Horizontal Super Gourds

[PaulaZ]

Dear Professor BirdBrain,

I am having major hygiene problems with my Troyer horizontal super gourds.

While the vertical gourds and aluminum housing have standard round entry holes, I have found it necessary to have SREH on the horizontal gourds, as European Starlings (EUST) apparently LOVE tunnel openings.

The PUMA love them too, and choose them first. Instructions state that I must add nesting material to the horizontal gourds so I have been putting dry soft pine needles in them. I like having these horizontal gourds as an option because I believe if a hawk or owl did show up to depredate the rigs, nothing could get them in these gourds (too far back).

In northern Ohio (South Bass Island on Lake Erie), I typically perform one nest change around July 4th. Horizontal gourds are filthy, wet, disgusting, urea smelling mess whereas the vertical gourds and aluminum housing are not.

So what is the problem? My choice of nesting material (pine needles not draining properly)? Lack of ventilation due to long horizontal neck and SREH? Do horizontal gourds require more frequent nest changes?

Chicks in horizontal gourds were older. Some compartments were 24 days of age. The feces of chicks in these gourds was not healthy (runny brown/yellow). Was this due to disease or parents feeding berries?

The rigs are full of nestlings. There were 150 young on the 4th and only 3 compartments without young. I replaced all the original nests with tablespoon of diatomaceous earth, followed by layer of cedar shavings, topped with shallow layer of pine needles.

Please help.

Respectfully,
Miss Tified

[Professor BirdBrain]

Part 2 / Professor and Miss Tified

Professor Birdbrain: RE: As for the martins building nests themselves and inserting nesting materials inside compartments and gourds: Martins are capable of finding nesting materials and constructing their own nests.

So, why do we put nesting materials inside their compartments and gourds anyway?

We do it to make their compartments more comfortable, particularly in cold gourds and cold metal house compartments, in early spring weather conditions.

We do it so as to help the SYs (Second year breeding birds) complete their hectic schedule when they arrive at our colonies. SYys are not savvy at all and are not sure what to do but they have a lot to do. First, they migrate long distances to our North American continent. Then, they find their way to our backyards, find a unused compartment, fight with adult males and their molls, then find a woman of their own—FAST!!, then build a nest—Pronto!!, then lay eggs, eggs hatch and rear young in half the time it takes adults to do.

Please! Don’t do a grammar check on that last, drawn-out sentence!

So, in providing nesting materials for these young, soon to be martin parents, you are helping them succeed along toward their goal. So, if you have the pine needles, and you should, if you are to nestreplacements, put ample amounts in every compartment. You will be helping the early martins to keep warm on cold metal or cold plastic floors or helping SY martins and giving them an incentive to stay and nest at your site.


Miss Tified: Chicks in horizontal gourds were older. Some compartments were 24 days of age. The feces of chicks in these gourds was not healthy (runny brown/yellow). Was this due to disease or parents feeding berries?

Professor Birdbrain: Miss Tified, as a general practice, nests should be changed and replenished with fresh, soft pine needles when young nestlings are ten and twenty days of age. That’s it!

We know and understand that not all landlords are able to do this due to commitments on their time. However, if done once, this routine will reduce the parasite load and make both young and their parents more comfortable.

I say that if martin landlords are not willing to do one nestreplacement during the nurturing time of the martin season, then, perhaps, they should take down their birdhouses and gourds!

The conditions of the feces in your gourds could have been caused by: 1) Nestlings were not well due to the conditions and perhaps had diarrhea; and, 2) Physical interaction and activities of older nestlings inside, therefore breaking up the fecal matter.

It is no where documented, as far as I know, that, like their cousins, the Tree Swallows (eat Bayberries while in the south), martins do not eat any berries at all. Martins are considered to be obligate insectivorous birds and only eat flying insects.

Miss Tified: The rigs are full of nestlings. There were 150 young on the 4th and only 3 compartments without young. I replaced all the original nests with tablespoon of diatomaceous earth, followed by layer of cedar shavings, topped with shallow layer of pine needles.

Professor Birdbrain: Miss Tilfied, the best courses of action is: 1) NOT to use any chemicals (Sevin / Poultry Dust, etc) inside the compartments of fragile birds. To do so, is not to comply with the requirements on the container which says, to paraphrase, “Do not use this product in a matter in which it was not intended”; and, 2) Do not use Diamataceous Earth (DE) inside the compartments where martins nest and raise their young.

I see that, yesterday, Terry covered information on the no-use policy of Sevin and DE but I will reiterate here once again. DE is a safe biological substance comprised of microscopically sharp crystals. Surprisingly, it can be ingested. Actually, it can be rubbed on the fur or feathers of an animal. Although we all used it for a short few years in the mid 90’s, we no longer use it in martin nests any more.

Why?

Because DE is a very fine powder, it can be incorporated into the wind dynamics inside a martin house. When this occurs, martin adults and young may breath this fine powder into their lungs. It can also be in touch with fragile eyes as well. So, please do not continue using DE any more in the management of your martins.

So, it comes down to “what can we do to kill the martins’ parasites?”

Simply said, “Nothing!” That is, nothing involving chemicals!

We just have to face it that herding martins into common nesting areas will contribute to their parasite load. However, we must also understand that birds and their ectoparasites have co-evolved for eons. For the most part, martins can keep their parasites in check—after all, they are insectivorous birds. But, still, there are times when parasites get the upper hand during times of prolonged cold, hot, dry and wet conditions. Or, in the case of young nestlings, they are unable to groom themselves and pick out their parasites. Doing nestreplacements is the answer. It is the safe answer and will cause no harm to martins or their young if done properly and done under proper conditions (no wind or rain but warm conditions).

Other than finding suitable nesting materials (White Pine needles, etc.), the major problem with nestreplacements occurs when landlords have gazillions of nests to manage. In such situations, nestreplacements become laborious to complete. But, if landlords have the responsibility of hosting huge colonies of martins, then, they must be responsible in finding the time to do nestreplacements in their martin management.

I know I have given you a ton of info, Miss Tified, and some of it may take some getting used to. However, what I have written to you is the best of my expertise and that of The Purple Martin Society, NA.

I wish you luck on Bass Island. I, myself, have visited Bass Island on my way, via the hydrofoil craft, Jet Express, to the birding mecca, Point Pelee National Park in Ontario on the other side of Lake Erie. Sometime, I would like to come and visit—I mean--visit Put in Bay and Bass Island, in general. Sounds like a mini Martha’s Vineyard to me. It looks so lovely set in Lake Erie. It is also very historical and claims its hero, Admiral Perry.

Perhaps, you would like to tell us more about you and your martin interest on Bass Island on the Main Round Table Conference. I am sure that I and others would find your life and martin life on Bass Island very interesting.



Please help!

Respectfully,
Miss Tified

[Professor BirdBrain]

Dear Professor Birdbrain,

Miss Tified: I am having major hygiene problems with my Troyer horizontal super gourds.

While the vertical gourds and aluminum housing have standard round entry holes, I have found it necessary to have SREH on the horizontal gourds, as European Starlings (EUST) apparently LOVE tunnel openings.

The PUMA love them too, and choose them first. Instructions state that I must add nesting material to the horizontal gourds so I have been putting dry soft pine needles in them. I like having these horizontal gourds as an option because I believe if a hawk or owl did show up to depredate the rigs, nothing could get them in these gourds (too far back).

Professor Birdbrain: Yes, indeedie, Miss Tified, Purple Martins do love the new Troyer Horizontal Gourds with the tunnels and the Amish specialty holes, the Conley II Entrances. Sales of said gourds have been flying out of the PMSNA like free hot cakes this season. Unknown to many landlords, starlings (those flying vermin!!) do love the THGs.

You see, Miss Tified, the swing of gourds does nothing to deter these flying rats or those other vermin, House Sparrows. With the addition, now, of tunnels to the Troyer Horizontal Gourds, making the entrance to the lodging interestingly more convoluted, the starlings like them just as much as martins do.

When martins and starlings nested in abandoned woodpecker holes, the original sculptors of the nesting hole, the woodpeckers, excavated not only inward but also downward into the trunks of the trees. So, you see, Miss Tified, woodpeckers were smart enough to excavate interesting holes in attempts to thwart their predators. Secondary cavity nesters, like martins and starling scum, followed suit and enjoyed the protection of such well-sculpted nesting cavities. THGs with tunnels and specialized Conley holes provide such interesting and protective designs.

The THGs are also quite large and roomy inside as well as providing a very secure nesting habitat due to the tunnels. This creates, as you noted, an owl-proof, not owl-resistant, nesting chamber within.

Miss Tified: In northern Ohio (South Bass Island on Lake Erie), I typically perform one nest change around July 4th. Horizontal gourds are filthy, wet, disgusting, urea smelling mess whereas the vertical gourds and aluminum housing are not.

So what is the problem? My choice of nesting material (pine needles not draining properly)? Lack of ventilation due to long horizontal neck and SREH? Do horizontal gourds require more frequent nest changes?

Professor Birdbrain: Miss Fified, first off, I think if you look back upon the recent June and early July weather, you will remember that your area in the Midwest had an enormous amount of rain this summer and summer is only half over. I would dare say that May was one of the coldest Mays on record and that June, for sure, provided one of the heaviest rainfall records. And, living on Lake Erie, could possibly provide more lake effect type weather and rain than more south of you and inland.

I think that there is a difference between a nest in a large house compartment as compared to a nest inside a gourd during periods of heavy rain. Many houses have deep compartments along with a nest insert tray which keeps the nest off the floors should the floors become wet. With gourds, what rain goes through the hole ends up, ultimately, inside the gourd.

It could be that Troyer Gourds may need more attention but I think all gourd brands are equal in retaining water in this regard. Also, I would make sure that the drainage holes on the bottom of any gourd are open and not obstructed. In addition, I would in your situation, drill more holes to facilitate better drainage.

With rain, comes water intrusion. It doesn’t matter whether you have a SuperGourd, a Natureline Gourd, an Excluder Gourd or a Troyer Gourd---all will have some, or more, water intrusion, depending upon the amount of rain and/or the direction of the gourd in relation to the oncoming rains. When the weather is excessively wet—and I would characterize the past 5-6 weeks in your part of the Midwest—then, it is incumbent upon Purple Martin stewards to check nests for wetness and if the nests are wet, indeed, even putrid, provide themselves with gloves and a mask and clean the affected nests out and replace with “ample” good clean and dry nesting materials.

As Terry, our fearless PM leader, always tells all of us to be an amateur meteorologist. Look to the weather and see how current conditions relate to your martin management. We must not only look for cold, dry and stormy conditions, but also for periods of heavy rain. Even if there is one bad storm, martin management dictates that landlords check for wet saturated nests. If they do not check, their nestlings can drown or die of hyperthermia from a wicked up nest.

If nests were wet and remained wet over a period of time that also coincided with very hot and humid conditions as this past ten days, the 4th of July inclusive, conditions inside the gourds could deteriorate, particularly in gourds with older nestlings. This could result in diarrhea and the conditions you observed.

In the beginning of the nurturing time when parents tend closely to their young, they remove fecal sacs and drop them within fifty feet of the house or gourdrack—safely away as not to draw in ground predators.

With the commencement of the nurturing time the parents remove fecal sacs and ingest them themselves. It is at this time that parents, particularly Second Year bird parents, are so busy that they have little time for themselves to hunt down insects for themselves to eat. While it may disgust some, it is interesting to note, that, in Nature, nothing goes to waste.

Insect foods having run its course quickly through the newly developed systems of young, newly hatched nestlings, the sacs continue to provide a nutritious food parcel for the parents, now on constant run. However, as the young become more and more demanding, parent martins no longer eat the spent undernourished fecal sacs and now remove the fecal sacs from the nest and drop them in areas away from the natal colony.

In coming days when the nestlings grow and develop quickly, the parents are more busy delivering more and larger foods for the now ever-demanding young. There is no time for housekeeping duties such as fecal sac removal. Had these young developing young been reared in a cavity in a tree, the young would now compensate and provide light housekeeping themselves as they would go up to the entrance hole and relieve themselves outside the hole. But, as it is, today, martins are lodged in 2-room suites, extra-large compartments in houses and gourds and are more confined, therefore instead of dropping a load outside the hole, they defile their nesting areas by defecating right where they sleep and eat while sharing with several other young—all doing the same disgusting thing.

This is certainly a reasonable comeback for those that still do not perform routine nestchecks and nestreplacements 1 to 2 times (at ten days of age and at 20 days of age) while the young are ensconced inside their natal nests.

It should be reasonable to all our readers to understand why nests need to be changed at least once during the nurturing season. Now, that nests are defiled and full of feather and fecal debris, it is understandable why such nests invite large parasite loads within the nests of gourds and houses.

Miss Tified: With vertical gourds and aluminum houses, PUMA build entire nests on their own. With horizontal ones, I have to start it for them. Cedar chips may be better choice for next year?

Professor Birdbrain: Please excuse my screaming, Miss Tified!!

(IXNA ONLAY ETHEY EDARCAY AVINGSSHAY!!)

For those of you who do not know latin, read on:

Negatory!!

On the cedar shavings at any time!

Negatory!!

Professor Birdbrain: I have been fighting against cedar shavings or any kind of wood shavings for nesting material for twenty years now. In the beginning, cedar shavings were used, first off, in birdhouses, not gourds. Andrew Troyer was the first to use them in his Troyer-14 Houses.

They were picked out of a fresh bag of shavings purchased from a pet store. And, if the landlord took the time to first open the bag, then bend down and take a great updrafted wiff of these freshly manufactured and greatly enhanced cedar shavings and fully expand their lungs, I dare say, the enhanced smell would knock them off their feet. And, so, landlords, killing their martins with love, add this to their compartments as nesting fodder.

Little is known that manufacturers take natural cedar shavings and add a greatly-enhanced smell to the already odiferous cedar shavings.

In birdhouses with nest inserts or subfloors, as we mention again below, nests are above the floor and are located at the rear of the larger compartments. In gourds, what moisture that goes through the holes gets down inside to the nesting materials.

In the nests of both birdhouses and gourds, cedar shavings become moist. I have had students argue with me in class that their nests in their birdhouses don’t get any rain intrusion therefore their nests don’t get wet.

“Is that right?” I ask them.

Well, what about the moisture from the defecations of the nestlings, day after day, until the next nestchange—if there is one?

See, sometimes students don’t look farther than their noses. Nests get moist just from bird poo.

The good thing about soft pine needles is that they don’t retain moisture. But, with shavings of any kind, shavings hold moisture.

And, what loves a heaping pile of fecal mess?


Ectoparasites!!


In such moist conditions with wood shavings, parasites would thrive. And, conditions can get worse.

My academian opinion is that you and others NOT use wood shavings inside your martin’s nesting area for three reasons; 1) Shavings hold moisture; 2) Moist wood shaving conditions provide a thriving medium for parasite loads; and, 3) Chemicals have been enhanced into the cedar shavings where martins nest, and, 4) The smell of newly inserted cedar shavings is strong and becomes stronger in the hot sun.

Miss Fified, it is best, as we say it here at the PMSNA:

“Err on the side of the Purple Martin!”

May I add also:

“Do what is best for the Purple Martins that what is easy for landlords!”

(Continued next note)