4:30 AM/pouring rain...and....

ToyinPA · Sat May 17, 2014 1:58 am

...an ASY Male is out on his balcony singing away, in the dark, getting soaked to the skin!

It had started raining around 4 PM Thursday afternoon (5-15).....we had severe storm warning from 6:45 to 7:30 PM & the wind blew, rain sheeted, trees were bending, flags straight out & the Martins sat out in it getting soaked wiggling their tails. They just loved it. By 9 AM Friday we had gotten 4.10 inches of rain. They were all wet & cold. Temps never got above 62 all day & by late afternoon it had dropped to 58. They never went for food, but did a lot of attempted breeding. I flipped crickets twice for them.

Often during or right after a storm I get new Martin arrivals. My first SY Male arrived on May 16 last year. Sure enough a new SY Female arrived, then a SY male today (5-16-14). He was a hard sighting, as he only has 3 small black dots, one on each side & one on his vent area. We watched him off & on all day thining he was a SY Female. Finally after a lot of observation realized he was an SY Male. So I have 14 PM's at my houses & I think 2 more that did not stay. They may be back tomorrow.

I'm down 2 ASY Males from last year, so I hope I get more SY Males. If not my colony will be smaller this year. I had 11 pair last year. I have noticed my Alfa ASY Male has not gotten a mate yet. I have no idea how old he is, but he's been here several years & is always the 1st one back.

I have 1 HS that has decided to build a nest in house #2. Trying to shoot him, we're ripping the nest out daily & he's been getting chased a lot by a SY Female.

Toy in PA

jr 2 · Sat May 17, 2014 7:51 am

toyin;just an idea;;I had a peristece hs pair that I used a glue trap too get as we are not allowed to shoot here;; if you keep an eye on it and if the hs is going in a certain entrance;;

ToyinPA · Sat May 17, 2014 8:50 am

jr 2 wrote:toyin;just an idea;;I had a peristece hs pair that I used a glue trap too get as we are not allowed to shoot here;; if you keep an eye on it and if the hs is going in a certain entrance;;

ONCE & only once did I ever try glue traps. Placed it in the cavity the HS was building in. And wouldn't you know it....I caught a male martin! NEVER again will I use glue traps, as the martins move about too much from cavity to cavity. It's to big of a risk. Once that glue is on thier feathers you have to use strong soap to get it off, which strips the oils off the feathers or the feathers have to be removed. Not a good thing, especially if they get it allover their flight feathers.

We're not allowed to shoot here either, but we're using a bb gun, from inside, which doesn't go past my yard. We'll get him eventually.

Toy in PA

Nikkidodi - SATX · Sat May 17, 2014 9:10 am

I, agree with you Toy... Glue traps should be outlawed. Here in the San Antonio hill country we have a scorpion problem from time to time. A few years ago, I set out a glue trap in my garage near the door that comes into the house. I caught a gecko and a wren that was chasing it. The wren was weak and struggling to free itself. It was very sad. I cut as much of the trap away as I could and took the bird to Wildlife Rescue.. Hopefully they were able to save her.

ND