Rembering your first pair of Martins

[dhjohnson]

Hello to all,
While we all are waiting for our martins to return, I thought it might be fun to recall the very first martin pair to choose our sites. What was special about them? What did they do? How did they make you feel?

I'll start first...

My first pair was Buddy and Darlin. Buddy chose our site about 5 days before he convinced Darlin that our sight was worth the risk. Well they had a good year and fledged 4. Year two Buddy returned way early. He found his gourd as we had built a new rack and settled in. It was very cold so I tried to supplement feed him but him wouldn't go after tossed crickets. I tried and tried. On day three of very cold weather, I brought the rack down while he was away and put 12 crickets just inside his entrance. The next day I discovered he had eaten them all. What a relief! Buddy and I spent many evenings talking to each other. I would tell him the others were on their way and he would sit on his porch and chirp back at me. Well Darlin finally made it back and they began to add to the prenest I had provided. They laid 4 eggs just like the first year. Well the cold got the eggs so Darlin laid a few more. One hatched. At two weeks Buddy came up missing. I was so sad because he was my first. We experienced Cooper's hawlk attacks in the early season. Well Darlin was valiant and continued to raise her nestling. About 5 days before he would have fledged a sub-adult killed him. That night I witnessed a hawk attack and I didn't see Darlin return. She sadly was gone. I know this short story is sad but it serves to remind us why we do this and what our martins give back to us. I had a true relationship with Buddy and Darlin. I will never forget them. Their picture is my avatar from our first year. Yes, Martins are wild but very capable of recognizing their host or hostess. They zealously protect their home and bring in others to establish a colony! Who are their replacements? How do they mentor the sub adults? What makes them special? Do you rember your first pair? Mine is sadly gone but never forgotten! Here to you Buddy and Darlin! Love you and will always remember you for being that special first pair.
Debbie

[Glynn B - LA]

April 18 2013 into my second year of trying. Rewind a bit. This far into my second season trying, I knew It was again a bust. After all the hard work and $$$$ no martins. Very depressed and frustrated, I started taking houses and gourds down. Little by little all was being put back in storage. I felt like a complete fool for having played the dawn song every morning from mid Feb till around the 1st of April. It was around the first week of April when a friend came to visit. He always asked, anything yet? My answer was always no but I would also say they are still coming my way. We were chatting about martins and all of a sudden he said, Glynn why don't you just buy a cheap house and put it by the pond. I looked him dead in the eye and said, I will.......

I still could not make myself buy the cheapest. I went ahead and purchased what I consider a beautiful martin house. This was my first Trio castle and their seemed to be endless numbers of parts. I didn't think I was ever going to finish putting that thing together.

Well having finished with my puzzle, I then needed to dig a hole for the ground stake. I said to myself, no need to hurt myself anymore. So I asked my brother to just go down by the pond and drive me a metal fence post in the ground. I'll just lean the trios pole against it and wire it in place. It want be there very long.

Fast forward to April 18th 2013. I was out in the yard moving topsoil around from spot to spot. As always, I glanced at the Trio looking for that pesky male sparrow. That little sob had been driving me crazy. What I noticed was a dark figure. Starling was my first thought. I immediately started towards my shop and pellet rifle. But wait! This bird was gray breasted. This can't be. I hurried my pace to get closer to the Trio. Then it was true. A beautiful female martin along with a beautiful ASY male.

I knew it wasn't really true until they stayed the night. They did....I also got to thinking.....why ASY's Then I remembered we had severe storms a couple days before they arrived. I was the recipient of someone's misfortune. Believe it or not, three days after their arrival they were nest building. Three eggs were laid. Then the cold came and only two hatched. Only one of the young fledged. For about ten days they would come back to roost in the Trio by the pond.


Sorry it was so long.


Glynn

[~Ray~Gingerich]

After many years trying to attract martins finally in 1999 I had a sub adult pair move into a large natural gourd hanging under a T-14, I spent hours watching the nesting progression with binoculars. The gourd didn't have an access port so I used mirrors to check the eggs and chicks. Everything was 100% successful, 5 eggs, 5 hatched, 5 fledged. I thought martins would return every year due to my successful season but i soon found out how wrong that assumption was. Martins didn't nest again until 2006 then they skipped a year and nested again in 2008 which was the starting point of the colony I have today. I will never forget that first pair back in 1999 and how relaxing it was to sit back and watch the nesting activity.

[Dave Duit]

I was terribly ignorant about the ways of martins back in my early years. I made and heavy homemade 24 compartment wooden house with a pole that
had no business being under that huge house. Long story short, I attracted one pair after my second year. That pair had a mansion to themselves and successfully fledged 6 babies. Fast forward to 2013 and a complete new set up with two metal heavy duty sturdy 24 gourd racks and one highly modified metal housing rack setup. All blinged out with owl guards etc... 45 pairs and 200 plus babies later I look back on that first pair and can honestly say that I was elated beyond expression for that first original pair. I almost had a heart attack from my excitement.

[La Grange Larry]

My first pair of martins was this last season. I knew nothing about martins except for what I had read. I knew that I wanted to try to attract some. I bought an entry level house, put it up where I thought would be a good location. The only action that I had, at the house, for three years was the danged sparrows. I saw PM's flying over but none even seemed to take an interest in the house. Finally this last season I looked out one morning and saw two PMs perched on top of the house. They started building a nest and I spent a lot of time each day chasing sparrows away. I built a couple of sparrow traps and got a few. Got a few with my pellet rifle.

Finally the nest building stopped. I inspected the nest and found three eggs. What a delight watching the eggs hatch and the babies grow. When they fledged I was amazed to find that they apparently had a party. Eight other PMs showed up and stayed around for three days. Then they all disappeared.
I'm looking forward to more pairs next season. After next season I plan to upgrade everything and try for a much larger group.

I have learned an great deal by reading posts and replies in this forum. Many thanks to all who participate.

[John Miller]

I am among those who had exposure to purple martins from my earliest memories. My grandfather had martins at his house in Radcliff Kentucky just outside Fort Knox. He made a simple, sturdy wooden house with six units. He worked as a carpenter on the army base so I suspect he made a few "martin boxes" for his buddies too and maybe some martins around Radcliff and Louisville are descendants -- but was a long time ago. John M

[JL Murray]

I'm doing good if i can remember last years Martin's as forgetful as i am!!!

[Carlton]

After years of trying to attract martins I went on a vacation to FL, from DE, the end of April. I assumed that this was just another year of failure and that I would spend another season battling house sparrows.

I was gone about ten days and returned to hear something moving around inside my MSS-8 (enlarged compartments). I assumed it was the HS AGAIN and started to lower it to rip out their nests for the millionth time.

As I started to lower the house out struggled a female ASY martin with a male ASY close behind. Talk about STUNNED!!!! I quickly raised the house back up fearing I had scared them off. To my amazement and relief they quickly returned once the house was back up.

They laid four eggs and all four hatched and successfully fledged. We had SO MUCH FUN watching them fledge and then return each evening for a week or so. I will never forget that season. I had 36 pairs later on but I did not get nearly the kick out of them as I did that one lonely pair back in 2004.

[dhjohnson]

Thanks to All,
Really great stories. JL I bet you really do remember your first pair of martins. Martins forgive us for watching very close, lowering the housing, counting eggs, counting hatchlings, providing crickets and meal worms, putting sevin in their gourds and houses. I really believe the more you expose yourself to them the stronger the trust bond forms. Yes the site must be to their liking and the housing acceptable to them. But they really have interesting personalities and they interact with us on a regular basis. This year I had several females incubating that stayed with their eggs during nest checks. Wow what a humbling moment! It's also interesting to find birds skipping a year before nesting again.
What are some of your most memorable moments? We need to reflect so we can improve to reach our goals.
Best wishes to everyone for a successful 2014!
Debbie

[JL Murray]

Yes Debbie you are right I do. And i have pestered every pair ever since!

[dhjohnson]

They love you for it JL!
Debbie

[Doug Martin - PA]

I was one of the ones that tried for many, many, years before that first pair finally nested. 28 if you want to count them all.

I persisted however and managed to always be entertained by a single subbie male and a few visitors many of those years. I once had a ASY male that came back and stayed early in the season but left during a very bad cold wave that really lowered the population in my area once again. He never made it back after that cold spell finally ended.

After wearing out nearly three cd players with the dawnsong for years. I finally struck gold in 2008. A rather quiet, small, young SY male stayed all summer long and watched my family swim in the pool. It was a long winter of wondering whether he would return dressed in black the following spring of 2009.

After almost giving up hope, finally in mid May 2009 on strong south winds he finally arrived. We greeted each other with tweets and whoops and the rest became history. After a long month of trying to attract a female one finally stayed and nested with him. 4 healthy young fledged. The female would dive bomb the heck out of me too.

This same male was still present in the same gourd this past season at my site. He barely survived his early spring return and I had to nurse him back to health in cold temperatures with supplemental food.

However 36 other pairs now gracefully sweep through my large yard in Fombell PA and call it their home. Sometimes they are too noisy for so close to my swimming pool and patio. Sometimes a liittle wild to the other members of my family, to have so many birds at fledging time.... But loved and treasured by their landlord that was finally blessed with a large thriving Martin colony.

I do remember that first pair.... very well ....what a gift from heaven.

Doug

[DAVE]

2005 a friend from Willis Texas was visiting and said that I had the perfect place for Martins. He had been trying for 25 plus years and had many visitors but no takers. So I wondered to my self doe's he know what he is talking about,sense he hasn't had much secess himself. BUT I tried anyway. I then started to research on what to do to raise Martins. Spring of 2006 I put up a reworked TV antenna on an inch and half tri telescoping pole from Lowe's and put 5 Natural Gourds with Troyer tunnels with sre openings.
Well what do you know! On March 21st I got up around 5:30 am and heard all this noise in the back yard. I went out and there were about 20 Martins fighting over the Gourds. Well I guess my friend knew what he was talking about. So I called him later and told him what was going on. He said AWL SHUT UP and then he laughed. Since then I have had a full house every year. I now have 18 Gourds on 3 Cedar racks I made myself.
I have been very blessed to have these wonderful birds here at my home and I do thank God for it.

Dave

[Ed Pace]

Debbie: My first pair of martins were so many years ago, on my second year of trying, it was mostly bad news. My forum profile explains it better.
My new start was one pair of martins in 2012 and four pair last year (2013). These last two years have been great fun and enjoyment for us, not without its share of worry and flustrations. We are only just getting started and could still be left with no birds next year.

What I would really like to say is how bad we feel for those who have been trying for many years and still have not got birds. When we finally become successful the high is so great but we can't forget those that are still trying. Good Luck to all next season!!!!

Ed

[dhjohnson]

Ed, What a great way to bring us back to humble beginings. You're so right in remembering those true troopers that continue to try year after year.
Doug, Your years of persistence serve to bring new resolve to those still waiting. The extent that we go is a reflection of how much we care and appreciate our birds.
We had a very cold spring here too. I had about 8 martins back. My husband watched me flip dozens and dozens of crickets. He asked me if my fingers were sore and yes they were but that was okay. Well he came back in 15 minutes with a large air tank and rigged a squeeze nozzel. Try this he said. I looked at it. Shook my head and told him it would scare the martins. He pushed me to try it and to my amazement the short burst of air helped get their attention so more crickets were caught and eaten. After a few days I realized that neighborhood martins were showing up to be fed. That was a okay with me. The air tank was a huge success. They lined up on a power line as the tank could launch crickets about 18 to 20 feet into the air. If you get tired try an air tank with a 1/8" tube threaded into a squeeze nozzel. It works great.
More great stories and thanks to all who were willing to share them!
Debbie

[John & Linda - KY]

My first pair story goes back to the first year we put up a six-gourd rack, with no success. But when we sat out on our deck at near-dark we noticed almost every night an unidentifiable bird fly into a gourd.

Fast forward a year, early May with no martins and ready to give up for the season. We were on vacation at a nearby lake and came home mid-week for supplies. As we drove in I spied birds! Three pairs of martins, and one was a beautiful ASY male. I will always believe he was the unidentified bird from the first season. Now we have two 12-gourd racks and host 20 pairs or so each season. -- John

[John & Linda - KY]

OOPS, duplicate post. Sorry. -- John

[dhjohnson]

John and Linda,
Another great story! I too believe your first bird was an SY male that returned the next year wearing his new adult colors. Our first year we had 3 pair of sub adults that fledged young. Year two (2013), we had 6 ASY pairs early. I had one male SY that I named Iron man because he was the first bird to chase away hawks. This year it didn't take long to identify him as an adult because he was dedicated to protecting the rack and any strange birds, especially sparrows and starlings received a swift message that were NOT welcome! Iron man fledged 6 this year. With Buddy gone I believe he will assume the alpha ASY male role in our colony next year. Can't wait for their return!
Best wishes for a successful 2014 season!
Debbie

[James Strickland FL]

My first pair was when I was a young boy in AL. I put 12 Gourds in Feb of that year and all Gourds were filled. Fast forward to 2005 and I had a my first pair show here in FL on Feb 9.

[dhjohnson]

James,
It might be interesting to define what was different from your original colony versus your Florida pair. How did the birds react? What speculations about why they might have chosen your current Florida sight. What predation could they expect? Weather, etc. We allfollowed your posts this year, at least I did. We congratulated you and your renewed enthusiasm. Where I am going with this is to defind how the birds react to different parts of the country and what works in one area doesn't work in another. And how to lend support to those trying to attract that first elusive pair.
Best wishes for 2014,
Debbie