Martin Houses and Bat Houses Cancel The title field is required!

1. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   2/17/2016 3:02 PM

   I am looking at adding a Martin House and some Bat Houses to the golf course.
   
   Just wondering about some do's and don'ts?
   
   Would I want to keep the Bats and Martins away from each other?
   
   I get 4 bat houses in a pack, how far apart should I keep them from each other?
   
   Would the Martins be good or bad to place near our wildflower areas?
   
   I think I have a couple of good spots for the bats, and might have a few good spots for the Martins, but I just don't want to put in spots that are bad for them or bad for some of the other things like wild flowers/pollinators that we are doing.
   
   Thanks!
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
2. Terry Negen

   

   0 posts
   
   2/17/2016 3:02 PM

   Mel,
   I sat in on seminar at nationals that talked about bat houses, he said to keep them in the open attaching to a 20 foot pole. Do not attach to a tree, to much shade for the bat and not near street lights or parking lot areas. Having a water source near is also a good idea. He never said anything about how far apart they should be but if I remeber right he had 4 houses on his property. As far as the martin houses I don't know much about them. One of the big things that he stressed is to make sure the bat houses are ventilated well. You should be able to get the information from GCSAA on the speaker I do believe it was David Seth English and he was from Kentucky.
   Terry Negen, Superintendent
   Marshall Golf Club
   Marshall,MN

   
   
   
   
3. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   2/17/2016 4:02 PM

   Terry Negen said: Mel,
   I sat in on seminar at nationals that talked about bat houses, he said to keep them in the open attaching to a 20 foot pole. Do not attach to a tree, to much shade for the bat and not near street lights or parking lot areas. Having a water source near is also a good idea. He never said anything about how far apart they should be but if I remeber right he had 4 houses on his property. As far as the martin houses I don't know much about them. One of the big things that he stressed is to make sure the bat houses are ventilated well. You should be able to get the information from GCSAA on the speaker I do believe it was David Seth English and he was from Kentucky.
   Terry Negen, Superintendent
   Marshall Golf Club
   Marshall,MN

   
   
   I sat in on the same seminar. He had some great info to present and I picked up on a lot.

   
   
   
   
4. Christopher Thuer

   

   101 posts
   
   2/17/2016 5:02 PM

   The bat house talk was by an assistant superintendent at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana, near Evansville. He had a lot of good info that peaked my interest in possibly installing some.

   
   Chris Thuer, CGCS, Bear Slide Golf Club, Cicero, IN
   
   
5. Joshua Sawyer

   

   0 posts
   
   2/18/2016 7:02 AM

   Martins have issues with invasion from European Starlings and House Sparrows, so you need to monitor for invasions. They say to block the entrances in offseason after the birds have left or if there has been an invasion. Also remove any nesting materials from non-Martins. I haven't had luck with our bat boxes...If you search on individual types of nest boxes (Martin, Bluebird, Batbox, etc) there is a lot of specific info on the placement, orientation to sun and water, spacing, etc. Good luck.

   
   
   
   
6. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   2/18/2016 8:02 AM

   Thanks all!
   
   I was on a couple of Bat House sites last night and they had some good information. One site did classify them as pollinators.
   
   I'm going to keep researching some more and maybe take the leap and install some.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
7. Christian Pekarek

   

   0 posts
   
   2/18/2016 9:02 AM

   A good resource for Purple Martins.
   
   https://www.purplemartin.org/

   
   
   
   
8. Amanda Miller

   

   0 posts
   
   2/18/2016 10:02 AM

   Melvin,
   
   In the DIY For Your Facility: Ideas that Make an Impact session at show last week in San Diego we did have a session presentation on bats as part of that line-up. We will be posting session presentations next week on the GIS website.
   
   Regards,
   Amanda Mae Miller
   GCSAA Conference Education Events Manager

   
   
   
   
9. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   2/18/2016 1:02 PM

   Thanks again for those updates.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
10. David Stone

    

    9 posts
    
    2/19/2016 8:02 AM

    Purple Martins are great for golf courses. They chatter all the time from April until they leave in July. Golfers may comment they heard birds all over the course. Houses need to be located in a fairly open area. They catch their food in the air (on the wing) and need room to glide. They like to be near a lake or pond. Also if there is an area where the soil is exposed and stays saturated, that is good. They use mud to hold their nesting material together. I suggest you buy plastic gourds with the Startling resistant holes like those shown on the Purple Martin website Christian provided. In Missouri you need to get them pretty up soon. In Chattanooga I have seen the first ones as early as Feb. 22. However it is usually early- mid March before they show up a few at a time. In your area it could be a little later but you do not want them to pass through and the houses not be up as they will move on. You might not get them the first year but do not give up. Many people do not maintain their natural gourds (they do not last forever so that is another reason to buy plastic ones) and the birds stop using them. At The Honors there has not been any change in the housing or habitat but for whatever reason I only have half as many (only about 30 in 2015) the past 2 years as I had for years. There is some concern their wintering sites in Central America are being destroyed. They will come back to the same nesting sites year after year unless something has happened to the nesting site or if they got killed migrating. I have not had any luck with bat houses.
    
    David Stone
    The Honors Course
    Chattanooga, Tn.

    
    
    
    
11. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    2/22/2016 11:02 AM

    I have seen that about being near streams or water sources for Martins and Bats, anyone know the distance from a water source?
    
    I have a couple of ideas of locations, but as I keep seeing that water source issue, I worry one of my spots might be a little too far? I'm thinking about 300 yards from a source.
    
    Thanks!
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
12. Steven Scott

    

    0 posts
    
    2/22/2016 1:02 PM

    I just removed 2 Martin condos because the House Sparrows had taken them over a couple years ago. The sparrows nested in the Martin houses and roosted in our cart barn which made for a heck of a mess on the carts every day. Does anyone have an effective way to remove the sparrows so that I can replace the Martin houses? So far my solution has been a 20 gauge shotgun and some birdshot, but there are a lot of them and even that doesn't seem to be a deterrent.

    
    
    
    
13. David Stone

    

    9 posts
    
    2/23/2016 7:02 AM

    It would be better if the Martin houses were closer to water but they glide long distances so 300 yards is not out of the question. However they do get their drinking water by gliding over a lake and scooping up their water so your chances are better closer to water.
    
    As for House Sparrows, generally they do not like swinging gourds. That is one of the reasons plastic gourds (my choice due to available Starling resistant holes) or natural gourds are a better choice than a house that is stationary. Also House Sparrows are more of a problem the closer you locate bird houses to buildings. Try moving the house well away from buildings (like hundreds of yards away). You can buy sparrow traps but the shotgun is quicker and more effective if you are in an area where you can use one. As I answer these questions it seems like Audubon International should be all over topics like this but I never see them put out this kind of info.
    
    David Stone

    
    
    
    
14. Steven Scott

    

    0 posts
    
    2/23/2016 8:02 AM

    Thanks Mr. Stone, I know you have a passion for our wildlife, feathered or not. Maybe you can do some consulting for Audubon International after your retirement. Congrats!

    
    
    
    
15. Amanda Miller

    

    0 posts
    
    2/23/2016 2:02 PM

    Melvin,
    
    Here is the link to the session presentations from GIS: http://www.golfindustryshow.com/gcsaa-e ... sentations
    
    The DIY session on Tuesday Feb. 9th did have a presentation on bats that may help you. (talk was given by David Seth English).
    
    best,
    Amanda Mae Miller
    GCSAA Conference Education Events Manager

    
    
    
    
16. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    2/23/2016 2:02 PM

    Amanda M Miller said: Melvin,
    
    Here is the link to the session presentations from GIS: http://www.golfindustryshow.com/gcsaa-e ... sentations
    
    The DIY session on Tuesday Feb. 9th did have a presentation on bats that may help you. (talk was given by David Seth English).
    
    best,
    Amanda Mae Miller
    GCSAA Conference Education Events Manager

    
    
    Thanks!
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
17. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    2/23/2016 2:02 PM

    David Stone said: It would be better if the Martin houses were closer to water but they glide long distances so 300 yards is not out of the question. However they do get their drinking water by gliding over a lake and scooping up their water so your chances are better closer to water.
    
    As for House Sparrows, generally they do not like swinging gourds. That is one of the reasons plastic gourds (my choice due to available Starling resistant holes) or natural gourds are a better choice than a house that is stationary. Also House Sparrows are more of a problem the closer you locate bird houses to buildings. Try moving the house well away from buildings (like hundreds of yards away). You can buy sparrow traps but the shotgun is quicker and more effective if you are in an area where you can use one. As I answer these questions it seems like Audubon International should be all over topics like this but I never see them put out this kind of info.
    
    David Stone

    
    
    Thanks for the info, was back at our distributor today and checked on the gourds and according to the info they do have Starling resistant holes. They are manufactured by Heath? They are going to have them bring me in an 8 pack. I'm hoping the house sparrows aren't a problem, the couple of locations I am looking at are not that far from the clubhouse, maybe a hundred to 150 yards, which is near our irrigation pond, and is the only water on our property. I can put them up over in the pump house area, another building, but I also worry a little about the electrical lines coming in there.
    
    Thanks again!
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
18. Dustin Riley

    

    9 posts
    
    2/24/2016 9:02 AM

    Amanda M Miller said: Melvin,
    
    Here is the link to the session presentations from GIS: http://www.golfindustryshow.com/gcsaa-e ... sentations
    
    The DIY session on Tuesday Feb. 9th did have a presentation on bats that may help you. (talk was given by David Seth English).
    
    best,
    Amanda Mae Miller
    GCSAA Conference Education Events Manager

    
    
    Amanda,
    
    Is there a link like this for past years GIS'? Many times there are multiple presentations that interest me and conflict with other seminars or obligations. It's great to be able to scan through the pdf's of presentations missed.