My colony is growing by leaps and bounds! LOL

Today I saw three ASY males on the gourd rack and checking out all the gourds.

This afternoon I saw a female come zooming in. She and a male sat on top of the rack grooming and visiting for a long time. At dusk they both zoomed in to Gourd 7.

At the same time, an ASY male went in to Gourd 6. He sat on the porch a while, singing, and then moved over to Gourd 5.

I know for sure I have two ASY males and a female. I couldn't see if she was ASY, or not, but her head and chest were rather dark. I'm sure I'll get a better look tomorrow.

I saw five martins flying high above the colony while the three males were checking out the gourds, too.

- - - - -

Age/Sex terms for Purple Martins:

ASY - An adult Purple Martin that has completed at least two migrations to and from Brazil.

The year PMs hatch they're called fledglings or HYs (Hatching Years). In the fall all the PMs migrate to Brazil for the winter.

When they return in the spring, the HYs are now called SYs (Second Years). They still have juvenile coloration but the males will sport at least a few dark feathers on their chests. SYs are mature at this stage, and some (mostly the SY females) will nest. SY males often don't attract mates and can cause havoc in the colony. The older, dark purple ASY males are the hot commodity for all the females. A group of SY males is often compared to a gang of older teen boys running amuck with no supervision!

After their SY season they again migrate to Brazil and molt into the permanent adult plumage. Dark iridescent purple for the males, and duller dark color, with a lighter belly, for the females. After this migration and molt they're referred to as ASYs.

The ASY females will have dark outlines on the lighter feathers under her tail. After the second year, there's no way of telling if they are ate 3, or 10 or older, unless they're banded with their HY date.