Why do the houses have to be way up in the air? Is there a best height?
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Purple Martin Landlords….let’s get those houses back up!
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Purple Martin Landlords….let’s get those houses back up!
Originally posted by Kingfisher789 View PostWhy do the houses have to be way up in the air? Is there a best height?
The way I understand it is they need room to leave, swoop down and gain some speed quickly to avoid predatory birds. They recommend at least 10' high off the ground.
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No scouts yet at my place. Only have one house up so far... two more to go...
For sparrow and martin control, I have my houses all oriented in such a way that I can shoot the sparrows/starlings off the porches/perches without shooting the houses... Plus that orientation makes it so all the openings are either East or West... no north or south facing holes.
On a side note, it appears the bluebirds have recovered nicely from last year's big freeze... Have about 4 pairs hanging around the houses in the back yard... the bluebird houses are singles and only about 18" above my cedar fence... The martin boxes are about 12 feet above them.
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Ironic for me to see this thread today. I just gave away this one I inherited with the house. We have turkeys, geese, mallards, woodpeckers and others to watch. No motivation to get this one up and running. Have not seen a bird touch it since we’ve been here.
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Originally posted by TexaRican View PostIronic for me to see this thread today. I just gave away this one I inherited with the house. We have turkeys, geese, mallards, woodpeckers and others to watch. No motivation to get this one up and running. Have not seen a bird touch it since we’ve been here.
They might have caught hell from other predator birds like owls and hawks that hang out in those hardwoods.
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Originally posted by RascalArms View PostOh man, I would have taken it off your hands.
They might have caught hell from other predator birds like owls and hawks that hang out in those hardwoods.
Yep, we have resident owls right there and pretty frequent hawks. Pretty cool to see a hawk pick of a squirrel now and then. There is a purple Martin guru in our hood who was telling me all the things I need to do and I’m just not motivated for it lol.
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