Don't be discouraged.
My birds were late by about a week this year. Last year I had 5 nesting pairs, this year (so far) I have 10 nest and one possible nest.
If there are nesting pair locally, their offspring will need a place in the future.
R/
Dan
Mitch Booth wrote:Well,
Looks as if I I'll be starting all over again trying to host Purple Martins!! I had one successful pair of SY's last year that successfully fledged 2 martins. I had 4 eggs, 3 nestlings (one died but not due to predation)
Most of the ASY birds are back in my area of Northeast Ohio and now most of the colonies are getting their SY arrivals. I can only assume my SY birds from last year did not survive migration.
Does the PMCA offer any articles on survival rates of second year birds?
ha ha Mitch. My wife doesn't go for the gourd look either. In fact.....I can't really describe how she feels because this is a 'family friendly' site. It's probably why I don't have any martins, too. lol I might give it another year or two. good luck!
Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Whatta ya mean by that? Purple Martins love people and activity. Have y'all considered painting your gourds to match your homes decor? Talk to your wives about that. Might make them happy. Me, I don't care about all that hoopla. My favorite color is purple martin poop. LOL! ♥♡♥
