Update in Saskatoon

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madattiver
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: SK/Saskatoon
Martin Colony History: 12 unit North Star + 4 gourds
2014 - 1 pair
2015 - 1 pair
2016 - 1 pair + 1 sub male (until my female died)
2017 - 6 pair

Things seem to be heating up for my pair as both birds are collecting nest material (green leaves included). I think they have brought in material to almost every cavity so far, but are favoring one cavity more than the rest. Each cavity they have slept in I believe as they have made a nice nest cup in the prenest in each of them. Should be almost like it is move in ready for the subbies.

Just watching my video feed right now I have two ASY males and a female. The one has been paired up and staying the night for almost 3 weeks now and the lone male seems to come and go. SY birds should be moving in here pretty soon, so I hope the lone male sticks around and finds himself a gal.

Here is a screen shot off my video feed... I caught the one male mid flap of his wing.

Image

I also have a pair of tree swallows looking to be very close to egg laying. They were doing the hanky panky on the purple martins perch this morning. Here's a shot of their almost completed nest from the other night.

Image

That's all for now.. Hope I can report of SY action soon.
Adam
Fifth Year Landlord
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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!

Things looking good Adam good luck! :grin:
Sharon from southern Illinois
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Matt F.
Posts: 3978
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 9:48 am
Location: Houston, TX

Great update Adam!
Image
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Bob Buskas
Posts: 600
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2003 8:08 pm
Location: Wetaskiwin Alberta, Canada

Nice looking house Adam, hope the subbies fill it up soon!
Bob Buskas, Alberta, Canada (The Northern Sky's Colony) Supplimental feeding is the key during bad weather, but you must train them to feed ahead of time.
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madattiver
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: SK/Saskatoon
Martin Colony History: 12 unit North Star + 4 gourds
2014 - 1 pair
2015 - 1 pair
2016 - 1 pair + 1 sub male (until my female died)
2017 - 6 pair

Thanks everyone for the kind words... I can't wait for those subbies to start showing up. Could be in for a decent summer if they like what they see.
Adam
Fifth Year Landlord
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Brad
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon May 18, 2015 10:12 am
Location: Duck Lake SK

Looking good Adam, those subbies I am sure are enroute.

Brad,
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madattiver
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: SK/Saskatoon
Martin Colony History: 12 unit North Star + 4 gourds
2014 - 1 pair
2015 - 1 pair
2016 - 1 pair + 1 sub male (until my female died)
2017 - 6 pair

I heard some commotion tonight in the back yard.. my pair was really squawking loudly back there, so I went to have a look what was going on. My pair was on the porch and i looked up and saw an ASY male and what appeared to be a SY female circling quite low. Maybe the lone male finally found a gal? The female was quite light on her chest and chin, but never got the binoculars to confirm anything. Well, they never came down, but my pair took off after them trying to get them to come down. It was pretty cool watching them try to bring in the pair. Maybe in time this female will be comfortable with my site and come in to inspect. Also, my pair was nice enough to build them a nest in almost every cavity... so how much more welcoming can they get?
Adam
Fifth Year Landlord
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Bob Buskas
Posts: 600
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2003 8:08 pm
Location: Wetaskiwin Alberta, Canada

What you saw tonight is what you can expect for the next few weeks, yes they are working to build a colony, it takes time but they will succeed. Enjoy, its so fun to watch how hard they work to bring in newly arriving Martins. Some sub adults , especially the females can be very shy, but most ASY males will convince them to stay. Keep us posted :wink:
Bob Buskas, Alberta, Canada (The Northern Sky's Colony) Supplimental feeding is the key during bad weather, but you must train them to feed ahead of time.
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madattiver
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: SK/Saskatoon
Martin Colony History: 12 unit North Star + 4 gourds
2014 - 1 pair
2015 - 1 pair
2016 - 1 pair + 1 sub male (until my female died)
2017 - 6 pair

Things may be heating up again...

This morning while I was putting my son into the car I heard a familiar call. I went outside the garage and looked up and saw my pair flying around and what appeared to be a SY bird (my first thought was female). Then they all tucked their winds and dived down over our house to the backyard towards my martin house. I am not sure if they all landed or did a fly by. Either way, that was a positive sight to see. I will have to crank up my video feed today and see if I can see any new recruits hanging around the house.

and a little update.. since I fired up the feed I have seen the new bird on the house with my pair a couple times.

I sure hope my pair plays nice and doesn't chase away the new bird like Sharon's birds are doing.
Adam
Fifth Year Landlord
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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

Good luck Adam. Sounds promising.
_____
Jody
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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!

Yeah Adam you are doing good. Yes they are liking your house!
I have not seen the female for over 48 hrs. here. We've had cool drizzly weather since Saturday evening. I have only seen the male. Hope this afternoon when the sun comes out things change. Good luck! :grin:
Sharon from southern Illinois
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madattiver
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: SK/Saskatoon
Martin Colony History: 12 unit North Star + 4 gourds
2014 - 1 pair
2015 - 1 pair
2016 - 1 pair + 1 sub male (until my female died)
2017 - 6 pair

Thanks... and I hope when the weather warms up for you Sharon they all come back to you.

The three birds seem to be all hanging out on the same side of the house. There are three cavities per side. I really wish I could zoom in this video feed even further so I can see what the new bird is.
Adam
Fifth Year Landlord
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madattiver
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: SK/Saskatoon
Martin Colony History: 12 unit North Star + 4 gourds
2014 - 1 pair
2015 - 1 pair
2016 - 1 pair + 1 sub male (until my female died)
2017 - 6 pair

there are multiple birds flying around the north star right now.. both of the pair is on the porch and I can tell the male is calling them in as he is doing that mini flap repeatedly.. you know the one they do when they are squacking... looks like at least two other birds circling and making low fly bys.
Adam
Fifth Year Landlord
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Bob Buskas
Posts: 600
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2003 8:08 pm
Location: Wetaskiwin Alberta, Canada

Adam, you talk about the video feed, by this do you mean the Dawn song? If so, take it easy with that, too much Dawn song can make the males too agresive. You can switch to the chatter cd instead at low volume.
Bob Buskas, Alberta, Canada (The Northern Sky's Colony) Supplimental feeding is the key during bad weather, but you must train them to feed ahead of time.
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Bob Buskas
Posts: 600
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2003 8:08 pm
Location: Wetaskiwin Alberta, Canada

Sorry, looking back on your posts, I guess your video feed is just for watching the house?
Bob Buskas, Alberta, Canada (The Northern Sky's Colony) Supplimental feeding is the key during bad weather, but you must train them to feed ahead of time.
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madattiver
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: SK/Saskatoon
Martin Colony History: 12 unit North Star + 4 gourds
2014 - 1 pair
2015 - 1 pair
2016 - 1 pair + 1 sub male (until my female died)
2017 - 6 pair

Bob,

I actually have a live video feed of my martin housing that I am able to watch on my phone. I am not playing any calls right now and I am leaving all the recruiting up to my male. So far he seems to be doing ok all on his own.
Adam
Fifth Year Landlord
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JEF612
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 10:15 am
Location: Saskatchewan, Saskatoon

Hey guys.
Just wanted to say hi!
Nice to see there are others from Saskatoon in here.
I am a second year landlord as well - last year we had one pair fledge 6 young. This year we have 2 pairs so far, and still waiting for some SY birds to show up.
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Brad
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon May 18, 2015 10:12 am
Location: Duck Lake SK

Adam,

That's great to hear, sounds like they really like your house. My pair started building a nest over the last couple days. Flying down to the creek picking up mud, grass, etc. There is another martin with them and I cannot figure out if its a female of a sub male. However the female building the nest seems to fight with it every now and then. The ASY Male does not seem to mind its presence. Its been hanging out with the pair for around 5 days now staying at the house all day. My guess is its another female.

Hi Jef612,

What kind of martin house do you have?

Brad,
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madattiver
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: SK/Saskatoon
Martin Colony History: 12 unit North Star + 4 gourds
2014 - 1 pair
2015 - 1 pair
2016 - 1 pair + 1 sub male (until my female died)
2017 - 6 pair

Brad,
Things seem to be looking good for you this year. I can't remember if you had told me this or not... But... Did u have any martins at your site last year?

Jef612,
Where are you located in Saskatoon?
Adam
Fifth Year Landlord
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JEF612
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 10:15 am
Location: Saskatchewan, Saskatoon

My house is an A-16 style from Chuck Abare. So far so good. I think i will need porch dividers pretty soon though...

Adam I am in Willowgrove - where abouts are you?

Jeremy
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