Easy DIY Purple Martin Gourd Rack

I'll be writing another blog post soon about the current status of purple martins here at my site. But I wanted to get this information out to all of you that love to create things and are handy with wood while it's still early in the season.

I recently saw this DIY gourd rack on a purple martin forum and I think it is absolutely the best DIY gourd rack I've ever seen. I asked the gentleman who built it to share his plans and detailed instructions and he emailed me the following instructions & pictures. There are also links to all the supplies that he used at the bottom of this post.

For those of you that would like to build this gourd rack, here ya go:

Instructions for how to build this gourd rack, provided by Jimmy Dugan, Purple Martin Fanatics Group

As far as the carriage system is concerned, I loosely followed the Anderson cc page.

Link: http://www.anderson.cc/hazer.html?fbclid=IwAR3xJAgzzTwTRtJ89IM5c32TfpIsjVZD--fAq8xzE5TA6r-E4epUXPYZZAI

I used two, three foot 2x6 boards. The carriage system is held together using, 3/8" threaded rod, washers and nuts.

The actual system that rides on the pole is 1/2" outer diameter, 3/8" inner diameter aluminum tubing. The tubing is cut based on the size of the pole to be used.

Installed over the tubing is 3/4" pvc pipe which actually does the "rolling" up and down the pole. This is cut shorter than the tubing so it doesn't chafe on the wood as it goes up and down. 

View inside the carriage system, showing the ¾” pvc pipe that was installed over the 3/8” aluminum tubing

Closeup showing the pvc pipe as it rolls against the steel pole.

The 2x4 cross members are approximately 26” long and screwed to the carriage. The gourds are attached to the 2x4 cross members using 3/8" threaded rod. You can buy the 3/8” threaded rod in 6 foot lengths and cut them in half so they are 3 feet long. The gourds attach to them using nuts and washers.

 

 

Once you build the carriage system, the possibilities are endless as to what you mock up to hold gourds/houses. Mine in particular has 16 S&K Bo 9 gourds attached to it.

A nut is installed on either side of the gourd neck to hold it in place.

To keep the 3/8” threaded rod from slipping back & forth, nuts are tightened up against the 2x4’s on each side.

The pole that was used was galvanized steel. At the top of the pole, I cut a notch for the 4 inch diameter V idler pulley which I bought from Amazon. The pulley is attached to the pole by using a 3/8" bolt.

It is kept centered using spacers on either side.

The winch can be purchased from Harbor Freight for $20. I believe it is rated for 1k lbs. It's bolted directly to the pole as I couldn't find U bolts that would work for it.

The cable is attached on the opposite side of the carriage system from the winch, to an eye bolt.

A small pulley is mounted to the top of the carriage to keep the cable from rubbing against the carriage system.

I put two perches at the top of the pole again using 3/8" threaded rod.

The pole is in a ground socket that I built using pvc trim board that I cut to width. I like the idea of the socket so I can remove the pole and there will not be a ground stake still there. 

I could have used all stainless hardware....but I didn't want to spend a million dollars. So I used zinc and galvanized stuff.

Well, Jimmy - it certainly looks like a million dollar setup! I bet the martins think so too!

Links to the things I used. 

Round Tubing: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-36-in-x-1-2-in-x-1-16-in-Aluminum-Round-Tube-801247/204274002

Hand Winch: https://www.harborfreight.com/automotive/winches/hand-winches/12-ton-capacity-hand-winch-62592.html

3/8” threaded Rod: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Steelworks-3-8-in-dia-x-6-ft-L-Coarse-Steel-Threaded-Rod/3128769

​V-Groove Idler Pulley:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KMHQYVJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

PVC Pipe:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Charlotte-Pipe-3-4-in-dia-x-10-ft-L-200-PSI-SDR-21-PVC-Pipe/3133103

 

 

 

 

The Grand Finale to a Great Purple Martin Season

After an initial rough start to the 2018 season due to some unanticipated moves by the GHO, I was able to finish the year with a total of 76 pair and we fledged 360 young.

Kicking off this season with a warmer-than-usual Spring, many of my adult pairs were able to get started with nest-building and egg-laying in parallel during the same 2 weeks. This resulted in many, many nests fledging simultaneously from July 3rd through July 14th, with hundreds of martins returning in the evening, filling the arms on the gourd racks.

The new fledging tree behind my house held dozens of newly-fledged martins. As I watched them every day, I worried that the hawks would be drawn to such easy prey, but it never became a problem The tippy-top of this tree is easily 100 feet tall and the new fledges were able to drop and gain speed quickly. They were safer up there than they were on the top perch rods on my gourd racks.

The young fledges demanded food from whomever came flying in, whether it was one of their brothers & sisters or not.

After watching over the young fledges roosting on the arms for several nights and wondering if I was making a mistake by allowing them to roost there, it became apparent the owl had either tried & failed to broach the nets beneath, or wasn't quite sure she could keep from getting tangled in the ropes. Either way, the netting was the final touch to my cages this year that allowed for a nice balance of allowing the martins to escape during a hawk attack, but also kept the owl out (see this post from June, that was the reason I had to install the netting: http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2018/06/nest-checks-new-hatchlings-and-nets.html)

This was the first year in my 12 years of hosting purple martins that I've had this many fledges returning every night.  It was also the first year, the new fledges have been able to safely roost all night on the gourd arms of my racks - protected from raccoons, snakes, and owls.

This was also the first year in the last 5 years of dealing with the GHO where I've felt I have created the best balance between providing protection for the martins and coexisting with both a GHO and a Barred owl.

Instead of the usual fretting, worrying and anxiety, this year was filled with the sheer joy of seeing so many healthy young'uns on the rails and in the surrounding trees.

I'm glad I never gave up the fight and surrendered, because now, I have a lot of experience with what does and does not work when you have to contend with owls.

The FOB - Part 2

Now that I'm on vacation this week, the continuation of building the FOB has been my highest priority.  I do not want to wait until March and have to be doing this out in the snow!
As mentioned in my last post (http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-freeze-owl-block-fob.html ), I had cut a couple of 18" arms to which I could test-mount the fencing.  It worked, so this past weekend, (and after sending Mr. Freeze back to the hardware store to get the right size nuts that I needed), I was able to cut and drill the rest of the arms and mount them to the gourd rack.
I then remounted all the gourd arms and made sure the nuts were tightened down so the arms would not rotate and allow the gourd to tilt downward.

The extra 18" angle arms are added to help extend and keep the fencing off the fronts of the gourds on the ends.  Holes drilled in the end of each 18" piece will be used to secure the fencing.

I then mounted the 6' aluminum angle arms between the main arms and carefully measured where I would drill the holes that would allow me to mount those without having to cut more metal, yet it would sit securely on the ends without slipping off.  Okay, I lied - I don't "measure carefully" unless Mr. Freeze insists that I need to.  And he said I didn't really need to, so I didn't.  I SWAGged it and it worked out.  I drilled a hole on each end of each arm and mounted them, butting one against the other.

The 4, 6' aluminum angle pieces are strapped down using zipties after drilling a hole in each end.  The pie-shaped top for this section was cut so that there would be no jagged edges.  They may overlap with the next piece a bit, but that's ok.  I'll also cut some 4"x4" holes in the top.

Right now, everything is secured using zip ties to ensure the design will work.  I haven't decided yet what the permanent solution will be.  I want to put this baby into practice and see what or if I will need to change something to accommodate my propensity to move quickly when doing nest checks while at the same time, not having to brush against mite-infested gourds.
I had been dreading facing two other challenges - figuring out how to get the maximum coverage from above without having to do a lot of cutting and what to use to cover the 'nibbins' when I cut out 4"x4" squares.  Today, the clouds parted and it all became clear.  Once I realized that I needed a 45 degree -pie-shaped section of fence and to do that, I needed to "cut two across, down one", I tossed the ruler, the square and the angle-thingy that Mr. Freeze gave me and started cutting.  I now have a roof over the top that will prevent the owl from dropping down inside the cage.  And I can secure it to the 6' angle arms, that I mounted earlier to keep it from floppin' around.

As for the covers of the nibbins in the newly cut 4"x4" openings, I have Mr. John Barrow to thank for that idea.  I am not ashamed to say that yes, I consult with a lot of friends to 'brainstorm' when I don't have a clue how to proceed.  John sent me some suggestions and armed with that information, I went to our local hardware store.  After the laughter died down from my trying to explain what I needed, they helped me find exactly the right material - easy to cut and cheap!  This trim is used to help start siding - commonly called "undersill trim".  I cut out a piece to try it and it snaps right on.  The best part is it doesn't try to rotate or pop off!  My hardware store sold me a 6' length for $2.50.  Yep, nothing like shopping "local"!  Thanks, John!

I have lots more cutting and some fine-tuning to do and I need another roll of the wire to finish, but basically, this is what my purple martins will return home to.  I'm only now starting to feel a lot better about their return next year.

The Freeze Owl Block (FOB)

Finally!  For a couple months now, the weather has been too hot to go out and start the cleanup of all the gourds and housing.  This past week has been much cooler and, feeling more secure that the mites and other creepy crawlies have drifted into their winter slumber, I ventured out to start the cleaning process.  With dirty gourds removed, Mr. Freeze is now more willing to help with the implementation of the new owl block whose plan has been changed countless times and under much discussion for months.
Mr. Freeze's 5 points of resistance were:
1. Wind.  Well, we do get lots of it here in Missouri.  My response was, the materials are lightweight and plenty of holes (ie, minimal surface area to catch wind).
2. Weight.  My response was again, the materials are lightweight and it's a 3" pole.
3. Our view.  We bought this property specifically because of its fantastic view to the south and who wants big cages permanently mounted in their direct line of sight?  My response, ok, we won't put them all the way up to the top, permanently mounted.  We can't really reach that high anyway.
4. Cost.  My response was, I've spent a lot of , ahem, a few bucks on these rigs to host purple martins and by comparison, it's not going to be that bad.
5. Why now?  Well, because Mr. Freeze, I don't want to go out in the February / March freezing temps and snow to try to measure & figure out the proper configuration for my racks.  Besides, you don't want to be out there then either, freezing off your wee knees right?
Thanks to Aprils Owl Guard pictures and a few emails back and forth with April, we were able to come up with a plan.  We found aluminum angle iron (36" long and 6' long pieces) at the local Lowe's store and the 2"x4" welded wire fencing (4' high) at our local farm store.
The 36" angle arm pieces were cut to 18" each then marked so they could be drilled to fit the already pre-drilled angle arms.  Since the angle arms are 1/8" thicker, we also purchased more bolts that were 1/8" longer to accommodate both the gourd arm, the original angle arm and the new one in the inner-most hole.  I thought we were being so smart to think of that.  But after drilling all the arms, I realized that I hadn't allowed enough room on the inside / underside of the new angle arm for the nut. So I had to move the small gourd arm to the outside and put the nut on the outside.  I can't think of a reason why that's bad...just aesthetically, it would have been better inside I guess.

2 pieces of fencing temporarily hung to ensure sizing is correct and the gourd won't be too close to the fencing.

The nut would not go on the inside as the hole was too close.  Every other vertical will be cut out to make 4"x4" openings.

Out at the opposite end of the arm, we drilled 2, 1/4" holes just in a bit from the end so that we can run #9 wire through the top and middle of the fencing to stiffen it, then bend the end of the wires downward so they can drop through these holes.  This will also allow me to remove the fence panels if needed during the season.

The #9 wire has not been weaved through the fencing yet.  Hung only temporary here to ensure proper sizing.

Right now, until I see how this is going to work in practice, I also plan to use the full height of the wire fencing - 4', hoping that will help discourage the owl from trying to fly up under it.  Once I wind the gourd rack down, I'll still be inside the cage and since I'm so short, I can move from section to section without removing the panels, unless I really need to.
I'll also be cutting out every other vertical wire to make the holes 4"x4".  I really wish I could find some pre-fabricated wire of that size that is made of this same light-weight material, but my searches have yielded nothing.

The 6' long piece of angle iron at the top will be used for support and to have something to which I can secure the top layer of fencing.

The 4' height of the fence may be too much, but I will leave it for now.

Lastly 4, 6' pieces of angle iron will be added across each set of arms at the top to support the welded wire fencing that will need to be spread across the top of the openings, so that my favorite Great Horned Owl can't just drop in for dinner from above.  Right now, there are no plans to enclose the bottom.  I'll monitor the rack and if he ever does decide to try to fly up into the cage, I'll deal with it then.  My preference though for now is to allow the martins an open bottom through which they can fly out and if the owl lands on top - which I'm sure he probably will - if they do panic & fly out, I don't want to find a bunch of birds hung up in the fencing in the morning.  Construction and ideas continue.  I will post more pictures as it develops.
(see Part 2 here: http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-fob-part-2.html
see Part 3 here: http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-fob-part-3.html)

The top will be enclosed with the fencing.  It will be secured to the 6' length of angle iron.