My 2018 Purple Martin saga begins soon
caroline94535
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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caroline94535
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
Gearing up to go Purple (Martins!)
Comments (18)Socks, I'll also refer you to the link I posted earlier. There's so much information at the PMCA site that you may enjoy reading. Purple Martins have the unusual distinction of relying upon man made housing for safety while breeding. If there's not enough housing in one colony, they'll search for another place. If my housing were to be destroyed and not replaced, they would search for another but would come back here first to see if housing was available. If they didn't have housing, they would find shelter in trees but would not breed. Once breeding is over and the young ones have fledged, they will start to gather in large groups called "roosts" and prepare for migration. The smaller roosts will meet up with larger groups to form "super roosts" and these are visible from radar! The roosts are generally in trees and they gather for the night. As far as the same birds returning year to year, I can't prove it with my little colony but I do recognize certain birds from year to year. The only way to really prove that is by banding, but you have to be certified to band birds. There are couples that prefer certain housing units over another. We proved that this year by only opening the newer housing first. They kept on checking out the older ones and the minute we opened them, they swooped in and made themselves at home. The young birds (SY) will come back to where they hatched. If they find housing, they will settle in. If not, they'll search nearby. Here's a picture of my current 108 unit set up. Pay no attention to that leaning pole....it's been up for a while!...See MorePart 2 - 'Death of a Martin', I 'adopted out' the eggs.
Comments (4)Marilyn C. I hope so, too. They would not have any chance with the hen dead. This way there is at least some hope. Lisa - They lay one egg a day, usually before noon, until they have their clutch complete. It can be anywhere between four and eight eggs. On the day this hen was injured (many will die after being attacked by so many males) she had just laid her second egg. I check the nests daily and keep a log of the number of eggs. Incubation usually begins when the next-to-last egg is laid. By noticeing when the last egg is laid, but keeping the written record, I can estimate the hatching and fledging dates. Lily316 - Tree encroachment is one of the top reasons people either fail to attract martins, or lose their colony. One neighbor across the street had to take down a huge, dying tree, an elm of some sort. The canapy of the tree was twice as big as their house! I did like the tree, but I was also happy to see it fall. It opened up a third flyway for my guys. The city makes home owners remove any dead trees, or trees that are so far gone they know they won't recover....See MoreFIVE Purple Martin eggs! 1 photo
Comments (10)Leslie...I use either aspen or red cedar shavings. Either is fine. These are the big shavings, not the "sawdust." I buy the big bags at Tractor Supply. What's left over at the end of the season is used to change out one of Harry's seldom-used puppy pillows. Some people use pine needles, just rake them up in the fall and save them. Make sure they're really dry before you put them in the gourd. Some folks use chopped straw. Sue...I prefer to use gourds, either natural gourds that I've modified, or Super Gourds from the PMCA. If you're interested, I can email you all sorts of info on them. Gourds provide much safer housing for martins. They're safer from preditors, wet weather; and far easier to maintain than the houses. Also, there's much more room for the two rather large adult martins and 6-8 of their chicks. This SuperGourd has a reinforced hanging tube so rainwater can't drip inside from the hanging wire. The lid to the right is the access port. I take the photos through here. There's a PVC elbow added to the back of the gourd for additional ventilation and I enlarge the seven drainage holes on the bottom. I number each gourd so I can keep accurate records which are then sent to the PMCA to be included with all the other landlords' data. There's an incubating female peeking out of this gourd. This is a tricked-out SuperGourd. I added a porched double-wide tunnel the front. The pairs of martins love to sit on their front porch, and it makes it almost impossible for owls or hawks to pull out the chicks. The male is on the right....See MoreSpring 2018 in my yard. Show us yours.
Comments (83)This isn't my backyard (luckily), but it is nearby. We're currently experiencing terrible flooding due to rain and spring melt upriver (there was a lot of snow in the northern part of our province this year, and it all eventually flows down through here). The water has actually gone down about a foot, it peaked late last week. We took this photo yesterday flying into the city. The river is normally to the left of that tree-line, the road follows along the river on the right of the tree line. The building with the green roof is a roadside fruit & vegetable stand & bakery that I visit a lot during the summer. It been a devastating spring for many folks in this area....See Morelittlehelen_gw
6 years agocaroline94535
5 years agoglassquilt
5 years agocaroline94535
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agogeezerfolks_SharonG_FL
5 years agocaroline94535
5 years agoChar
5 years agogeezerfolks_SharonG_FL
5 years ago
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