Video of my chalet site from the air

[Ryan]

So year eight is in the books with zero activity at my site. This is now the fourth year that I haven't even seen a martin. I've seen two in 8 years now. One SY male stopped in occasionally in year 1 and year 4.

Looking at martin housing from a birds eyes view really gives a unique look. I took my drone up and did a quick flyover. I always appreciate input from experienced land lords. My site isn't perfectly ideal, but I think it's pretty good. My actual house is in the treed area in the background so I have to "borrow" the neighbors vacant lot. There is a school yard behind and a graveyard in front so lots of open area. I'm not that close to a human house, but I figured having the rack in the most center and open area of the lot was better than getting closer to human housing but also the trees around the human housing.

Thanks for any input. Some background info:

-There were many martins in this town 25 years ago
-Now the closest colony is 27 miles from me
-I have decoys, mirrors, mud and pre-nests
-I play the dawnsong from 4:30 am until noon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5blcPTkdig

[FarmerHarv]

Nice video! I know next to nothing about martins, but that looks like a very inviting location with excellent housing.

Makes me really wish i lived somewhere other than parched desert/windswept tundra too.

[Dave Duit]

Awesome video. I like the location near water and big open space around the set up. Great work and keep up the nice job with martins.

[Dave Reynolds]

Super Video ... Looks like you have a great site for the Martins... It's just a matter of time until a pair will be building in your housing.. Keep doing what you are doing .. It will happen... Great job..

Dave

[John & Linda - KY]

Were the two birds sitting on the top of your housing in one shot starlings? -- John

[Ryan]

They're two PM decoys.

[Matt F.]

Hi Ryan,
Your perseverance is truly inspirational.
This is thinking way outside the box (probably ridiculously so), but what about constructing a large Martin house, similar to the ones at that active site on that lake approx. 27 miles to your northeast. Perhaps even finding a location you could place it on the lake right by your house?

[sssSMOKING]

First of all what a great looking set up you have and I know you have a tremendous amount of time and money invested in your set up.

From my own experience this is what I had to do. I had a beautiful 16 compartment house my brother-in law made me. It was up for 2 years and martins would just fly around it but nothing else. People say and I agree with them that martins don't like new. They like for your houses to look used and old. So I took mud and rubbed all over the house and did what I could to make it look used, rough up there landing (porch). Still no takers.

Long story short.
I drove around and looked to see who had martins and what type of housing they had. Closest one was about 5 miles and they had super gourds with round holes.
I came home and ordered a gourd rack with some super gourds most with crescent openings but 2 with round holes and had it installed 1 week after ordering. 3 days after installed I had several martins sitting and fighting over the new set up. Go figure!!

Looking back what I should have done was to installed/offered many different cavities.
Now I have a 16 compartment house (Chuck Abare), Super gourds, Natural gourds, Bo11P, and Troyer horizontal gourd.
I think martins like to chose cavities that they were born in and who knows what that would be.

I did get martins in my house but it took many years of trying the gourds brought them in, maybe from my neighbor 5 miles away. Seems like in this area (VA) martins prefer gourds. This year I had 15 pair, 4 pair in the house and the rest in the gourds.

I do think martins like to be close to people, my set up is about 40 feet from my house. Seem the martin's watch me as much as I watch them!

Keep trying and please do keep us informed.

Richard

[Yves]

So year eight is in the books with zero activity at my site. This is now the fourth year that I haven't even seen a martin. I've seen two in 8 years now. One SY male stopped in occasionally in year 1 and year 4.

Looking at martin housing from a birds eyes view really gives a unique look. I took my drone up and did a quick flyover. I always appreciate input from experienced land lords. My site isn't perfectly ideal, but I think it's pretty good. My actual house is in the treed area in the background so I have to "borrow" the neighbors vacant lot. There is a school yard behind and a graveyard in front so lots of open area. I'm not that close to a human house, but I figured having the rack in the most center and open area of the lot was better than getting closer to human housing but also the trees around the human housing.

Thanks for any input. Some background info:

-There were many martins in this town 25 years ago
-Now the closest colony is 27 miles from me
-I have decoys, mirrors, mud and pre-nests
-I play the dawnsong from 4:30 am until noon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5blcPTkdig

There's is a big colony on Isle Calumet, is that the one you are refering too at 27 miles ?

[flyin-lowe]

I would be curious to see how many active colonies are close to you and what their populations are. It would appear to me that you just have a very low populations of martins in that area. Even if you had a poor location with tree etc. (which you don't) you would be seeing some visitors with the dawn song playing. A vast majority of martins do not return to the site they were born at. So if there are active colonies close by I would think you would be getting some SY visitors each year. I'm guessing you are doing everything right and just don't have a good population. Hopefully you can attract a pair or two and start building the populations up.

[Ryan]

I would be curious to see how many active colonies are close to you and what their populations are. It would appear to me that you just have a very low populations of martins in that area. Even if you had a poor location with tree etc. (which you don't) you would be seeing some visitors with the dawn song playing. A vast majority of martins do not return to the site they were born at. So if there are active colonies close by I would think you would be getting some SY visitors each year. I'm guessing you are doing everything right and just don't have a good population. Hopefully you can attract a pair or two and start building the populations up.

The county I'm in is 3000 square miles. I'm right in the middle of it and I don't believe there is one pair of martins left in the county. I've looked for years, and talked to the local wildlife division, birders and they don't know of any either.

Here's a map of known martin sightings in the last 10 years. I'm on the left side where the HWY 41 and 60 meet. https://ebird.org/map/purmar?neg=true&e ... &yr=last10

Every colony is east of me. The closest colony to me you'll see north east of me with a few blue pins. I have visited and actually built a chalet rack for the old guy however he wanted it placed in a poor spot too close to a tree. We'll see if anything takes to it next year in it's second year up. He has a dwindling colony of about 14 martins, and he once had dozens of pairs only less than 10 years ago.

I do agree with you and think the housing is probably fine. If I was seeing daily or weekly visits and none would stay then I would look to change housing, but it's hard to base that off two martins in eight years.

It's a unique situation as I would say almost 100% of people reading this have hundreds and probably thousands of martins flying north over their housing each spring and have that chance to pull those birds down for a peek. Other than that one 14 birds colony, I have nothing north of me. It's tough. I see it similar to a bus run. I'm the last stop for the bus and all the passengers have already gotten off. My best hope is to try and grow the old guys martin population 27 miles away from me. Sounds dire, but I think it's the best chance.

[LesMartin]

Hello Ryan, I couldn't get martins at my home so I started a colony at the local golf course and it has gone very well so far. I might try to attract some birds to my home some time in the future however the habitat is not ideal so I may not try. I enjoy being able to drive down to road to manage a colony of these birds. I think your site is ideal and I really hope you end up getting a pair of martins however the hobby is addictive so be forewarned. I might try some gourds in your case such as the ones Troyer manufactures, I believe having those at my colony made the difference in getting birds and the martins absolutely love them. The fact that your site is very close to water makes it a huge draw and I believe was a factor in getting birds the second year at my site. Good luck next season from extreme southern Ontario, Windsor.

[Ryan]

Hi Ryan,
Your perseverance is truly inspirational.
This is thinking way outside the box (probably ridiculously so), but what about constructing a large Martin house, similar to the ones at that active site on that lake approx. 27 miles to your northeast. Perhaps even finding a location you could place it on the lake right by your house?

Thanks Matt. I know you've been following over the years. We're going to build a house in a couple years and it will be on the river that you see in the video. Should be an ideal spot so I will go all in at the point. I hear you and have thought about building a more square plywood house and placing it, but haven't worked up the time yet. I will probably wait until the shoreline house is ready.

There aren't many gourds in this area. All the sites I see within a hour drive are all traditional plywood housing. I've never seen a gourd actually. I'll attach a picture of what the closest colony is nesting in.



All the martins nest in the house on the far right. I put of the rack system in the spring. It looks great in the picture but there is a 25 foot tree only 20 feet from it out of the picture on the left. The old guy wanted the house there and I kind of pushed him for the area more between fountains, but it's his property so he won. We'll see if any birds next year try it out but I wish that tree wasn't there. It's his neighbours tree, too.

So re-building that house does make sense, I agree. I just don't want to try and add another house to my site as it's not my property and I don't want to push it...or build it ha. But, what I'm going to propose to the old guy is remaking his house to exact sizes, with half as many large compartments and all SREH and have it go up and down on a drill operated pulley so it's easy for him to clean. He's 81 and still goes up there on scaffolding. Plus, the compartments are round hole 6x6 and I'm sure if I could monitor a couple times a nesting season and do nest checks I could boost his population instead of just holding the same or slightly dropping like he's been.

I'd like him to remove the small house too as the holes are too high and nothing has nested in it, but it's hard to not offend the guy who made it (him). With only 14 martins at this site and 60 nest cavities, it's hard to get any over flow happening.

I'm not sure he'll go for the free house build as the current one in the picture has been used and renovated since 1978. We'll see. I have to give him a call this fall/winter.

[Ryan]

here's is a big colony on Isle Calumet, is that the one you are refering too at 27 miles ?

Hi Yves! Yes, that's the one, it's in the picture above with my new housing there. I found it a few years ago thanks to your submission on Ebird. I tried to track you down online with no luck haha.

Know of any others in that area?

You can email me if you wish. ryanhoelke @ gmail.com

[John & Linda - KY]

They're two PM decoys.

Well, they fooled me! -- John