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Thread: Martin House

  1. #1

    Martin House

    Some reading to kill time in quarantine.

    The Bride gave me a Martin House to mount for my birthday. I am not as "handy" as some believe.

    I have wanted one on my dock, so trying to mount it there.
    I had to spend a hundred for a 12' steel telescoping pole, 36 for solar lights, 25 for stain, and 20 for decoy Martins. They forgot to add the hardware when shipping the pole, so had to acquire some steel bolts. I can't afford for my Bride to give me a present.

    Here is the deal, most Martin houses you see are plastic gourds or thin wall plastic or tin.
    The cedar one I wanted is heavy, but looks great after I stained it. Everything on the lake needs extra protection.
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    My big problem is due to math.
    “Give me one firm spot on which to stand, and I shall move the earth.” – Archimedes
    Archimedes was a smart guy, and he is biting me in the ass today. If you attach a pole to a dock and put a heavy load at the other end, where it hits the dock becomes the fulcrum point. The longer the lever -> well you see the problem.

    I have this pole https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    Compounding my problem is the wind often hits over 20mph, and over 30 is common. The lake gets white caps like the ocean, but not enough to surf. Boats pass and make waves. The dock bounces around like a fishing cork. That heavy house way up on a pole is exerting heavy stress below as it shifts back and forth from the dock moving. Some connection is bound to fail at some some point. That will be where the house or the dock is attached to the pole. That pole is not going to bend.

    Years back had solidly attached a steel umbrella stand there. It is about 3' and slightly larger than the pole, so using that as my base. It looks something like this:
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    Attaching the house to the pole took some thinking and drilling, but I believe I have it rigged in. Time will tell. There is less stress there than below, but is a weak point.

    I mounted two of these lights on top of the house "just because", sorta like a light house. My dock has solar power lighting , these are just fun, and very bright.
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    I attached two plastic Martins decoys. It is too late this year for a Martin, so if they never choose me, will have these to look at. I have Bluebirds and Cave Swallows there as I already have up 5 normal houses there. I raise a lot of birds on my dock.
    If Martins don't show next year, someone will use this house.

    The first section is about 7 foot up, so needed a step ladder to slide in the next sections. The dock floats and with wind and waves from boats, it bounces around. I like that when sitting in my chair, not so much when balancing on a ladder. I do have a touch of Vertigo. After eye surgery my eyes each form a different picture for my brain to deal with, and that makes it worse. Closing one eye when on the ladder helps.

    Due to the pergola, could not get the ladder as close as I would prefer. The heavy house on the end of a pole and me on a ladder "reaching" trying to slip the other end in was almost more than I could handle as I am old and not strong (damn Archimedes). At the last second before I gave out, got it in. Better would be attaching the house after the poles are in, but lacking the hardware tried this way. As a plus, while falling might have harmed my house, I would have landed in the water.
    Telescoping the pole down to service the house will be not as hard.

    I hate a pole that is not straight. I am always adjusting the ones that hold my bird feeders.
    The dock aint level, the pole sections are different diameter by design and don't fit tight. This pole is not perpendicular and will never be. I will be able to improve it some and take out the rattle. As a plus, folks will always know "Bill" did that, did not pay to have it done right.

    I used duck tape, heavy plastic ties (I am a real RedNeck) and a 5' steel fence stake to reinforce where the pole slid into umbrella stand. That stopped movement there and made the pole closer to perpendicular. That should hold until some 10" steel clamp bands arrive from Amazon . (I am in isolation and can't just run to Lowes.)

    My hope is on my next birthday the Bride just gives me a strippergram.
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  2. #2
    SMA
    Join Date
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    Should you have a future project that requires an extra hand, let me know. I just got the results back from my covid test and am negative, so at least for now, I wouldn't be putting your life in jeopardy.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Farley View Post
    Should you have a future project that requires an extra hand, let me know. I just got the results back from my covid test and am negative, so at least for now, I wouldn't be putting your life in jeopardy.
    Yeah, you were good the day the test was administered, but an hour later as you hit Chick-fl-la or had your hair clipped - WTF could have attached to you.

    Two months back we were all afraid . Today the danger is a thousand times more due to more folks out there with it. It is not less today, but more, much more.

    I have pissed off most of my neighbors. Early today was taking out a tree that is leaning over the road. A neighbor in his golf cart thing rode up, turned it off to ?? I told him I was in isolation and walked quickly away. There is another enemy made.

  4. #4
    I have been going pretty much everywhere we are allowed to go. Only started wearing a mask about 2 weeks ago in places where they require it to go inside. I have always washed my hands. I use a sanitary wipe when using the porta jons in the park. The bathrooms are under construction at the office so they have a bunch of porta jons instead. They are always nasty as you usually cannot wash your hands after messing with the handles etc and people are pigs. Not worried about the China flu. If I am not healthy enough to fight it off then that is how it goes. Don't want it but I am not going to worry about it. I drive the highways 50,000 miles per year and have more of a chance of never making it home alive doing that than I do having the bug kill me. People who want to go to work or open their business should do so. Those who believe they are at a particular risk should stay away if they choose. I get paid for sitting at home so I will not tell anyone else that they cannot open their business or go to work to protect me. Government is there to protect my life from someone assaulting me trying to kill me and my property from anyone trying to steal it. I see people running in the park and bike ridding in the park with masks on. Don't know why. Wish I was wearing on during my run yesterday at one point as I sucked in a cottonwood seed and nearly choked to death.

  5. #5
    I may have seen a martin in my yard yesterday. I bought a few more feeders and bought some "special" food that the store said was formulated for them as it has the most popular food variety for local birds. Out of the 4 feeders with different food in them, that feeder gets the most attention. I also put out shelled sunflower seeds coated with hot pepper which is supposed to keep squirrels away and it seems to do so. I need to move the feeder as the birds have a hard time finding it.

    Got my new binoculars Monday. 10x42 Vortex Diamond Back. They are an improvement over the 10x25 that were ok but just not as good. My 7x35 wide angle are not much good for the yard. Bought a new bird book and, as usual got more than I can use. I cannot find the one I got last year which was good and focused on the southeast. I will find it if it kills me.

    Up until the end of last week I saw rabbits in my yard several times per day. Have not seen one in about 6 or 7 days. Hawks????

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Gass View Post
    I may have seen a martin in my yard yesterday. I bought a few more feeders and bought some "special" food that the store said was formulated for them
    What food was that?
    Birds have different diets. I don't think Martins eat anything that is not alive.

    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Gass View Post
    . I also put out shelled sunflower seeds coated with hot pepper which is supposed to keep squirrels away and it seems to do so.
    I love my squirrels have fed them for years. They can be more fun than the birds. Now I have cats and squirrels are less. They don't eat that much, just put up a platform feeder for them.


    10x42 Vortex Diamond Back looks to be a great bino, good choice. I see they have a focus distance of 7' which is important to me. Some experts don't like 10 power, but most men can hold that steady (and most women). The 10X25 is more of an opera glass.


    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Gass View Post
    Bought a new bird book and, as usual got more than I can use. I cannot find the one I got last year which was good and focused on the southeast. I will find it if it kills me.
    Over the years have acquired a library of bird books from gifts and search.
    I like some more than others.
    The best for me and most is this:
    https://www.amazon.com/Peterson-Fiel...-search&sr=8-4
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    Basically if you don't have a well worn copy of Peterson, you aint in the game. I know every page as I have been in it thousands of times. Buy a copy and get to know it.
    It will help teach you what to look for as to markings. Birds can confuse anyone.

    The two main types are photos or drawings. Peterson is drawings. My favorite photo one is Stokes, but Audubon is good.
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    If you take your own photo, you can ask here, as Chuck and Tony are experts. The web is now great for tracking down a bird as there are endless photos. The trick is to get a quick photo, it don't have to be a good photo, just good enough to help ID. You iphone can do that.


    The deal as to ID is markings. Drawings do that best. Birds even of a feather don't look the same, so a photo in a book is not best. Birds don't even look the same different times of the year. Males, females and juveniles all can look like different birds.

    Get all the books, but study Peterson, and keep it close.

  7. #7
    The bird that I think was a martin was on the ground moving around. I have a lot of birds eating off the ground in my "natural" area. I have some old rotted logs in an area and the birds eat the bugs in that area. I also have a grass/leaf pile from my lawn mower and there are worms in there and some other bugs and that seems to be a popular bird area.

    I don't mind the squirrels but they can clean out a feeder in no time and chase away the birds. I do not want to attract them as they were a pain in the ass in my attic for several years until the hawks cleaned them out. We were over run and I had to repair some electrical wire that they were chewing through. They have burnt down houses chewing on electrical wires. I have some but not many. They knocked down the post I just put in the ground with feeders on it. It is metal and maybe not sturdy enough but that's the way it goes. I will buy that book. The Sibley Guide to Birds is the book I have and it is loaded with pictures so I don't need another picture book. If it were focused on the east or southeast it would be great but you have to thumb through the pages and fine photos and then see the region that the birds live in and make sure it is for this area. I have seen a few birds that I swear look identical to pictures of birds that are not supposed to live around here so you can see how that goes. My other book was great. I need to find it and I will buy the Peterson book. My binos are not too heavy and you are right about the 10x25. They are only good for looking into a small area. They were not too good in Yosemite or Sequoia National parks and we are going to Glacier in July and I want a better tool.

  8. #8
    Got more seed today and another feeder. I have to get a better hanger for 2 of them. I hardly had the feeders refilled and still putting up the feed and the birds were all over the feeders. Getting a better seed really matters. I also got a bag of feed with fruit bits that I will load out next. Saw a brown thrasher and a purple martin and a towhee among the other birds. I have to figure out how to photograph them properly so I can identify them. I saw a few that I cannot identify. Very oddly colored and interesting head.

    I have a video camera that I can mount on my tripod but I cannot plug it into anything to play back. It has the old audio/video cables. I will have to figure this out. There must be an adaptor somewhere for this. It has a 40 power digital zoom and takes great stills and video. I may be able to play the DVDs from it on one of the players.

    I am also seeing a chipmunk every day now around the feeders picking up what the birds knock out.

  9. #9
    Your iphone can do it. Martin, I want to see that Martin. I remain suspect.
    There are two types of zoom. One is digital which is useless, never use that.
    The other is optical.
    Email me some photos, and I can develop from there for a small fee (beer).

    One good read would be to look at all the pages on our YardCrapBirds.com page. Most of the birds that will visit you are there. We have the same birds. I have not posted there lately. It would be great if you (and all) would add some things there from your yard.

    You can give posting a try, but as you still can't even post on YC, eaiser would be just email me the photos at yardcrap@hushmail.com with thoughts and let me post for you. That would be a good way to start and share. Send me some, let me have a try and be amazed.

    I love Chipmunks. When I had my dog, we had dozens. I fed them well, they would come to my chair to steal, driving Rosey crazy. Those baffles on my feeders were not mounted for squirrels, but Chipmunks. Those guys will work themselves to death hauling food away. It is almost cruel giving them access to a pile of food.
    Now I have cats. They believe their job is to catch them and bring them to me.
    I now have few Chipmunks.

  10. #10
    Ok.The issue with my iPhone is that I was trying to take pictures through the window...and screen and they suck. I have figured out now that the birds don't care if I am outside. The phone takes amazing photos so I will send some. I sent a picture of some of my feeders in my yard and it is not a good picture. I have iPhone photos that look like they were taken with an expensive camera. I guess considering with the damn phone cost they were taken with an expensive camera.

    Just bought a new feeder hanger. The one I got on Thursday was a piece of crap. I got a heavy duty one at Home Depot and it was $24 with tax and it holds two feeders. Right now there is a bright red headed woodpecker on one of the feeders. It was there earlier and then jumped on the tree next to the feeder and started pecking.

  11. #11
    What I thought was a martin may also have been a type of Grackle. The color is similar and it may be more common. I have to go by photos in the book and I am new at this.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Gass View Post
    The phone takes amazing photos
    It does. It takes great photos, the deal is to hold as steady as possible.
    I don't own a smart phone, just a flip phone. I am on T-Mobile and my bill is $2.50 a month.
    I don't even know right now where my phone is.

    Here is an example from today. This is not my usual camera which is kinda great, but one 20 years old.
    The boat dock is moving up and down, snapped that photo of a Cave Swallow up the lake.
    After developing it still aint a great photo, but certainly one can ID the bird from it. Check my FB page today where I got lucky and caught a Heron in flight.

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    Cameras all toss in digital zoom, but stay with optical as much better zoom can be done with computer if it has pixels to work with.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Gass View Post
    What I thought was a martin may also have been a type of Grackle. The color is similar and it may be more common. I have to go by photos in the book and I am new at this.

    In Matthews, the Starlings drove me crazy. Here I have . Grackles and Red-wing Black birds show and are welcome. The damn Starlings don't visit, they take over.
    I am the only guy in a tie

  14. #14
    CPT
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
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    Huntington Beach, CA (via Sunbury, Ohio)
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    Nice project Bill......is the same BD gift I was going to send , so will just keep it and send you a stripper next year. Something to live another year for?
    Ode to 2020 (sung to the tune of "Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting") - ELG:
    "Everybody was Kung Flu fighting
    This virus panic struck like lightening
    Although the future seemed too frightening
    (Seemed too frightening)
    It's the book of your life that you should have been writing
    (Life that you should have been writing)"


  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Gass View Post
    I sent a picture of some of my feeders in my yard and it is not a good picture.
    Good photo. Any future you send should have as many pixels as possible. This one is just 156KB, so not much to work with. Adjust your iphone to best quality.

    An easy way to mount feeders is with a 4X4 post.
    At Lowes you can get this spike, so no digging or cementing is needed.
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    https://www.lowes.com/pd/USP-4-in-x-...l-Base/3365692

    Add some hangers like these:
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    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010OLD0MY...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

    You could also just attach these to that tree.

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    I am the only guy in a tie

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