the babies, take out the nest inserts, brush it off, look around for any pests and just return it to the compartment babies and all.
Save the martins valuable energy by reducing the time needed to build a nest.
Ed Donath believed the martins could put more energy into egglaying by reducing the amount of time the birds need to make a nest.
The insulative qualities of this artificial nest keep the young cool in the heat and warm during cold spells. No heat from the brooding mother or the babies’ bodies gets absorbed into the metal floors of most martin houses.
SY birds are not the best nest builders; they can lay their eggs right in these no nest material needed.
Since I have been using these, I have not had a nest lost to cold or heat. With all the heat and drought last summer in our area, not a single baby martin attempted to leave the nest. I even checked on the hottest days. The babies would be equally spaced out allowing the air to circulate around them. On cold days they would bunch up in the center of the cup. I can also remember a spring in which all the birds laid eggs and then a terrific cold spell came and lasted two weeks. All the incubating females hatched young successfully when others around me had nest failure.
There is a way to make these without the tool I use. It’s not as effective but it will work. First get 2 pieces of 1-inch thick PS board. It’s usually light blue in color. Take a 4-inch hole saw and cut a hole out of one. Take simple wood glue and glue that to the other cut piece. The martins will actually scrape a bowl in that. You can also heat up a large round ladle and melt the bowl shape in it. That works quite well.
As far as I am concerned it is a huge time saver at the end of the season as well. No nasty parasite filled nesting material to remove. This innovation is something very few people use and it’s a shame. I have also found that martins will take a compartment with this over an empty one every time.”
Very well said, Rick!
To this I would like to add:
Click below for a photo of the tool that Rick Cruz uses to make artificial Styrofoam Nest Inserts. It is a modified saw blade on an arbor that can be used in a drill press machine to hone out the nest cup in the Styrofoam block.
Harlow Fox's Tool for Making Artificial Styrofoam Nests (http://i962.photobucket.com/albums/ae108/ProfessorBirdbrain/cuttintool2.jpg)
An important thing to know about Styrofoam Nest Inserts is that the starlings and sparrows hate them, chew them up and destroy them. They prefer nests of their own construction. Keeping this in mind, I don’t offer nest inserts to martins until I know a martin couple has a definite pair bond and is in the serious process of constructing a nest. I remove the nesting materials, maybe, throw on a piece or two of their original nest construction materials on top of the nest insert. After a few wary glances inside at the nest insert, they go in and it is fine with the martins after that.
And, in another blurb feedback to this article is another suggestion by Russ Nixon, Niagara Falls, NY, on his way of making artificial nests:
"
I've developed a technique to make the Styrofoam nest inserts for your houses. Using both 1" & 2" thick construction grade (blue or pink) dense Styrofoam panels.
The technique requires using a radial arm saw with either a 7" or a 10" carbide tipped blade along with some type of a turntable. Like the old lazy susans but not as high. I was able to find a lazy susan at a local toyshop. It was a 5/16" high metal turn table use for mounting dollhouses but now I can find them in Builders Square. I mounted a ¾" piece of plywood, just large enough to accommodate the 6"x6" or 6"x12" nest inserts.
The Styrofoam should be securely attached to the board either by tape or some type of mounting frame. By raising the saw blade and placing the turntable with the nest insert attached squarely under it you are ready to begin.
Predetermine how far you will need to lower the blade to achieve the proper depth without going too deep. Turn your saw on and begin lowering the blade gradually ¼" at a time and slowly rotate your turntable.
Repeat the lowering and the rotating of the table gradually until you have reached the desired depth. I mark my radial saw arm with a piece of tape at the desired depth. It's like cutting butter and you end up with dished out nest insert 5" across and ¾" deep on the 1" Styrofoam and 17/8" deep on the 2' Styrofoam.
Or, still yet, you can make them to the measurements of the inside compartment, say 6" x 12"
Purchase the large sheet of styrofoam at Home Depot, Lowe's or Menard's, etc. It comes in 4' x 8' x 1" sheets--snough to make them for the neighborhood!!
Cut out enough 6" x 12" x 1" pieces. Then cut a 4" hole in half of them. With glue (for styrofoam) glue one solid piece to the one piece with the 4" hole.
Now, you have a nest cup for your compartments.
If the styrofoam meets right to the entrance hole and blocks it, cut a slanted upwards ramp so that the bird enters the hole and goes right up the short ramp and onto the artificial styrofoam nest insert.
The bottom line to this dissertation, and as a Professor, I know all about dissertations, is that, with artificial nestinserts, you won't need much in the way of pine needles of any kind!
__________________