My satellite site is at an Assisted Living Center. Right next door is a 10 screen movie theatre.
I am sure we have all found unusual items in the martin nests (bottle caps, Q-tips, etc.). Some of my martins go next door to the theatre to get leaves for the nest. One of the gourds had a movie ticket stub in the nest. Looks like they went to see Chappaquiddick on April 20th.
2016 was the first year for this site. That year, 4 pair nested. Last year, 11 pair raised 52 young. This winter, I added a 12 gourd pole to the pole already there. So far, 19 pair have laid eggs with an additional two pair of SY martins that have completed a nest but no eggs yet. The site is nearly perfect - totally open and about 150 yards from the Guadalupe River.
Gary
My martins go to the movies
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C.C.Martins
- Posts: 3368
- Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:15 am
- Location: Corpus Christi Tx
- Martin Colony History: 2016- Visitors.
2017- 5 pair. 15 fledged
2018- 18 pair. 85 fledged
2019- 17 pair. 81 fledged
2020- 25 pair. 111 fledged
2021- 28 pair. 118 fledged
2022- 33 pair. 151 fledged
2023- 33 pair. 165 fledged
2024- 40 pair. 185 fledged
2025- 40 pair. 181 fledged
HOSP:
Home colony: mix natural, super, Troyer and excluder gourds, enlarged compartment house. All SREH.
Satellite colony: Oso Bay Preserve: 49 PMCA excluder gourds; 16 room Lonestar Goliad with Modified Excluder entrances.
2019: Visitors
2020: 3 pair, 11 fledged
2021: 10 pair, 30 fledged
2022: 11 pair, 35 fledged
2023: 18 pair, 101 fledged
2024: 39 pair, 181 fledged
2025: 51 pair, 216 fledged
PMCA member
That is funny! Good show too. Sounds perfect, even during the dry spells that river is running deep and cold. Do the folks living there appreciate the birds being close and have any of them raised Martins before?
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
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CapnJack
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:04 pm
- Location: South Dakota
- Martin Colony History: 2018 23 Successful Pairs
Mixture of real and Plastic Gourds
Thats Good
Yep-- last weekend there was a crumbled up piece of paper underneath one rack along with all
of the sticks that were too long to get through the entrances..
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G Saner
- Posts: 256
- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2013 3:37 pm
- Location: TX/Kerrville
- Martin Colony History: Fort Worth, TX (1967-1976), The Colony, TX (1981-1985), Carrollton, TX (1986-2013), Kerrville, TX (2015-present).
Two SuperGourd poles (12 gourds on each) at River Point Assisted Living Center.
Tom,
Yes, there are all levels of interest from the residents. Some watch them intently. The poles can be seen from both the dining room and the activities room. One lady was a landlord herself after becoming interested when her father hosted them when she was a child.
Several times a season I give a little martin talk to the residents. Even the residents only mildly interested show up for that. Showing a nest of eggs and a nest of babies is always a hit.
The activites director assigns each interested resident a gourd that is "theirs". Some of the residents request a certain gourd that they can see from the dining room. After each nest check, I record the results on a whiteboard so they can keep up with the martins that they have "adopted".
By the way, I spent a little time at Spohn Hospital when I was one day old.
Yes, there are all levels of interest from the residents. Some watch them intently. The poles can be seen from both the dining room and the activities room. One lady was a landlord herself after becoming interested when her father hosted them when she was a child.
Several times a season I give a little martin talk to the residents. Even the residents only mildly interested show up for that. Showing a nest of eggs and a nest of babies is always a hit.
The activites director assigns each interested resident a gourd that is "theirs". Some of the residents request a certain gourd that they can see from the dining room. After each nest check, I record the results on a whiteboard so they can keep up with the martins that they have "adopted".
By the way, I spent a little time at Spohn Hospital when I was one day old.
G Saner
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Purple Man
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 3:54 pm
- Location: North Carolina
- Martin Colony History: My First year 2018
That is too funny , I can`t help but wonder what they would think if Alfred Hitchcock`s "THE BIRDS" were showing lol
Mike
Eastern North Carolina
Eastern North Carolina