My First '14 Arrival Today

Lane Stout · Mon Jan 27, 2014 8:34 pm

One ASY male was sitting on a gourd entrance porch when I arrived home at 4:45PM today. Seems he was watching for me, haha!

He was 6 days later than my 2011 and 2012 first bird. This fella was #81 reported in the Country this year and #8 in Louisiana on the PMCA scout arrival map. Last year my first bird was #76 and #9 respectively. Pretty close I'd say.

This little guy missed last weeks freezing rain and sleet event only to arrive the day before another strikes. We are expecting 1 to 3 inches of snow in South Louisiana tomorrow preceded by freezing rain and sleet. Will be below freezing for 36 hours or more. I'm prepared to offer food and heat. Hope he remembers the drill and cooperates.

dhjohnson · Mon Jan 27, 2014 9:57 pm

Great post Lane,
Keep him warm and consider supplemental feeding if necassary! We too are expecting snow in North Carolina tomorrow afternoon! If he won't go for flipped crickets, put some near his entrance on his porch. That's how I saved my early bird last year!
Best of luck in 2014!
Debbie

Ed Pace · Mon Jan 27, 2014 10:26 pm

Lane: congratulations on your first bird, even though the weather is nasty it has the best chance of surviving at your site. I have been trying to supplemental feed some early birds that come to my site but I am not doing well. But I will keep trying.

Ed

tlragsdale · Mon Jan 27, 2014 10:42 pm

Lane…congrats! Must be really exciting to see the first arrivals. Here in western WI, we are currently at -16, and have 30" of snow on the ground. Safe to say, we won't be looking for any returning martins for at least a couple of months.

Craig Haddox · Mon Jan 27, 2014 10:48 pm

Lane, congratulation's on your first arrival. Hopefully the weather will warm up soon so he can feed. Good luck this year.

Matt F. · Mon Jan 27, 2014 11:24 pm

Great report Lane!
Congrats on the start of your 2014 season!
It does sound like he was waiting for you to get home, before he popped into his gourd for the night!

Conrad Baker · Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:39 am

Congrats on your "early bird". You are about 30 miles west of me (Paulina), so I am keeping a lookout for my first arrival. This weather we are expecting today and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday) has me worried sick.
Especially after their long journey, they are really tired and hungry. Why can't they wait til April and give us landlords a break ??

Lane Stout · Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:35 am

Thanks everyone! We have two males this morning and they appear strong and healthy. They are not at all interested in catching any tossed food this morning even though it's 30 deg, windy and drizzling. Tomorrow they may have a different outlook. I have been successfully offering my colony supplemental food both by flinging and from a platform for about five years now. Once they finally took to eating from the platform they return to it each year. The platform tray is loaded with scrambled eggs atop a large disposable hand warmer just in case they folly over there today.

Lane Stout · Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:54 am

Conrad Baker wrote:Congrats on your "early bird". You are about 30 miles west of me (Paulina), so I am keeping a lookout for my first arrival. This weather we are expecting today and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday) has me worried sick.
Especially after their long journey, they are really tired and hungry. Why can't they wait til April and give us landlords a break ??

Keep watching Conrad, we are even closer than you thought. I'm only about 20 miles N-NW of you. This year is the quietest arrival I can remember. Yet to hear a peep from either of the two now in residence.