Update from SW Texas - New member to PMCA

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JameyS
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:36 pm
Location: TX/ Dallas, Del Rio, Whitney

Wanted to introduce myself and give a quick update.

My uncle and I have two colonies (one on Lake Amistad close to Del Rio TX and one on Lake Whitney in central TX)

My uncle has been an "old school" landlord for over 10 years. I got interested about three years ago. Over the last three years we have updated our landlord tactics and brought his houses and my new houses up to speed with current designs and techniques. :grin:

Yesterday my uncle reported we had about 30 new martins arrive and we are blessed to see them considering the weather situation that we have seen here in Texas over the last 3-4 weeks.

Over the weekend I checked in on the smaller colony at Lake Whitney and did not see any martins however there were no dead martins in the houses either.

This year we added Super Gourds under each Pioneer House and we also added pre-material to all the cavities, something we have not done in the past. I'm curious to how the martins take to the new gourds and pre-material. I'm always hesitant to change things but everything I've read says to do it so we will see.

I'm heading to Lake Amistad this weekend and will try to post some pictures of the colony there. I think our houses are actually too far apart from each other but I may remedy that over next winter.
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pmartinlover2
Posts: 521
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 6:37 pm
Location: IL/Hillsboro
Martin Colony History: 2011 Home site--1 SY pair--2 fledged
2016 Satellite Site---4 pair--19 eggs laid--17 hatched--16 fledged
2017 Satellite Site--8 pair--37 eggs laid--34 hatched--34 fledged
2018 11 pair--fledged 60
2019 20 pair-fledged 94
2020 23pair-fledged 108

Welcome to the forum Jamey. Great that you have joined the PMCA. Hope to see further posts from you. Good luck this season with your colonies.
______
Jody
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DornCounty
Posts: 2169
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 3:58 pm
Location: Rural SE Kansas
Martin Colony History: .
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Trio-Jedi

welcome to the PMCA!!!! keep us updated.
2017 - Home & Public Colonies - 300 Cavities
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Matt F.
Posts: 3978
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 9:48 am
Location: Houston, TX

Welcome indeed! :)
Great to have you here!
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Emil Pampell-Tx
Posts: 6743
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:26 pm
Location: Tx, Richmond (SW of Houston)
Martin Colony History: First started in Gretna, La in 1969 with a small homemade house, have had martins ever since at 2 different homes in Texas

Welcome, and this Texas weather has been different this year. At our place, we are no longer in a drought.

Your houses most likely are not too far apart. The further apart ones seem to be well liked by martins, and the success rate is usually better, probably better hawk protection, etc. I would not move them closer.
PMCA Member, 250 gourds, 6 poles, 2traps
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apundt-TX
Posts: 986
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 7:34 pm
Location: Pflugerville, Texas
Martin Colony History: :
2022-1 pair
1 pair 2021
2020- Didn't get setup fast enough in Pflugerville
2019- Apartment
2018 Divorce lost Colony in Dripping Springs
19 pair 2017
17 pair 2015
12 pair 2014
8 pair 2013
5 pair 2012
2 pair 2011

Spent many years with my family fishing Lake Amistad. Beautiful area.
Please take pictures and share them when you get back. Suppose to be a great weekend so have a safe trip. Looks like you will be traveling by within 30 minutes of where I live if you take 281 or I-35

A.P.
PMCA member
racks:CUE AAA-16, PMCA Multipurpose pole , S&K EZ-Lift, Lonestar/Songbird Essentials, CUE 12 gourd rack
gourds: S&K gourds, Supergourds, Troyer horizontals, Naturalines, few naturals
housing: S&K great 8, TRIO M12K, Coates/BirdsChoice 8 room wateresdge
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JameyS
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:36 pm
Location: TX/ Dallas, Del Rio, Whitney

Thanks for all the welcomes. Very happy to be here now.

apundt-TX - out of Dallas I head west on I20 to Cisco, Cross Plains, San Angelo and then south. Much easier and faster.

Our 10 acre property is about 35 miles north of Del Rio on Devils River so we pretty much have every possible predator known to martins. I'm happy to say that last year for the first time we didn't get hit hard by owls directly on the houses. Not suggesting we didn't lose some to an owl but we were full of martins last year and raised a lot of babies.

Pampell-Tx - I had thought about moving the houses closer together just because of reading about the safety in numbers theory and maybe they preferred closer living quarters. Right now the houses are about 60-40 yards apart and more scattered. Trust me I don't want to dig the holes. It's rock down there and you have to use a breaker bar
Lake Amistad - Nine Pioneer houses / double roomed w/Two Super Gourds on each house Owl guards and pole guards. 72 total nesting cavities

Lake Whitney - Three houses all double roomed 32 nesting cavities
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taxidermy lady
Posts: 2988
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 10:21 am
Location: IL/Ellis Grove
Martin Colony History: Started trying to attract purple martins in 2012! It's finally happened in 2017! 5 years!!! ASY male and SY female came May 1st, fledged 5 babies!

Good luck, and you going to love all the info you can learn from this forum. :grin:
Sharon from southern Illinois
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JameyS
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:36 pm
Location: TX/ Dallas, Del Rio, Whitney

Got back from Lake Amistad last night around 7:00. At my house I counted about 12. I think most of them were males. Not sure I can tell the difference in first year males and females.

we still have them coming in. This is the first year for the gourds so right now they seem to like the houses. At my uncle's house he had about 8-10

I'm by no means a photographer but here are some pics over the weekend. Second day it was pretty hazy and cloudy so the pictures were a bit white washed.
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Lake Amistad - Nine Pioneer houses / double roomed w/Two Super Gourds on each house Owl guards and pole guards. 72 total nesting cavities

Lake Whitney - Three houses all double roomed 32 nesting cavities
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pmartinlover2
Posts: 521
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 6:37 pm
Location: IL/Hillsboro
Martin Colony History: 2011 Home site--1 SY pair--2 fledged
2016 Satellite Site---4 pair--19 eggs laid--17 hatched--16 fledged
2017 Satellite Site--8 pair--37 eggs laid--34 hatched--34 fledged
2018 11 pair--fledged 60
2019 20 pair-fledged 94
2020 23pair-fledged 108

I love to see pictures of everyone's martin sites. Especially like the one with the deer and the martins in flight with water in the background. Thanks for sharing your martins with this wanabe.
______
Jody
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Matt F.
Posts: 3978
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 9:48 am
Location: Houston, TX

Great photos Jamey!
Looks like some happy Martins!
(and a surprised White-tailed deer.....LOL)
Image
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trisha
Posts: 427
Joined: Fri May 27, 2005 1:12 pm
Location: Texas/Burleson, south of Fort Worth

Welcome to the forum! The people here are very friendly and have tons of great advice. I have learned so much from these great people over the last 10 years. Great photos!
Trisha


PMCA member
2019, 36 pair
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John Evans
Posts: 323
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:56 pm
Location: Cocoa Beach Florida

Welcome to the forum JameyS. Great people here with some wonderful wisdom, knowledge and experience. Enjoy and good luck with your 2015 season.
PMCA Member
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JameyS
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:36 pm
Location: TX/ Dallas, Del Rio, Whitney

Update from SW Texas.

I'm stuck working in Dallas but I know the SW Texas martins are about to head south. I'm headed down for July 4th but I know by then many will be gone. I asked my uncle to count as best he could the total number of birds at least out of the houses.

Rough counts are
86 birds actually counted at my place
70 - 80 birds at his place.

our houses are about 150-200 yards from each other

It has been our best year. :grin:

If by chance they are still there next week I will try to get some pictures and post them.
Lake Amistad - Nine Pioneer houses / double roomed w/Two Super Gourds on each house Owl guards and pole guards. 72 total nesting cavities

Lake Whitney - Three houses all double roomed 32 nesting cavities
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JameyS
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:36 pm
Location: TX/ Dallas, Del Rio, Whitney

Things are still rocking and rolling in SW Texas but I have a question for all you experts.

We've been putting martin houses up (2 or 3) for about 10 years and like clockwork they are always gone right at or after the 4th of July. We have some stragglers that come through but basically they are gone.

This year we still have close to 40 at the site and that has never happened. My hunch is that they are martins migrating back south which would make sense but so many? That is what is surprising to me. it is almost August and we have so many flying around. This has never happened before.

Any ideas?
Lake Amistad - Nine Pioneer houses / double roomed w/Two Super Gourds on each house Owl guards and pole guards. 72 total nesting cavities

Lake Whitney - Three houses all double roomed 32 nesting cavities
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