PLEASE Read..... Mistakes I have made

[T Seber]

Actually there have been quite few, but most of the time I just kept quiet and hoped no one found out what a blunder I made....smile

Looking back I think the biggest of all was focusing too much on the number of pairs. It is hard not to do. With a good open location and a little of the good information to be found right here on the Forum getting to 100 pairs is easier to do than some might think, especially as we learn and grow.

The most enjoyment you will ever have comes with the first nesting pair. Everything after that is just topping on the cake. My best advice to new landlords. Enjoy the martins the Lord has sent you. When my colony went over 200 pairs I did not enjoy them one bit better than I did when I had 20 pairs, if anything less. Hawks, owls, snakes, hot weather, cold weather, rainy weather and a hundred other things became worries that hadn't bothered me that much before.


I guess there is some kind of satisfaction in seeing your colony growing larger and larger. Take my word for it, A person can become sidetracked in the quest for numbers and lose some of the simple pleasures of having a nice small or medium size colony. Even those of you who have a half dozen pair...... Nothing wrong with that. Take it all in and spend time watching them. After all, they all look a lot alike. We are not seeing better martins than you, just a few more of them. If you like looking at huge numbers, visit a martin roost this summer

Take this for what it is worth and someday when the truth of what I said hits you..... Let me know

How much does it take to make a man rich?? who knows. How many martins are enough? When you get 200 pairs you will realize that is still not enough, then you start looking at 300 pairs. On this one, I have Been there and done that and believe I know what I am talking about.......smile

Thurman Seber

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

To get that first pair, what a joy that would be. Yes it will take more of my time once I do get that first pair, but that time I am willing to give. Dont know if I would have time for a 100 pair though, at least not while I am working.

[Carlton]

Thurman,

I SO AGREE with you and enjoyed reading that. My first year that I got a pair of martins to nest (MAY 20th and they were both ASY's!) was SO EXCITING for me. My eyes were glued on that modified Trio for weeks and I enjoyed many an afternoon sitting out on the screened porch with a glass of iced tea watching them come and go. When the babies started to stick their heads out of the door they reminded me of frog faces. So cute. I was nervous as a new dad but was so glad I was there to see each of them take their first flight. I have had many martins nest since but that one pair will always stick in my mind. Last year I had 22 pair nest here.

Carl

[Guest]

Thurman, Thank you for posting the above message and advice. I waited many kyears to reestablish our colony and we built it back up to the point that owls and hawks were over attracted to it. Now this year we are down by almost 50% from last year because of flying predators. At first there was somewhat of a letdown, but I understand what you say. We plan to do the best we can with what we have to help and enjoy purple martins. Thanks, Bill

[Lewis]

Thanks Truman

Yours is the answer to the question I ask in another post. I am having good luck this year and have increased my colony from 4 pair to 12 maybe 16 with SY's . I need to make some changes next year and want to put my Trio on a new square pole. I think I'll try and keep my colony small.

Lewis

[KathyF]

Thurman - you are a wise man.

I visited one of my mentees yesterday - an elderly gentleman, 78 years old. He is just thrilled to get 2 pair. I spent 2 hours with him, and I enjoyed the time, more watching his eyes sparkle when his martins flew over than anything. Sheer joy is the best way to describe it.

I have enjoyed growing my colony, but I think I am finding more joy in helping my 17 mentees getting their colonies started too. It's a thrill to open my email or get a voicemail that says "I've got 6 martins on my rack!!!".

[Guest]

Thurman,

I have been giving the size colony I want allot of thought. I'm a planner and am already planning what I'll do next year. I don't want to grow to the point that it becomes so much work I can't enjoy the martins. I think when I get to 50 prs I will seriously evaluate and consider stopping there. Can't say for sure but I think at this point 50 prs. is my goal but then again it's hard to see them without a place to stay when they arrive. Such a delima. We'll see.

Good post, I enjoyed it.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Thurman, you had some nice setups for years, and I know that you put a lot of work into all of those gourds. I always admired your setups and knowledge of the martins.

I still have the same number that I had for years. I intend to keep them just as they are now for a while longer.

One thing that helped me a lot to take care of the martins are the gourds that are pinned to the EMT arms. It is so easy to attach or remove a gourd, and it eliminated the tying of the gourds to the arms which I hated to do. Another thing that helped me was that so far, we never have had to feed the martins. We don't have any insect problems except mites (sevin gets them), so its relatively easy to care for them. We don't have many sparrows and starlings either. All of this makes it a rather simple task to care for them. I had problems with owls for years, but now I think the solution is to have gourds that don't swing, and longer tunnels (at least 13in front of entrance - to- back of gourd. I have not found the little piles of feathers in recent years, so I think the deeper gourds are working fine. We still have owls that visit regularly but they are not catching anything to my knowledge. We have not had any hawk problems this year. Therefore, I think the lack of problems helps me want to keep all the martin gourds that I am presently using.

I know that you will continue to enjoy them, and we all must make decisions in our life, and hope that your health keeps you going strong. So good luck to you...

[Robert Richerson]

But Thurman, doesn't the guy that dies with the most martins wins. I am joking of course.

Since my colony has gotten quite large, I am very relieved when they leave. It's not that I don't enjoy them, as I do. But with large colonies, you have more problems. Large colonies attract more hawks and owls, as they see it as an all you can eat buffet. More nestlings fall out of gourds because there are more to fall. There is simply much more work! Each problem a colony can have is multiplied with large numbers.

I remember last year once I got out of the hospital in time to see the last of my colony migrate south was to promise myself I would not expand any larger. I was relieved that the season was over (as I am every year), no major problems occurred, and many fledglings were produced, so I was glad to send them on their way. But by late winter I decided to increase my capacity. Why, I don't know, maybe it's just a drive and a love for martins.

But make no mistake when late July arrives I will once again be relieved when they leave. I won't have to worry that a few scouts arrived too early and may starve to death. I won't need to be getting up every morning at the break of dawn to insure hawks aren't sneaking into nearby trees, and checking out the yard to insure no owls, snakes raccoons visited the night before. I won't have to keep an eye on every sparrow that flies into the colony looking for mischief and destroying eggs. I won't have to keep a close eye on SY males, committing infanticide. I won't have to worry about mites. I won't have to worry about orphaned nestlings which happens a lot with large colonies. I won't have to tuck them in bed, keeping an eye out for hawks wanting a nightcap snack. And most of all, I won't have to worry about every storm that pops up in my area.

But they sure are a joy to watch while they are here. I love sitting out in the yard and watch parents bringing food for nestlings which are hanging their heads out so they will get the next bug. I guess as long as I am able, I will provide housing for as many as I can. But a landlord with a large colony should do it for only a couple of reasons. One, for the betterment of the purple martin, and because the landlord enjoys what he does. Large colony landlords have a greater responsibilty as more martins depend on them.

[T Seber]

Thanks everyone. I did cut my colony size down this year by quite a bit. and also forced them to relocate to my front yard. I now offer 140 cavities in my front yard and about all my rigs are very, very easy to lower and raise. A few are still on winch and pulley systems but part of thm are on counter balanced systems that I build myself. Those are easy as can be to raise and lower. A ten year old child can do them. Also, I no longer offer natural gourds but have gone to all plastic because they do not require painting and upkeep every year.

I have one remaining cluster from my old setup with 36 natural gourds still in it. I had fifty but took down 14 this past Saturday and am forcing those up in my front yard s well. Next year I plan to get rid of that cluster as well and no longer offer natural gourds although they are as good as a person can use for martins, except for upkeep

My plans are to stay around 140 to 150 pairs from now on.

I have been through a time of sickness but am doing much, much better now. I still like my martins a lot, have just adjusted my attitude, got my colony in shape to care for much easier and am going to forget about seeing how big I can get. I have enough now to make me happy and satisfied

I think in this year of transition I will likely end up with around 100 pair. That should be enough to keep me very satisfied without working me too hard the way I am now setup.

My point in the post was not to criticize those who have large colinies....obviously I still have a pretty good sized one myself. The point I was hoping to make was just take time to smell the roses, enjoy your birds and don't get caught up in the numbers game. There is no end to that road, I have been down it.....smile

[razman]

very well said.......makes a lot of sense to me, and could be applied to many other things in life! thanks, Rick

[tonyg]

Great post Thurman....its always good to hear advice from someone who's "been there and done that"...Tony

[elyas]

Wisdom that applies to more than purple martins.

[Guest]

Good post, as always, T.

I do agree with the enjoyment factor. It is so incredibly easy to check a 12 room house and so much work to check 80 gourds. I know what drives me to grow to the 100 I'll offer next year, at which point I think I'll stop: that is, the effect my colony is having on the community and on the martin population in our area. My colony has attracted a lot of attention and has allowed me to mentor a few folks and it has started many conversations about martin landlording.

I don't know if I'll ever want to grow past 100 gourds, but if I do, it'll be because I really want to, and not because I think I have to. I'm really getting things to a point where I think things will be more manageable with a lot less worry. Using fence shockers on the poles, using strong poles, having reliable pulleys and winches, making the gourds accessible without a ladder, trapping s&s to relieve that pressure, it is all becoming a lighter burden as I have learned from others and incorporated their ideas.

thanks for your post,

[Guest]

An excellent and very thoughtful post/subject. Thanks so much for your insights and sharing them.

[april57]

Thanks so much for all the great info...I only had 1 scout here too early and a blizzard and he is gone...now waiting for our 2 first pair from last year...I get sooo excited over 1 bird I wouldnt know what to do with 50 or more...I handled our babys from last year and was amazed with how big they were and healthy...love love our martins please send some North
April

[ElizWitte]

Thanks so much foryour insight. I have 24 Troyer gourds and this year, I have 24 pairs of martins in various stages of nesting -- babies, eggs and just about to have eggs. The martins are actually driving off any sparrow that comes up and this is really exciting. I thought about adding another pole and more gourds and have really spent time thinking about it but always go back to -- will it get to me so much work that I won't enjoy it? Thanks for helping me make up my mind. I am going to enjoy my 24 pairs, doing regular nest checks and helping my 24 the best I can.
E

[T Seber]

Thanks everyone. I learn a lot from others. I am glad I can be a help sometimes.

[M.Stephens]

I think we have some new martin terminology , it's called Thurmanizing. Meaning to enjoy thoroughly what you have now or to downsize to thoroughly enjoy your colony. Thanks Thurman for your ever so experienced insight!!

[razman]

I think we have some new martin terminology , it's called Thurmanizing. Meaning to enjoy thoroughly what you have now or to downsize to thoroughly enjoy your colony. Thanks Thurman for your ever so experienced insight!!

well said! makes sense to me....Rick