I live in nw ohio and my 1st martins arrived 3-31-2018.
more have came since then.We have had terrible weather
here for them.Rain,cold and strong winds almost everyday.
I couldn't even try supplemental feeding.I got to check on
them yesterday and was totally shocked.Not a one was dead.
Finally had good feeding weather yesterday and today,but
don't know how all of them made it this far.Any ideas?
Survival in bad weather
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JRow
- Posts: 52
- Joined: Sat Mar 18, 2017 2:23 pm
- Location: Eastern South Dakota
- Martin Colony History: 2017--super 24 gourd rack with a mix of Troyer horizontals and natural gourds
PMCA member
If they had a day to feed between systems, that can help hold them over. If they arrive a good shape too, that will make a difference. Thanks to all the southern LLs that take such great care of the birds even tough they are migrants! Others probably have more insight than me. I’m fairly new to this as well.
~Jen
2017-- 23 pair with 99 eggs: 81 hatched, 80 fledged.
PMCA member
2017-- 23 pair with 99 eggs: 81 hatched, 80 fledged.
PMCA member
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Buckeyefarmer
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2017 9:33 am
- Location: Ohio
- Martin Colony History: 2015- 0 visitors
2016- 0 visitors
2017- built T-14+songbird magnet, 6 pairs,15 fledged
2018- built 2nd T-14. Anxiously waiting!!
Nestling, I’m in central Ohio and just south of yesterday’s snow! It is hard to believe how they are able to deal with this weather. Last evening though, I watched my Martins come in for the night and was amazed that there were some sort of bugs flying around and it was like 35 degrees out. I don’t know what they were kinda looked like a may fly only smaller. Maybe that’s what they’ve been feeding on.??
Mark
Central, OHIO.
Central, OHIO.
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handyman315
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 11:03 am
- Location: SW Ohio
- Martin Colony History: Colony established May 20, 2017 after three unsuccessful years. Persistent and aggressive Tree Swallows plagued the site, but beyond learning - and practicing - to control them, was the return in 2017 of a 2016-SY-M previously unable to find a mate. As a handsome ASY-M, he brought along two females and a swagger that soon put the Tree Swallow issue to rest. As the anchor pair, he and his mate hatched all six of their eggs into fat and healthy babies into what settled in to be a three-pair, flourishing new colony with up to 11 birds total, including 3 SY-M trouble makers.
Seeing the same thing here farther south, in SW Ohio, i.e., miserable weather, yet my anchor pair has been here since 4/6/18. Watched for them to come in last evening (from feeding, I guess). Although it was turning colder fast at 8 p.m. (pushing 35 degrees and a bitter wind), they made a few beautiful passes clearly catching bugs, then went straight to their gourd - to which I had already added two pocket warmers and a few freeze dried crickets. Crickets added in earlier days have disappeared and I think they have eaten them. They went straight in and never even peered back out.Buckeyefarmer wrote:Nestling, I’m in central Ohio and just south of yesterday’s snow! It is hard to believe how they are able to deal with this weather. Last evening though, I watched my Martins come in for the night and was amazed that there were some sort of bugs flying around and it was like 35 degrees out. I don’t know what they were kinda looked like a may fly only smaller. Maybe that’s what they’ve been feeding on.??
Although my pair show some wing droop, my anchor pair would most likely have made it thru this cold and rainy weather even without my supplemental feeding and hand warmers. They hunt in the afternoons and return like workers commuting to work.
At one time there were three other birds here, two appearing to be a pair. They disappeared a few days ago and have never returned. While I fear the worst for them, I want to think they have found warmer climes.
2023-42 Nests, 197 Eggs/Babies
2022-48 Nests Fledged 203
2021-43 Nests Fledged 185
2020-31 Nests Fledged 133, three early deaths due to cold & rain
2019-19 Nests Fledged 84
2018-11 Nests Fledged 48, ASY-M Arrived April 6, Despite Snow & Cold, Joined Soon by Mate & Two Adult Pairs
2017-3 Nests Fledged 13, FIRST-YEAR LANDLORD! Resident SY-M from 2016 Returned (as ASY-M) on May 20. At Least 11 Adult Residents
2016 Late-Arriving SYs, Resident Lone SY-M
2015-14 Many Visits
2022-48 Nests Fledged 203
2021-43 Nests Fledged 185
2020-31 Nests Fledged 133, three early deaths due to cold & rain
2019-19 Nests Fledged 84
2018-11 Nests Fledged 48, ASY-M Arrived April 6, Despite Snow & Cold, Joined Soon by Mate & Two Adult Pairs
2017-3 Nests Fledged 13, FIRST-YEAR LANDLORD! Resident SY-M from 2016 Returned (as ASY-M) on May 20. At Least 11 Adult Residents
2016 Late-Arriving SYs, Resident Lone SY-M
2015-14 Many Visits
It's been one for the books IMO but we may have made it through here in N Alabama. I had put all the crickets I could source locally into the gourds two nights ago and yesterday evening as I was putting in scrambled eggs I noticed all the crickets were gone except from one gourd. This AM I put in more eggs and observed that some of the eggs of yesterday evening were gone, and some had been tossed out of the gourds.
I am also seeing a bunch of poop in the gourds and on the porches. While that is a good sign that they have eaten, I wonder if I should re-prenest or just let them fillover and clean themselves. They are usually very clean birds.
I am also seeing a bunch of poop in the gourds and on the porches. While that is a good sign that they have eaten, I wonder if I should re-prenest or just let them fillover and clean themselves. They are usually very clean birds.
2014 8 gourds, 3 pairs nested. Ended w/ 24 total
2015 24 gourds, 22 nests. Lotsa birds!
2016 24 gourds and good activity.
2017 32 SREH gourds. Great activity.
2018 40 SREH gourds. Good finish despite big storm damage. No more dangling gourds.
2019 56+ SREH gourds, all on 3/8 rods. Birds did very well.
2020 56 SREH gourds.
2015 24 gourds, 22 nests. Lotsa birds!
2016 24 gourds and good activity.
2017 32 SREH gourds. Great activity.
2018 40 SREH gourds. Good finish despite big storm damage. No more dangling gourds.
2019 56+ SREH gourds, all on 3/8 rods. Birds did very well.
2020 56 SREH gourds.
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handyman315
- Posts: 300
- Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 11:03 am
- Location: SW Ohio
- Martin Colony History: Colony established May 20, 2017 after three unsuccessful years. Persistent and aggressive Tree Swallows plagued the site, but beyond learning - and practicing - to control them, was the return in 2017 of a 2016-SY-M previously unable to find a mate. As a handsome ASY-M, he brought along two females and a swagger that soon put the Tree Swallow issue to rest. As the anchor pair, he and his mate hatched all six of their eggs into fat and healthy babies into what settled in to be a three-pair, flourishing new colony with up to 11 birds total, including 3 SY-M trouble makers.
Same here . . . quite a bit of poop in the gourds. Also took that as a good sign, but the piled up nature made me wonder. Hope it has just been too cold to poop outside . . . I can relate!Chris B wrote:
I am also seeing a bunch of poop in the gourds and on the porches. While that is a good sign that they have eaten, I wonder if I should re-prenest or just let them fillover and clean themselves. They are usually very clean birds.
2023-42 Nests, 197 Eggs/Babies
2022-48 Nests Fledged 203
2021-43 Nests Fledged 185
2020-31 Nests Fledged 133, three early deaths due to cold & rain
2019-19 Nests Fledged 84
2018-11 Nests Fledged 48, ASY-M Arrived April 6, Despite Snow & Cold, Joined Soon by Mate & Two Adult Pairs
2017-3 Nests Fledged 13, FIRST-YEAR LANDLORD! Resident SY-M from 2016 Returned (as ASY-M) on May 20. At Least 11 Adult Residents
2016 Late-Arriving SYs, Resident Lone SY-M
2015-14 Many Visits
2022-48 Nests Fledged 203
2021-43 Nests Fledged 185
2020-31 Nests Fledged 133, three early deaths due to cold & rain
2019-19 Nests Fledged 84
2018-11 Nests Fledged 48, ASY-M Arrived April 6, Despite Snow & Cold, Joined Soon by Mate & Two Adult Pairs
2017-3 Nests Fledged 13, FIRST-YEAR LANDLORD! Resident SY-M from 2016 Returned (as ASY-M) on May 20. At Least 11 Adult Residents
2016 Late-Arriving SYs, Resident Lone SY-M
2015-14 Many Visits