My challenging first 'colony'

[Birdiegirl]

This wanna be landlord thing is HARD. An emotional roller coaster doesn't even begin to describe it!

Good things:
Had our first SY male show up May 1. He attracted others- a group of 12ish, all SY. We got to see squabbling, nest building- so exciting! First nest checks ever on 6/4 showed numerous starter nests and four that looked almost complete- even with green leaves. We were on our way!

Bad things:
Freak storm hits 6/12- topples one of the houses. Two nests with eggs were destroyed, house quickly put back in place, pole slightly shorter. Other house with tilted pole is repaired- single nest with 5 eggs OKAY. Now both poles won't telescope properly so future nest checks will be extremely difficult.

Where we are now:
Though birds returned shortly after the storm, it doesn't appear the toppled house pairs intend to rebuild. What used to be 12 regular birds visiting is now down to 5-6, mostly in the morning. I'm really not entirely sure if ANY spend the night here anymore, other than the one pair. We do see/hear the pair around 6:00 am (I suspect I just don't seem them come in at night). Most other activity happens in the morning- lots of flying, inspecting compartments... but nothing serious. It's just a quieter place now.

DARN DARN DARN!

Questions:
Where could my other birds have gone? Do SYs that aren't paired just cruise around to other colonies hoping to find a mate, even this late in the season- maybe completely unrelated to the storm?
Is a weather event like this traumatic enough to cause birds to abandon a site?
Should I attempt a nest check on the remaining nest.. I'd like to know if I get nestlings- that would be a happy thing to focus on.

Please know- I am TRULY thankful to have birds to watch- even if only a few. And the thought of having a potentially successful nest- YAY.... I want to do my part and not screw it up. Bottom line: I'm second guessing EVERYTHING I've done and probably overthinking what to do next! Any advice (and especially encouragement) is truly appreciated.

[Dave Duit]

Hi Birdiegirl,
My best advice and I know this sound very general is; hang in there. The occurences such as yours are not unheard of, but keep in mind that martins are resilient. A storm of that level can make things difficult. The good news is that your do have a few martins left and the beginning of many colonies start with only one pair. Consider the other SY martins that don't pair up as a bonus this year. Do the best is managing your few martins and hope for a better season next year. Trust me when I say, new landlords tend to over think things; I did years ago and I think that it is very common for new landlords to try to micro manage everything and anything, which is most understandable. I wish you the best the remainder of the season.

[brent]

Hi Birdiegirl. I, too, get too emotional. My neighbor even asked if I was ok after he saw me outside right at sunrise waiting to blow the air horn if a hawk were to attack. Then it's the losses, especially the little ones. Then it's the weather. Worry. Anxiety. Fear. Take every precaution. Think outside the box. Solve a problem. Ask questions. It is a hard job. I've quit many times.
Brent

[C.C.Martins]

Hey birdiegirl,
You are a good landlord, will be even better with these experiences and able to provide advice to others. You can plan for next year, make things better for yourself and the martins. Sorry for the loss of your nests. Mother nature will always weigh in.
If you get a new replacement pole for your system consider this: purchase whats called a garage door winding rod. It will fit snug inside a trio martin pole, just apply grease and it will slide in. Cut excess with a hack saw. It is very strong and will give the pole some backbone. I did that with our trio mini castle.
I'd continue nest checks despite the losses.
Wish you the best,
Tom

[Martintown33]

Hi birdiegirl,
I agree with the others. I’ve been a landlord for 21 years. I love having the martins, but as Tom and others have said, it can be emotionally brutal. I’ve witnessed things, through the years, with my martins that are hard to forget. As Tom said, it’s a tough job. Good times and bad. But , I do it for the martins. Worrying about extreme weather events is very stressful. Just try to prepare as well as you can. Sounds like your colony is starting. It will grow.
Good luck,
Rob

[Martintown33]

Correction. That was Brents post, I believe I I was referring to, not Toms
Rob

[Martintown33]

I think Tom did have some posts about this also.

[Birdiegirl]

You all are the best. Thanks for taking the time to respond and to offer suggestions and support. It's so incredibly helpful to be in the company of people with years of experience that also understand the emotions of those just getting started. (I may be driving some of my friends and family crazy.)

New goals: consider the setbacks as learning experiences, refer to visiting SY as bonus birds, look into the garage door winding rod, and buy an airhorn. I'll plan on a weekend nest check- still keeping my fingers crossed there will be a nestling or two.

Thanks again

[sawhisker]

Hey Birdiegirl-

I completely understand your worry, fretting and emotional investment in your birds. This is my 3rd season as a landlord and I too have had my ups and downs. After the rat snake attack last week, my surviving birds are all doing well. I have conducted several nest checks and all are growing well.

I am no expert, but I have learned so much from reading the forum posts and just doing my general research online. I think this Martin Landlord thing is an art and not an exact science, but we learn from our misfortunes, listen to others' stories and most of all continue to try! Hang in there! I know I felt much better after hearing the encouragement from other landlords on this forum.