so. east missouri Martins
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Guest
we are supposed to get 3 or 4 days of nice weather here and i'm afraid the warm winds will signal the Martins to come north. i hope they dont come till the middle of april.
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JoLita
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:21 pm
- Location: Missouri/East Prairie
- Martin Colony History: I have been a landlord for 24 years.
Three gourd racks with total of 28 super gourds.
2021 - 28 nesting pairs
Jack,
Just be prepared. I don't live to far from you and as of today I have 4 martins. I saw my first last Monday. It was a warm day then it turned very cold for three more days. Yesterday I had a pair and today 3 females and 1 male. I also have a few crickets ready cause the weather is suppose to get bad again.
If you had martins last year then they will probably be here sooner than you think!
Good Luck,
Jo Lita in Southeast Missouri
Just be prepared. I don't live to far from you and as of today I have 4 martins. I saw my first last Monday. It was a warm day then it turned very cold for three more days. Yesterday I had a pair and today 3 females and 1 male. I also have a few crickets ready cause the weather is suppose to get bad again.
If you had martins last year then they will probably be here sooner than you think!
Good Luck,
Jo Lita in Southeast Missouri
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Glen Webb Jr
- Posts: 478
- Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:03 pm
- Location: Illinois/Stewardson
Just curious as I don't recall this being mentioned and I know I probably missed it, but when you have weather stressed martins and you can't get them to take tossed food, how do you go about putting crickets or mealworms in their compartments? I tried small cups one time but the martins got scared and moved to a different gourd when they were communally roosting.
If you dump them on the edge of the nest will they actually eat them? I wish I lived closer to my martin colony but if they will accept crickets "dumped" inside the gourd, I will manage the short drive daily if we get another miserable spring like we've had the last couple of years. I don't usually get to see them except on weekends, although during the early spring days, I'll delay going to work a couple of days a week and drive out and spend some time in the early morning hours blasting S&S and enjoying the martins. I do miss seeing them daily. Hopefully I can move back to the Stewardson area this year and I will be just a mile down the road from my birds.
If you dump them on the edge of the nest will they actually eat them? I wish I lived closer to my martin colony but if they will accept crickets "dumped" inside the gourd, I will manage the short drive daily if we get another miserable spring like we've had the last couple of years. I don't usually get to see them except on weekends, although during the early spring days, I'll delay going to work a couple of days a week and drive out and spend some time in the early morning hours blasting S&S and enjoying the martins. I do miss seeing them daily. Hopefully I can move back to the Stewardson area this year and I will be just a mile down the road from my birds.
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Guest
Glen,this is my 3 year for hosting and my first for supplimental feeding,i will thy flipping crickets and also i put a feed platform on the top of my gourd rack that traveles up and down with the gourds,.
I also have 2 decoys i converted into bobble head decoys and will stick a pin thru a dead cricket like it is eating a cricket,maybe the real birds will get the idea.
I also have 2 decoys i converted into bobble head decoys and will stick a pin thru a dead cricket like it is eating a cricket,maybe the real birds will get the idea.
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The Olsons
- Posts: 3200
- Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:57 pm
- Location: North Padre Island, TX
Hi Marilyn,
Good to "see"you again and I am glad you are prepared with all these crickets
Wishing you a great martin season
Astrid
Good to "see"you again and I am glad you are prepared with all these crickets
Wishing you a great martin season
Astrid
Love it or leave it~~~Astrid :-)
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The Olsons
- Posts: 3200
- Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:57 pm
- Location: North Padre Island, TX
Jack,
I love your idea with the bobble head decoy and putting a cricket through it....I hope your weather will hold up, but it is great to know that if it does not you are prepared to be there for your martins
Astrid
I love your idea with the bobble head decoy and putting a cricket through it....I hope your weather will hold up, but it is great to know that if it does not you are prepared to be there for your martins
Astrid
Love it or leave it~~~Astrid :-)
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Guest
Glen:
Last year I put crickets in the freezer for an hour; they expire. I then put them in the nest where the martins were sleeping and in an adjoining empty compartment. I watched as the female first discovered them and then the male. There was a younger male on the other side, and he ate his also. They were all gone when I brought the apartment down and put in more crickets.
I think if you put them in the gourds, they will eat. Don't serve them in anything; just place them in the compartments and gourds. It was easy and got the job done while I watched from my warm bedroom window.
Last year I put crickets in the freezer for an hour; they expire. I then put them in the nest where the martins were sleeping and in an adjoining empty compartment. I watched as the female first discovered them and then the male. There was a younger male on the other side, and he ate his also. They were all gone when I brought the apartment down and put in more crickets.
I think if you put them in the gourds, they will eat. Don't serve them in anything; just place them in the compartments and gourds. It was easy and got the job done while I watched from my warm bedroom window.