Photos Of Stressed Purple Martins Perched On Trendsetter

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Steve Kroenke
Posts: 4342
Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
Location: Louisiana/Logansport

Photos Of Stressed Purple Martins Perched On Trendsetter

Today, April 28, 2015 our weather was unusually cool for this time of the year. In fact I wore a jacket all day long.

A good number of purple martins are now incubating eggs and other females are in the process of laying eggs. Hopefully these cooler temperatures will not adversely impact the eggs. Last year about this time we had even cooler temperatures including frost during the first of May! This did cause a number of martins to re-nest as their first eggs did not hatch.

Fortunately today the martins could still find food and there were occasional times when the sun managed to peek through the cold clouds and warm things up some. But many of the martins did not “like” the cooler temperatures! The weather conditions should be better tomorrow though the overnight low will be in the low to mid 40s.

Some of the martins clustered around my large 28 compartment Trendsetter to get out of the brisk north wind. So I took a few photos of the martins.

Image

Image

Steve
PMCA Member
300+ pairs of martins each season
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M.Stephens
Posts: 1130
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:14 pm
Location: Texas/Texarkana

Great pictures Steve,
I couldn't believe how cool it was today. I even thought about flipping crickets but knew tomorrow would be a better day for them to feed. They were able to feed at my site most of the day.
Malcolm
2015 (110 nesting pair)
2014 (92 nesting pair)
2013 (75 nesting pair)
2012 (35 nesting pair)
2011 (20 pair)
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ToyinPA
Posts: 2227
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:07 pm
Location: PA/Avis
Martin Colony History: The 1972 St. Agnes flood wiped out all the Martins in my area. One day, in 1997-98, 5 or 6 Martins landed on the power wires crossing my back yard. I had no house for them. They kept coming back day after day. We got a martin house a few weeks later & they have been coming back every year since. I average 12-15 pair per year.

Great photo Steve.

Last year my colony lost a lot of eggs to the cold. I had a couple nests that lost all their eggs. Thankfully a few renested.

There have been times my husband & I joked about me making my colony winter jackets, LOL. They sit like this alot up north. Puffed up, wings down & quiet.

If the weather doesn't permit good feeding I flip crickets. I had to wear my parka, leg warmers & a towel over my legs a few days ago to flip. It was spitting snow. I figure a well feed martin is a healthy martin :).

Often we get below freezing temps (even during the day) after they arrive here, so I will use handwarmers in the houses at night too.

April has seemed more like March used to. Farmers, contractors, etc are all a month behind this year due to the extended cold, snow, ice & rain here.

Toy in PA
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Steve Kroenke
Posts: 4342
Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
Location: Louisiana/Logansport

This morning the temperature was in the mid-40s with a cool wind. But it is warming up and sunny. So hopefully all the eggs are OK.

Last evening, we had a HUGE flock of ASY and SY martins come in to roost and these martins were NOT part of our permanent colony. All these martins swarmed over the houses/gourd racks and tried to find a place to roost. So the martin migration appears to be still going strong.


SY males are still arriving at our two personal martin colonies, but I still don't think there are as many as we had last year at this time. It does look like the SY migration in our area is late so many more SYs may come during May.

I hope to post some more photos of my martin colony soon.

Steve
PMCA Member
300+ pairs of martins each season
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Louise Chambers
Site Admin
Posts: 6208
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:07 pm
Location: Corpus Christi, TX

Steve, neat photos, and I especially like seeing that many of the martins are showing the white tuft of feathers in the 'wingpit' - these are usually not seen unless the birds are preening or cold.
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ck40711
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 12:29 pm
Location: TX/Magnolia

Awesome photos and setup.
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4th Gen Martin Fan
Posts: 1498
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:19 pm
Location: TN/Collierville
Martin Colony History: I have been exposed to purple martin sounds in utero when my mother went out to get my father away from his martin colony.
I played around the martin colony every summer and watched as my father maintained his colony. In the late 50's until the 70's he did not notice European Starlings in south Texas.
When old enough, I helped maintain his colony. My primary task was eliminating English House Sparrows with a 1956 Benjamin 317 .177 air rifle.
When I settled into my own home, I started my first colony with an original Trio Castle and Trio Grandpa. When I moved again, I did not put up any martin houses. Frustration with European Starlings in the Southeast US was overwhelming.
Found PMCA Forum and learned about modern enlarged compartments and SREHs.
Inherited my father's last martin house, a Trio Grandma, modified it to modern specifications and have had good results since then.

Steve,
The old timers call this cold snap, Blackberry Winter.
My Blackberries started to bloom on Sunday afternoon so maybe the old timers know things that we have forgotten.
Mark.
Mark.
Firm believer in HOSP/EUST Control, Enlarged Compartments, SREHs, Pole Predator Guards, Owl/Hawk Guards, Mite/Parasite Control, Housing Insulation, and Vents for Compartment Cooling.
PMCA Member.
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Matt F.
Posts: 3978
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 9:48 am
Location: Houston, TX

Louise Chambers wrote:'wingpit'
Love it....... 8)
Image
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ck40711
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 12:29 pm
Location: TX/Magnolia

Is that a Trendsetter 'heavy-duty 2" square aluminum pole' in the bottom right corner of the first picture on the original post? I have been debating getting a Trendsetter 8 and was just curious if that would be the pole it comes with. Thanks
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Steve Kroenke
Posts: 4342
Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
Location: Louisiana/Logansport

Hey ck,

The big 28 room Trendsetter uses a 2 inch square steel pole. The smaller Trendsetters, the 8, 12 and 16 room houses use the 2 inch square aluminum pole. I have one of my 12 room Trendsetters and my 16 room system on the 2 inch square aluminum pole.

On two of my older 12 room Trendsetters, a friend modified both to include a gourd hub and installed them on 3 inch square aluminum poles. These are customized modifications.

The 2 inch square aluminum pole will work fine with an 8 room Trendsetter.

Steve
PMCA Member
300+ pairs of martins each season
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