Hello everyone
I have 3 pair nesting. Two of them have eggs so far. My original pair that was here last year have 4 eggs so far and the third pair to show up have 1 egg. I believe the third female is a SY female. Spring was late and cool this year so the leaves have really just come out in the last 7-10 days. All three nests have no leaves in them. In previous years the pair I had always brought in a lot of green leaves. Has anyone ever experienced this. I’m 100% positive these are Martin nests and eggs FYI.
Eggs with no green leaves
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detioh11
- Posts: 52
- Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:24 pm
- Location: St Johns, MI
- Martin Colony History: 2015 A few Visitors
2016 1 ASY pair 4 eggs 4 Fledged
2017 ASY male returned chased off by starlings
2018 1 pair fledged 5
2019 3 Pair with nestlings and an ASY male bachelor and 2 SY males around all the time fledged 16
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randyM
- Posts: 254
- Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:30 pm
- Location: Long Lake SD
- Martin Colony History: * 2016 - 1 pair (ASYM + SYF) 2/3 eggs hatched 2 young fledged.
* 2017 - 4 pairs, 16/17 eggs hatched, 16 fledged, 16 banded - 2 banded SY returned in 2018 (12.5%)
* 2018 - 10 pairs, 46/52 eggs hatched, 45 fledged, 29 young banded - 3 banded SY returned in 2019 (10.3%)
*2019 - 32 pairs, 145/160 eggs hatched, 139 fledged - 87 young banded - 12 banded SY returned in 2020 (13.8%).
* 2020 - 35 pairs, 180/199 eggs hatched, 178 fledged - 150 young banded & 42 SY returned (28.0%)
* 2021 - 89 pairs, 363/446 eggs hatched, 355 fledged - 150 young banded & 19 SY returned (12.7%)
*2022 - 116 pairs, 495/579 eggs hatched, 471 fledged - 150 young banded & 27 SY returned (18.0%)
*2023 - 160 pairs, 708/828 eggs hatched, 572 fledged - 150 young banded & 38 SY returned (25.3%)
*2024 - 235 pairs, 950/1153 eggs hatched, 865 fledged - 100 young banded & 18 SY returned (18.0%)
*2025 - 200 pairs, 795/953 eggs hatched, 739 fledged - 200 young banded
Once the leaves in your area get bigger, perhaps the martins will bring some leaves to their nests. It has been extraordinarily wet and cold in my area. Over the past 22 days temperatures have only been above 50 degrees 13 times, with rain or snow on 11 of the 22 days. The trees around here have few if any of their leaf buds open. My colony has 7 nests so far, none with eggs yet. I've seen a few martins in the tree tops pulling at the buds, but don't come away with anything. I hope it warms up soon, I checked my tree swallow boxes and had 3 nests with 3 eggs each, but I also found 6 dead swallows in different boxes. No trauma to any of them, just razor breasted. They must have starved during one of the two 4 day cold and rainy spells we had in the past two weeks. I trap and dispose of HS and Starlings, so very unlikely any were killed by these pests. I also found 2 dead barn swallows in one of my out buildings...no apparent injuries to these birds either. I wonder if this cold and lack of feeding opportunities will result in smaller clutches for martins and swallows in my area this spring?
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Dave Duit
- Posts: 2146
- Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2003 2:02 pm
- Location: Iowa / Nevada
- Martin Colony History: In 2026, 88 pair with 333 fledged youngsters. 110 total cavities available, 82 Troyer Horizontal gourds and a homemade PVC / metal 28 compartment unit, 1 fallout shelter. Hawk and owl guards included. Martin educator and speaker. President and founder of the Iowa Purple Martin Organization. Please visit Iowa Purple Martin Organization on Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1627283871068161 Emails send to [email protected]. Subject line include Iowa Purple Martin.
The only time see a sparse nest is when there are SY pairs. SY pairs sometimes have poorly built nests and only an egg or two.
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-=DKC=-
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Thu Jun 08, 2017 2:26 pm
- Location: Corpus Christi, TX
- Martin Colony History: ................
2019: 11 pairs
2018: 11 pairs - 43 fledged
2017: 4 pairs - 17 fledged
I've seen a few nests with eggs and no green leaves.
I fairly regularly see nests with eggs in which green leaves are added after egg laying begins.
I haven't been paying attention to the age of the birds using or not using green leaves.
I fairly regularly see nests with eggs in which green leaves are added after egg laying begins.
I haven't been paying attention to the age of the birds using or not using green leaves.
"If at first you don't succeed, keep on suckin' till you do succeed." - Curly Howard