ok. here's the thing: I am NOT the Martin house expert. But i know a little. Every fall (late fall), you lower the pole on the martin house. The birds are gone for the year. it's ok. When spring seems upon us (or when the martins are 'scouting' the house at the Georgia Pacific mill) you consider your options. Preferably, you take down your martin house and 'clean it up'. Which is what we did this year.
I washed and scrubbed the innards of the house and laid it out to dry in the sun: Will gathered new pine straw to stuff the little apartments...
....you set the house back on the pole and raise it high into the air and hope your timing is most excellent: note the Hurricane Gustav shirt...we hope we get a break from such things this year.
Will added little perches up top this time around. The birds were having trouble getting purchase on anything...they DO love the perches, by the way.
We think we have ten, or five couples this year. It's hard to tell, they fly around quite a bit. I must say: like the bees, the martins tend to 'sleep in' in the mornings. They don't get up till the sun shines on their little abode.
ok. here's the thing: I am NOT the Martin house expert. But i know a little. Every fall (late fall), you lower the pole on the martin house. The birds are gone for the year. it's ok. When spring seems upon us (or when the martins are 'scouting' the house at the Georgia Pacific mill) you consider your options. Preferably, you take down your martin house and 'clean it up'. Which is what we did this year.
I washed and scrubbed the innards of the house and laid it out to dry in the sun: Will gathered new pine straw to stuff the little apartments...
....you set the house back on the pole and raise it high into the air and hope your timing is most excellent: note the Hurricane Gustav shirt...we hope we get a break from such things this year.
Will added little perches up top this time around. The birds were having trouble getting purchase on anything...they DO love the perches, by the way.
We think we have ten, or five couples this year. It's hard to tell, they fly around quite a bit. I must say: like the bees, the martins tend to 'sleep in' in the mornings. They don't get up till the sun shines on their little abode.
