The Heat Made 'Em Jump and Die

Guest · Tue Jul 14, 2009 9:46 am

Well...I had to go to NY for business last Thursday and was gone for 5 days. First thing this morning I went out to do my first and only nest that had 4 babies almost ready to fledge. I opened the gourd and saw one dead dried up baby in the nest. I looked around the ground below and found 2 others that had been dead for several days. No telling where the fourth is... Maybe it fledged successfully... My question is..... do the parents abandon the roost after a tragedy like this? No sight of the parents this morning...Oh yes it's going to to be 105 again today..... Hopefully I will be successful again next year and with lower temps.....Jeeeeeez...

Emil Pampell-Tx · Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:03 am

Many people are having the same problem this year. I think what happens is that the parents cannot find enough food, the heat is soo high that the insects are not flying, and the babies starve, and jump before they die. If you ever have this happen again, check to see if their breastbone is real sharp indicating that they are very poor, and that they starved.

I have some nests that successfully fledged some of the babies, but some did not make it. A lot depends upon the parents, if both are actively hunting and feeding the babies, they may survive. If its a single parent, especially a SY female that gets no help, then her babies will starve.

We had nine straight days of record setting temps, and we have not had any rain since late April, thats starting 12 weeks without rain...its hot and dry!

Most of our babies fledged before it got so hot, but we still lost about 15% of them to starvation.

ron20m · Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:24 am

I'm in Oklahoma and I've seen the parents just sitting there and discontinuing feeding. I've taken 30 jumpers to the rehabber this year and she told me yesterday they stopped eating when the temp hit 104 so she had to move them to the basement for the afternoon. I think there are no easy answers. I'm trying a misting system on two remaining babies but there is no record of success for misting as far as I can tell. No one has rally come up with a solution for the heat.
Hot for us but if you read the post's they are having a terrible year in the Midwest for a completely different set of reasons.
Better luck next year. I'm going to update my housing and try to be ready to increase production next year to make up for this terrible year.

Guest · Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:31 am

Emil Pampell-Tx wrote:Many people are having the same problem this year. I think what happens is that the parents cannot find enough food, the heat is soo high that the insects are not flying, and the babies starve, and jump before they die. If you ever have this happen again, check to see if their breastbone is real sharp indicating that they are very poor, and that they starved.

I have some nests that successfully fledged some of the babies, but some did not make it. A lot depends upon the parents, if both are actively hunting and feeding the babies, they may survive. If its a single parent, especially a SY female that gets no help, then her babies will starve.

We had nine straight days of record setting temps, and we have not had any rain since late April, thats starting 12 weeks without rain...its hot and dry! thanks for the reply....I watched the mother feeding the babies dragonflies and small bugs>it seemed like she was bringing large dragonflies every 3 or 4 minutes.... never saw the male providing...

Most of our babies fledged before it got so hot, but we still lost about 15% of them to starvation.

John Miller · Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:50 am

I am going to postulate (sounds smart...) that the loss of babies because of weather does not cause the parents to abandon the next year -- at least not to the extent that predation may. My rationale is that there are reports of renesting often after weather mortality, when it occurs a little earlier in the season. Those adults don't abandon, so perhaps losses due to weather late in the season don't cause the parents to abandon the following season.

John M

Guest · Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:46 am

I am with Emil all the way on the food availability being the key factor as the root cause to jumpers and starvation.

I live probably 5 to 6 miles from Emil and I have had a bit of rain plus I have a water canal close by that is a haven for insects.

I have a late nest that is on the verge of fledging maybe even today.I did not know they were even there .I found them a few days ago and they are fat and healthy.They did survive the 9 days of record heat Emil speaks of but they had full bellies it appears.

I read an article two days ago where the normal body temp of birds is 38 to 44 degrees C,as a comparison 40 degree C is equal to 104 degree F.

I conclude then that if healthy,well fed and in a vented gourd the babies can and do tolerate a lot more heat than we think they can.

I have misted in the past but did not this year and had a very good season.I think it is important to note if you do not have water tight housing then don't mist directly on the housing as wet nests and high humidity occurs quickly.When I did mist I would try to spray on the side away(up wind) from the housing and have the breezes carry the cooled air across the housing,in other words cool the air and not the housing.

dick

Guest · Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:10 pm

dicklaxt wrote:I am with Emil all the way on the food availability being the key factor as the root cause to jumpers and starvation.

I live probably 5 to 6 miles from Emil and I have had a bit of rain plus I have a water canal close by that is a haven for insects.

I have a late nest that is on the verge of fledging maybe even today.I did not know they were even there .I found them a few days ago and they are fat and healthy.They did survive the 9 days of record heat Emil speaks of but they had full bellies it appears.

I read an article two days ago where the normal body temp of birds is 38 to 44 degrees C,as a comparison 40 degree C is equal to 104 degree F.

I conclude then that if healthy,well fed and in a vented gourd the babies can and do tolerate a lot more heat than we think they can.

I have misted in the past but did not this year and had a very good season.I think it is important to note if you do not have water tight housing then don't mist directly on the housing as wet nests and high humidity occurs quickly.When I did mist I would try to spray on the side away(up wind) from the housing and have the breezes carry the cooled air across the housing,in other words cool the air and not the housing.

dick

I would set out and watch the female bring food. The babies were being fed every 5 minutes with big dragonflies.. I never saw the male help with feeding.... It seemed like there was only room for two babies to stick their heads out when being fed...made me wonder if the other two babies were getting anything....

Guest · Tue Jul 14, 2009 1:33 pm

They get a full belly and retire from the front to take a nap,they change places faster than you can see them, just blink and you missed it. When times are tough tho the bigger stronger will get all the food,survival of the fittest,tuff sailing but thats Mother Natures way.

dick

Peggy Riley · Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:46 pm

It is difficult for one parent to feed a full nest when insects are in low supply. Maybe she lost her mate. I had a nest of 5 with an SY female. She tried but only one made it. He fledged 5 days late and in very poor condition.

Hopefully next year will bring better weather!

Suzette McGowen · Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:29 pm

I am struggling to keep our last three fledglings alive just outside of Dallas, the parents are still trying to feed, but I know that the insect supply is very low. They are about two weeks old. To try to help I have been been feeding mealworms and small crickets, and using a dropper to give water. To try to combat the heat I have been placing wet washcloths on the top of the Trio house, it seems to keep the roof much cooler. We were on vacation last week, my Mom misted the house once the heat really set in. They were in rough shape when we returned, I think the water and additional food have helped.

I have two weeks before I go back to work (school system), so hopefully they will tough it out with help. The long range forecast is encouraging as well, a couple of more days of extreme heat then a break for the next week.!

I will appreciate any suggestions anyone might have. I'm thinking about changing to Pedilyte instead of water.

Guest · Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:15 pm

Water is the third choice behind Pedialyte and Gatorade.

Place a freezer pack in the compartment next to the nest (not in the nest)
that may help.

Guest · Wed Jul 15, 2009 5:53 pm

Hey Yall,

109 in downtown Muskogee when I left work at 5:00 p/m. Lots of concrete. 107 outside town. 103 at my house. Not a Martin in sight. When are we gonna have some relief?

Cool front suppose to be coming!

~Patrick~ · Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:12 pm

I had the same problem here. As far as I know, I lost every fledgling except for 2 that I raised and released. After the last nest jumped and/or died, all the adults abandoned the site. In general the young ones were thin and poor. I guess the parents just stopped feeding. I'm not 100% sure but I think I'm throwing in the towel and may have houses and gourds for sale before next year. I'll keep the list posted if anyone is interested in my equipment.

Patrick