New Arrivals - Behavior to Expect?

[john e]

March 1st, we were excited to see 2 ASY Males and 1 Female perch on our house. For the third day straight, the pair (one male left)has continued to visit throughout the day.

What I haven't seen them do is enter the house. Is that normal or does it mean they may just be visiting? Or not like my house?

I wait for them to come back to the house around dusk, but they haven't as of yet. They are there around 8am, and a few times through the day, but at night they are nowhere to be found.

Should I keep playing the dawn song in hopes of attracting SY's in the next few weeks or now that I have visitors, does this not matter?

I had one nesting pair last year with an SY male. This male definitely is ASY with full color. Am I being naive to think this is the returning pair from last year?

I'm sure hoping to get more than one pair this year....

Any comments appreciated.

[klcretired]

Hi John E,
First tell us a little about your housing and the entrances that you use.
Do you have nesting material in your housing??
Do you have up Decoys along w/ playing the dawnsong??
Decoys are great attracting tools
What is the Location of your housing??, is it far from trees in a Open space for fly Lanes??

Ok John E , I searched you out and found that you have Trendsetter 12 with crescent entrances
My Question is where is it's Location in Relation to your Yard??
Is it away from Trees???
I think if you could Offer different Entrances along with adding a Gourd Rack or adding some Gourds to your House if Possible would Give the Martins alot of Choices and would help in keeping the Martins There at your Site.

[Laverne]

Hi John and K.C.

John, you ask about behavior and what to expect. You ask if this pair might actually be your returning pair from last year. From what I know of Purple Martins, this could very easily be your returning pair from last year. They are nothing if not loyal to successful nest site. You say you don't see them come in at night. If they are coming in for the night, they will usually do so around the time the sun sets. If you want to see them, you will need to plant yourself in full view of the housing as the sun approaches the horizon. You will need to focus on the housing - like, don't take your eyes off the favored cavity of this pair from last year. The reason for this scrutiny is: when a Purple Martin is coming in to housing early in the season and pretty much alone they will zip in like a bullet and if you blink you'll miss 'em!! Seriously!! Their survival depends on them being discreet - they don't want the local owl to observe where they will be spending the night.

If this pair is not your pair from last year - then, you've been given a bonus! Whatever - it sounds like your colony is well on its way. Take care of them and they will reward you with years of loyalty and entertainment and the satisfaction that comes from all those baby Purple birds that will fly off into the sunset...

Enjoy...

[john e]

Thanks for the replies. Let me be a little more specific. Do newly arrived martins sometimes hang around a site, and not spend the night until later? Or do they always "spend the night" at a site they have selected?

[Tim Stover]

depends on how long they have nested there first year or two they hang around and right at dark they head to roost somewhere i believe

[Don Troha]

Hi John. This is my second season & here's what I've noticed. Martins
have been hanging around the area for a month or so, mostly circling
high above, probably feeding, occasionally coming down to check out the
housing. It wasn't until a couple of nights ago that a pair actually took up
residence and spent the night.
Best of luck for a great season... Don

[dcartwright]

John,

First let me state I do not use houses, only gourds, but Martins are similar in that they do not like change. Is your house in the same position, lined up, same height, same color, etc.? I make sure the same gourd hangs in the same spot facing the same direction each year. A returning bird at my site appears to always stay and also appear to use the same gourd as the previous year. I believe this is one of the reasons males and females will battle over a particular gourd when there are thirty empty ones with the same design hanging all around them.

Don

[klcretired]

Hello John E & Laverne ,& Everyone
Over My 40 years of being a PM LandLord What I have Observed here at My Site is Sometimes the Martins sneak in without anyone knowing it Late in the afternoon at almost dusky Dark , I was in my back yard and had Observed martins Folding up their wings Falling out of the Sky and diving straight into the entrance holes not making a sound, If i had not been there and seen them i would have never known that they were there and spending the night, This has Happened at My Location Many Many Many times, sometimes I have Martins but don't realize it for a few days Later when i file my Scout report, This has happened to me at My established Colony in Shreveport, La and Later when i transfered back into Dallas (Grand Prairie, Tx ) I had to Start a New Colony.

[parkerdes]

I have only a pair out of 12 that has been in my house for over a week...not sure where the rest of my ASYs are...hopefully, just running late! Anyway...I checked my houses & gourds yesterday to see if there were any signs of PMs using them & 2 other compartments in the house had cups in the nesting materials I have in each compartment. I have only seen the 1 pair & waited until almost dark to see if I saw them return but they didn't...or I missed them like KC said or they came in after dark. With it being cool at night...they definitely would prefer a nest in place over a cold metal house.
My patriarch that started my site in 2009 is usually the first to return & when he does...he is very vocal & I hear him every day! Well, this pair is "stelth"...I never hear them or much less see them! They haven't been hanging around like Abe does when he is here! I guess it is still early & with these cool temps...they aren't hanging around to preen...they are out feeding all day!
Best of luck with your colony!

[john e]

Lots of good replies - thanks. I guess I can't be sure that my pair ISN'T spending the night. I have pine needles and nesting trays in all 12 compartments. Would they look lived in if they were spending the night? I might believe it more if I saw them enter and exit during the day (which I don't).

I have noticed that swirling and adding to the nest material is a sure sign of a sparrow. I have an inset trap that I used yesterday and trapped a sparrow. Now that I have a nice house, I don't use my BB gun as much for fear of "plinking" the house. I didn't have to worry about that last year with the cedar house. I'm worried my inset trap is going to catch a martin, but it is the only way I can get a sparrow that has decided on a cavity. I have the PMCA nest box trap and that is working well too.

I'll try and keep a closer look out near dusk!

[dsonyay]

I'm new like you. I have one pair so far. I may have another pair, but I'm missing the action in the evenings for the past couple of days.

I have quite a few showing up in the mornings and they hang around for a couple of hours- flying around and landing, looking in and out of gourds.

It's all normal stuff for new Landlords like us.