Here comes the heavy snow?

[Doug Martin - PA]

Western Pa is forecast to get 5-8 inches of snow tomorrow. We are currently in the second no feed day here as it rained all day yesterday and was in the 40s. Today light drizzle and 40 again.

This will be a 4-5 day poor weather event and I have over 20 Martins to get through it. They are supplemental feeding heavily today and I am going through a lot of my 3000 crickets. For some reason they are favoring the crickets over the egg rather heavily.

I believe in "supplemental feeding" rather than emergency feeding. There is a difference. Why wait till there is an "emergency" as many become too weak to even recover. I would rather them be fed well prior to the snow and cold. This way they can stay inside and use their energy to stay warm during the worst part of it. I will feed heavily prior to it today. Hopefully all will make it through fine till Wednesday when the weather finally improves.

This will be my first experience in getting so many birds through an extended cold spell. Wish me luck.

Doug

[Laverne]

Doug, you are very wise. An ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure... Thank you for all you do to support your colony. Thank you for posting about the things other landlords can do to help support their birds during the trying times. Like now...

Everyone speculates about the cause of decline in Purple Martin populations in certain areas. Well, here's a good "cause" - this late season cold weather and days of rain will "cause" starvation. You can buy 1000 crickets (1" 6 week old) for $13.90. That's a bargain in my book.

Got Crickets? Thanks, Doug!!

Edit: Oh, and I forgot -- good luck to you and your colony... I'm praying for you.

[Carlton]

GOOD LUCK, Doug. Your plan sounds like an excellent one to me.

Mother Nature is so fickle.

[Martin man RI]

Hi Doug
You are to the south west of me the issue with your location and why its
so cold is the elevation in some area's its 1,000 ft. I was wondering why its so cold in that area. The elevation is much higher here over the state line in
MA. I am thankful that most of my Martins now nest in a area that the elevation is only 30 ft and warm. Years ago i lost a colony when we had rain for a week. The elevation there is 350 and much colder I still have stuff
(super gourds) at that old location but I think i would be wise to move whats
left there to a lower elevation. If we had a 1000 ft elevation here we would also have the snow. I am thankful I live here and not in a area with a high
elevation. Good luck And you are a kind person to feed and care for the Martins. ----Ray

[flyin-lowe]

What size are the egg pieces? I have read they prefer them much smaller compared to crickets and other bugs. You might try some pea size pieces if you haven't already. I have seen people say they catch and drop pieces larger then that.

[bwenger]

Here it comes.

I just tried feeding a group of about 30 martins here in NW Pa. They weren't on the house, but the whole group may have been out over the lake trying to find some insects. I tossed about 150 crickets or so, and most fell to the ground. I don't think they are hungry enough at this time to take them. In the past, they readily devour them when it's the second or third day with poor feeding conditions.

I also scrambled up 7 eggs and a couple of pieces were taken, but most fell to the ground. I put the rest into a feeder hanging from a perching rack, hoping that they may decide to check it out.

It's going to be a tough week. Up to 8-10 inches of snow, temperatures in 30's on Monday and Tuesday, around 52 and partly sunny on Wednesday, then back into the 40's on Thursday and Friday. Hope these forecasts are on the low side.

Since I live 100 miles south of here, I am unfortunately expecting to be cleaning out some cavities next Saturday. :(

Doug, keep feeding those birds.

Bill

[Doug Martin - PA]

I am not in a high elevation. Just seems we are in a location that tends to get on the backside of low pressure systems and get the extended clouds and cold temps. Right now (4:00 PM) it is cloudy with showers and 45 degrees.

The egg pieces are small and they are still eating them 6 eggs so far today. Just seems sometimes they favor egg over cricket but not now.
Maybe I got a good batch of crickets.

I just noticed I have a Martin here that seems like he is not one of my birds he is small and in really poor condition. His wings are severely drooping and he does not fly with the rest of them. He also doesn't seem to Know where he belongs as he moves from one place to another and then just sits. He is not feeding either.

Looks like this Martin is old and will not live long. I would not expect him to survive through tomorrow. The rest of the birds have eaten a lot of crickets and eggs today and are doing great.

Doug

[Doug Martin - PA]

I got old droopy wings to eat hand tossed crickets right at him. My arm is sore but it is already hard to tell him from the others as he ate a bunch of them.

I just got right under him and threw them up accurately by hand. First he refused but soon he was eating all tossed his way.

This cold spell is going to kill a lot of Martins. There are a few that don't look so good already. I kept hand tossing to the droopiest wings I could find.

Doug

[Laverne]

Great job, Doug. It is so rewarding to finally get one weak bird to accept your offerings. Maybe he had never been fed before. He will sleep better tonight and so will you...

[scottfreidhof]

Doug - You The Man! I hope other colony managers in western PA are doing the same.

[KathyF]

Wow - wishing you and your martins sun and warmth! We need it too. I just fed 500 crickets and 250 zophoba (sp?) worms today. My martins were sitting on the empty feeder to let me know, "It's COLD and we're HUNGRY".

[Sue P]

I think the martins got some food on their own yesterday, but today was just too cold. I put more pine straw in their nests to hopefully ward off some of the cold. I also put in lots of crickets in each cavity, so they wouldn't have to spend time out in the cold. As I have said before, my accuracy isn't great when tossing crickets.

I'll be interested to see how they are doing in the morning. I will be receiving another shipment of crickets tomorrow. During the last cold spell a week or two ago the birds preferred the crickets to scrambled egg, but I will also try more egg tomorrow.

I have about fourteen birds here now, and some of them were bringing in green leaves the last few days. I sure hope I can keep them going. I haven't had any experience with cold weather and martins before. This is the earliest we have ever had our martins arrive, and we are forecast to get 4 to 6 inches of snow tomorrow.

Sue P

[NancyinEnidOK]

Just wanting to send some good wishes to all of you landlords who are facing snow and other adverse weather conditions -- my thoughts and prayers are with you and your Martins! You are very special people who know what stewardship is and what it means to go "above and beyond." Insects are plentiful here now and so here I sit with a gazillion insects and one beautiful (but still lonely) male, and elsewhere there you are having to bring insects and food to your Martins! Wish I could send you some of those insects (and Doug, I have an excellent linament for your arm!). The Martins are lucky to have people with the knowledge, skills, and will to get them through. Keep us posted, okay?

[Boisy Pitre]

Thinking of you guys up north. Here in South Louisiana we've been having some nice, cool breezy yet sunny days. I watched my 6 Martins fly high above the house today, chasing each other, zooming up and down and just seeming to have lots of fun. A true joy to behold.

Here's hoping for the best for your Martins.

[ToyinPA]

It never got above 50 here today. Rain started mid day. I fed my Martins about 50 crickets this morning & about 130 again tonight. They all line up on the power lines when they're hungry & can't find food. If food is available they refuse to take any I offer. However this week doesn't look good for bugs at all. I expect to feed all week.

With rain/snow & temps dipping to freezing I'll be dragging out the hand warmers too.

I have 11 martins. 10 are in 1 house & 1 lone male has chosen to stay in a different house by himself. He also didn't try to catch any crickets until the very end of feeding.

Best wishes to all northern landlords. Do what you can to keep them alive thru this bad weather.

Toy in PA

[trisha]

Sending good thoughts and prayers for all of you in the north. I pray your martins will survive this bad weather.

[Ed Pace]

It just started snowing at day break, (April 23,2012) this will be the third day of no feed for the martins.

I feel so helpless in this area I only know of two landlords that will feed their birds. Most that I have tried to tell what happens when conditions lit this take place are either not interested, don't have the time, or say leave it to nature. This photo was taken only 3 hours ofter the snow started.

There is little doubt that many martins will parish through this weather.

Just wanted to say: THANKS to all you landlords for taking the time and effort to feed and care for your birds in a time of need.

Ed

[Doug Martin - PA]

Well folks I dodged a bullet here in Fombell. Rain and 36 degrees no snow.
Yesterday evening the cold north wind began to blow and temps fell further. Could not believe a handfull of Martins were circling around in it as I cooked on the grill out back at 7:00 PM.

My Martins are doing good today. I stayed home and took care of them this morning. I fed over half of my 3000 crickets at this point. I use a very large black plastic spoon and send 4-6 of them up at a time from the elevation of my deck. I then have to go out and find the ones that are stubborn or shy. I flick to them individually with a quick underhand flick of the wrist with the cricket between my thunb and forefinger. They then will feed.

When I stand on my deck I am at eye level with the housing. If I point to one on the housing, they will fly straight to me and take a cricket a foot off my hand.

My Martins are flying around as normal and are not staying in, this surprises me.

Doug

[ToyinPA]

I fed about 130 crickets last night. Fed 160 this morning while it was snow/rain mix, then turned to all snow. They were very hungry. I went out with my winter parka on, a cushion to sit on & a towel over my legs. By the time I was done I was froze & wet. No matter tho my martins are more important.

They all lined up on the power lines waiting for each cricket & a few flew right at me as soon as I raised the spoon. They only flew off & circled a few times thru the whole feeding session. Most would fly up, grab a cricket & land back on the power line. The power lines (3) are only a few feet from my martin houses, so they have lots of places to sit close.

I have 1 male who is in a house by himself. He hung back & after awhile he finally joined in to catch crickets. I was worried about him, as he normally doesn't join in.

The snow didn't lay & has turned back to rain for now. We have a few more cold days this week to endure yet.

Toy in PA

[cransy]

Well about 4 inches of snow last night. Weather in NY is awful also. I have about 25 martins so far. Last night I decided to kick all the birds out of there gourds so I could fed them. Made scramble eggs and I put them on the ledges of the gourds. I then put crickets in the entrance of the gourds. I have gone through 2,500 crickets so far since March 31st. People need to be on the look-out for communal cavity roosting. I loss 44 Martins in 2003 in one gourd. Martins have developed a survival strategy for coping with emergency cold-weather conditions that can occur in the spring, shortly after they have arrived at their breeding grounds or during migration. This behavior is called "communal cavity roosting." When conditions become severe, such as snow, sleet and freezing temperatures for several consecutive days, all the martins at a colony site will pack themselves into a single compartment or gourd to conserve body heat while waiting for the weather to break. As many as 30-40 martins might squeeze into one cavity for the duration of the cold-weather spell! This dense cluster of martins generates an amazing amount of warmth, allowing them to conserve energy and survive for several additional days.

But landlords should pay close attention to their colony sites during these stressful conditions, because communal cavity roosts can sometimes result in the death of all the martins in the cavity roost, even after the weather breaks. Here’s how: The last martins to pack into the cavity roost end up near the entrance hole. (Their tails will often be sticking out.) They are the most exposed to the cold and wind, and usually the first to die if severe conditions persist. If these martins near the entrance hole do die, they often entomb their surviving roost-mates by blocking the entrance/exit hole. The surviving martins are thus prevented from exiting the cavity to resume foraging when/if the weather breaks, and they starve to death. In other words, the bodies of the dead martins can block the entrance/exit hole and literally entomb their still living comrades - burying them alive!

If a landlord closely monitors the site (with binoculars) they can detect these communal cavity roosts and take action if needed (i.e., remove the dead birds). Tails sticking out of the entrance hole will often be a sign that a roost has formed in a cavity. Tree Swallows will sometimes join cavity roosts with martins. Other species, such as wrens and bluebirds will also form their own roosts under severe conditions.

Cransy