Hello.
I'm new to the list. I reside in south-central Illinois. Last year we put up our first PM house and immediately got tenants. This year, we put up a gourd tower next to the original house and we have birds in both locations. We live in a rural setting and have a 3+ acre farm pond about 500 feet from the PM houses. It's mostly pasture grasses with small stands of mature trees. I was very surprised to see birds arrive within a week of putting up the house last year, and even more excited that the colony size has increased this year. I love their chortling choruses.
Martin Colony History: 2016 6/1 Pole put up late due to HOA . Had visitor birds but no pairs that stayed. 2017 3/1 visitor birds but no pairs that stayed. 2018 3/1 visitor birds but no pairs that stayed. 2019 3/1 visitor birds but no pairs that stayed. Brothers Martins didn’t show up at all at his pole 10 miles away. 2020 7/30 Had 3 pairs, 1st- 5 eggs/ 2nd hatched 2 fledged, 2nd - 5 eggs/ 2-5 hatched fledging. 3rd formed late July and no nest built. 2021 3/1 no pairs returned. One lone male hung out few days then left. Weather was bad. 2022 6/1 one pair all four eggs that hatched fledged. I’ve had 6-8 visitors. 2023 6/15 Eleven pairs 4-6 babies per nest. 51 babies total hatched. Will start fledging July 4th until end of July. I am in total shock.....Wow
Looks like the martins are holding their own for now. You are lucky to have so many martin pairs to help defend. I would still take out the male and female house sparrow ASAP. They can cause damage later if they get in a house and hurt babies or eggs. A ground repeating trap will work well or You could also put up a bluebird box near the pole and divert the sparrows to it and if they build a nest trap them easily. I had the same problems this year with my first 2 pairs. Now they don't allow the bluebirds on the pole most of the time since they got eggs in gourds. The blue birds just sit on their house 20 feet away or the fence nearby.
I picked off 2 HOSP today that were harassing the martins this morning. I upgraded my scope and started using 22 Super Colibri shells. Pretty deadly at 30 yards but you can sit a long time waiting on them.
I really enjoyed your photos and would love to see a pic of your pond. I have a one acre and a 3/4 acre pond and dream of a 3 acre pond. Enjoy life........
We have taken care of the HS. My husband is a former Marine with sharp shooter status. He likes the practice, and since these HS were just holding their position on the fence below the PM house, it was fairly easy. Earlier in the season we also had to remove HS nests from the lower level of the house. It seems they are not so interested in the gourds. Is that why folks use them?
