Hi Wilson

As Kevin mentioned, there is a good chance Dave Fouts was involved in
putting up these boxes. Therefore it would be a good idea to try and get
in touch with him. In addition to whatever he has to say, I will add
these observations.

Recently a new purple martin nestbox entrance design has come out of the
East that is reported to be virtually starling proof. Sounds too good to
be true, I know, but so far they seem to be living up to their promise.
Having these entrances on boxes out year round for several consecutive
years will be the real test. Metal plates with these exact holes
punched in them can be purchased from retailers of Eastern martin
products. This year I installed four nestboxes with these "excluder"
entrances at two martin colonies in the northern Puget Sound. As of this
week all four had martin nests and three of them had eggs. My
understanding is that these entrances are designed to be used in
conjunction with a porch, in the same way as rectangular and crescent
starling resistant entrances. (Be sure to roughen up the entire wooden
floor both inside and out in order to give the birds traction as they go
thru these restricted openings, and to prevent leg splay among
nestlings.) Another thing about these new entrances is they allow three
nestlings to get their heads out simultaneously for feeding. If you are
going to be involved in putting up some new nestboxes, it may be
worthwhile to include some of these new entrances. Low entrances on deep
(12 inch from entrance to back wall ) nestboxes offer good protection
from predators. A large colony of shallow boxes with big round holes
can become owl feeding stations. Yes, owls will cling to birdboxes at
night and extract nestlings and adults. Crows have been known to extract
nestlings from shallow boxes during daylight hours.. Another thing to
consider is putting an overhanging sheet metal cap over the wooden roof
of the nestboxes. Last summer I spent some time in Oregon observing
martins, most in nestbox colonies. Eric Horvath pointed out some
nestboxes reportedly put up by Tom Lund back in the late 70's- early
80's that are still producing martins after all this time without
maintenance. Some of the wood roof only boxes I put up as recently as
1999 are already starting to look fairly weathered, and some of the old
wooden boxes installed in the Puget Sound in the 80's are literally
falling apart. Aluminum sheet metal flashing can be bought in rolls at
hardware stores, or you can get it from aluminum rain gutter
contractors. They usually have remnants and odd lots that they will
sell at a reasonable price. Another thing to consider is locating new
nestboxes on poles above high tide in order to facilitate maintenance,
monitoring, and research. Having to deal with boats and tide schedules
certainly complicates and often compromises data collection and
banding. Although most martins nest over inland marine waters, they
most certainly will nest in boxes on poles over land on shore, and even
well away from water. The horizontally deep box design will not only
reduce owl and crow predation, it will help reduce access into the
nesting cavity by some climbing predators as well.(climbing predator
guards on upland poles will eliminate the threat of raccoons, chipmunks,
etc.) If there is a suitable location relatively nearby the existing
site, you might try installing new boxes there in the spring, and remove
some of the present boxes before martins return next year. Once some
martins start using the new boxes, all or most of the old boxes can
come down. I would be happy to try to answer any other questions you
may have. Good luck.

Stan Kostka
lynnandstan at earthlink.net
Arlington WA




Subject: Clark County Birding/RFI on Purple Martin Nest boxes
From: Wilson Cady <gorgebirds at juno.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 19:39:43 -0700
I did an inspection for the Georgia-Pacific Corporation of a
series of pilings and dolphins in the Camas Slough and around Reed and
Ackerman Islands in Columbia River that are being proposed for removal
due to deterioration and nonuse. Besides Tree Swallows using some of
them
we counted nineteen pair of PURPLE MARTINS and five active OSPREY nests
on these structures. Of course mitigation in the form of nesting
platforms and boxes will be required before any work would be approved.
I
know that there are several people on these E-mail lists that have
worked
with providing Purple Martin housing and would appreciate any
suggestions
on housing types etc.