Lack of scout reports in TX./LA.

[RAMSMARTINS]

Remarkable (troubling?) the lack of scout reports in Texas and Louisiana so far. Last year, LA. had 32 scout reports by this date; TX had 6. Neither state has reported even one yet. The last 5 year average is LA. 16 reports & TX. with 5 by this date (1/23). The weather hasn't exactly been welcoming, but that never stopped them in the past. Interesting.

[Thomas Maddox]

Many seem to believe that the older birds which always migrate first and were the first to arrive here last year perished during the polar vortex. So, we are waiting on SYs to arrive, which normally arrive later anyway. Maybe that is good thing with another cold week ahead.

[Thomabear]

Ramsmartins thanks for starting this topic!

I had a few ASY pairs that survived the freeze last year and migrated south pre Ida so I'm also very interested to see how this year plays out. I too am concerned about the lack of reports. Since martins have to feed on the way home to maintain energy I'm beginning to wonder if the lack of insects due to the hurricane is interfering with their progression. The lack of insects and birds in our area post hurricane is alarming. I agree with Thomas, this cold batch of weather needs to move on before the ASY pairs arrive. We are already short on insects and this cold weather is contributing to that situation.

[Thomas Maddox]

Went outside earlier. I think it was around 53° and with clear skies, it felt fairly warm. I saw several dragon flies and even a few butterflies, so that's encouraging. Laura destroyed this area a year and a half ago, but this past summer, the insects were abundant. The 7 seven day forecast is still showing lows in the 30s, but with highs in the 50s like today, it may not be too bad of an environment for them. Hopefully, they'll bounce back with lots of new babies. I will do my part this year to help as much as I can.

[C.C.Martins]

They are coming, the recent front stalled them. Not all perished last year lots and lots but not all. Id imagine that cold last year has alot to do with it.
ill wager that this next week well see arrivals. Wind will be at their backs.
I too see lots of butterflies, some dragonflies so looking ok.

[brent]

Today no martin sightings in Mathews, Louisiana. Despite that, I pre-nested all the trays. Still the houses are lowered but the moment I see activity up they go. I expect something very soon. Keep your eyes looking up. Brent

[Conrad Baker]

With a hard freeze and temps in the 20's for this weekend, I hope they stay in south Florida and enjoy the warm weather another few weeks. Cleaning dead birds out of the houses that froze to death last year is an experience I wish to never repeat. It's difficult to supplemental feed them when they are packed 8 to 10 in one compartment trying to stay warm, and if you disturb them, they will fly off and freeze to death elsewhere. It was a tough time to be a landlord last year.

[Whippy]

Let's spin it this way.

Last year there were many, many birds lost in the hard freeze. These were obviously Martins that would have been counted on this years scout report by now. So if we look to see when we started seeing Martins after the hard freeze, perhaps we can begin to look for their arrival at those times.

But, also remember that scout reports are from individuals on this forum. How many Martiners are out there that are not on this forum and how many of them do we think have seen Martins this year?

From: https://www.weather.gov/hgx/2021ValentineStorm

There was a total of 8 days, 23 hours, and 23 minutes of winter highlights between the first Winter Weather Advisory issued on Thursday, February 11th at 9:37am to when the last Hard Freeze Warning expired at 9am on Saturday, February 20th.

My ASY Male who started my colony arrived on 2/25 last year here in Plano. He was the first one I saw last year. Looking at the scout report of last year there were Martins being reported through the dates of 2/11 to 2/20 but how many of those perished in the freeze? So. Do we assume the early migration of years past has been delayed due to the loss of those Martins in the freeze or do we assume this delay is caused by some other natural occurrence? Ot both?

I think the migration cycle will start over and during the next few years we will start seeing the January arrivals in Louisiana and South Texas increase more and more as the Martin numbers increase and as the individual colonies continue to grow.

That's my $0.02 worth.

Coolwhips

[Thomas Maddox]

I hope you are right Whippy!

[Rosborn]

I normally setup my houses the first week in February here on Lake Fork in northeast Texas. I normally get a few within a day sometime I see them waiting and set it up. I see there are no reports in Texas yet which is surprising but I think I'll set them up anyways just in case.

[C.C.Martins]

Rosborn,
Doing the same in south texas. I'm staying on our schedule, martin systems will be up this weekend. Second week in feb is our target date for arrivals so plenty of time.
Will probably block a few entrances but up they go.
Good luck this year,
Tom

[Whippy]

There's no question that we all should keep our schedule. I haven't changed mine at all. And here's why.

Last year I was very concerned about the freeze and losses as well as any potential losses as it related to my colony. But, as the season progressed, I went from 15 pairs to 29 pairs along with supporting many SY birds. In fact, I had more SY birds than ever before. I also was attacked mercilessly by a hawk and suffered great losses but I still ended up with large numbers.

So I believe, although the scout reports are lacking, in the end we will all be covered up with Martins beginning in mid February and into March and this thread will reach page 10 at a rapid pace.

I have no data to back it up but I believe the losses of the freeze have been absorbed by the number of the late arriving SY Martins last year and should also be supported by the number of fledglings of last year. The SY Martins of last year will return as first year ASY Martins a bit earlier than when they were SY Martins. As they get older, they will migrate earlier and earlier to get their cavity secured. And scout reports will reflect this.

Nature at Her best.

Coolwhips

[C.C.Martins]

Whippy,
I feel you nailed it. Worst case for LA (and I find it hard to believe for the whole state) is a 1-2 punch: cold and hurricane Ida wiped out more martins than we know. I don't think that's the case at all.
Lots of martins died in the cold but they were early arrivals, hundreds not thousands. Hurricane ida-hit aug 29th, came in from Florida side, and devastated LA...if any late migrating martins were making the jump across the gulf there was ample room in the gulf to maneuver. Those in its path, 150 mph winds, well no.
I like u think some, not all, early arrivals will be a bit later this year because they perished in the cold. I say not all because some were saved.
But I too believe your right in that the younger martins are going to be filling the loss gaps by quite a bit. We had a ton of young females and males looking for homes last year.
Then our arrival dates smooth out over time.

I also believe that there are a whole lot of un reported martins dedicated to a site and those folks don't report.

[G Saner]

Totally agree. The martins we lost to the freeze (I lost were a small number compared to the total population but huge when looking at arrivals for this year. Only the oldest martins were back in early February and the birds behind them that had not made it to their colonies sat tight (and saved themselves) wherever they were once they encountered cold weather. I think next year, the arrivals will be back to normal as the martins that survived the freeze will be two years older.

I too enjoyed increased numbers of SY martins that replaced the ones that perished. Those birds kept my numbers steady, but I regret that they could have been pushed to new colonies looking for their first martins.

[apundt-TX]

I've been watching these scout reports for over 20 years
People don't spot a martin then run straight to there computer that very second to report
I have seen reports come in up to 2 weeks later based on their sighting date
The best gauge I have found is to find older colonies in your state.
Do a search on that name and city/state for reports
Go to your local 10 day weather forecast for wind/temperature

For example. This URL shows the Yucatán to jump points of Florida (Atlantic flyway), Louisiana (Mississippi flyway) and Texas (Mexico flyway)
Scroll from today's wind direction and speed then jump forward each day until Sunday Jan 30th

https://www.windy.com/?26.274,-96.021,6

[Martintown33]

Hello all.. Rob in southeast Louisiana.. like many, I lost all my most experienced early arrivals to the freeze last year. I’m putting my houses and gourds up today, but also wondering when the first arrivals will be. For 22 years, my first arrivals usually come between Jan 28 and feb 4, but not sure if that will happen this year, since I’ll have the less experienced birds coming.. I hope they don’t come for at least a week, with freezes expected on feb 4 and 5. I have a heater set up ready to go , and lots of crickets, though, in case they do. But also concerned about lack of insects in southeast Louisiana due to hurricane Ida. Hoping for the best for all. Time to be ready, and just wait and see…
Rob

[brent]

Same here Rob. Ready to go but still quiet. Brent

[Martintown33]

Hi Brent. We’re just about 40 miles apart. Please let me know when your first arrivals come. Please email me directly at [email protected]. I’m curious to see when our first martins show up with all the different factors measuring in. Please let me know..
Thanks and good luck,
Rob

[apundt-TX]

First report in Texas today from Porter.
Seems to match up pretty well with his colony age/first sighting dates.

[Dave Reynolds]

First report in Texas today from Porter.
Seems to match up pretty well with his colony age/first sighting dates.

..
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,,, apundt-TX .... I just saw the First Texas report for 2022... I’m sure it made a lot of Texas landlords happy..

Dave