Nest check April 29, 2022

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Conrad Baker
Posts: 754
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Paulina, Louisiana

I did a nest check around 1:00 PM today, most of the birds were away. I have three S&K houses, each with 6 compartments, 3 on each side ( I opened each room to 12X6 to give the birds more space.)

House #1: Compartments listed as A,B,C, etc A-4 eggs, B- no eggs, C- 5 eggs, D- 6 eggs, E-5 babies, F- 5 eggs............................... : house total 20 eggs, 5 babies

House #2: Compartment A- 6 babies, B- 6 eggs, C- no eggs, D-5 babies, E-5 eggs, F- 5 eggs ............................................................ : house total 16 eggs, 11 babies

House #3: Compartment A-5 eggs, B- 4 babies, C- 6 eggs, D-5 eggs, E- 5 babies, F- 5 eggs ............................................................... : house total 21 eggs, 9 babies

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................Grand total : 57 eggs, 25 babies

All the babies in all the compartments were pinkies, possibly just a day or two old. None of the nests with babies had any eggs. None of the nests with eggs had any babies.
I'm thinking the nests with less than 6 eggs, the mama just hadn't finished laying yet.
Last edited by Conrad Baker on Fri Apr 29, 2022 5:15 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Conrad Baker
Posts: 754
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Paulina, Louisiana

Also, I did notice one compartment (House #1 compartment C) that had an egg with what appeared to be some peck marks on it. At first I was thinking it was from a sparrow, but I actually realized it was a baby breaking out of the shell.
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brent
Posts: 1280
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:43 pm
Location: Raceland, Louisiana

Wow. That must have been a sight to behold. My check today revealed 26 young and 73 eggs. All hatching on time as predicted by the prognosticator. Good to have. Helpful. Brent
Brent
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Martintown33
Posts: 1366
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:21 pm
Location: Laplace,La
Martin Colony History: Colony started in 1998. 2 s&k modified houses and gourd rack

Congrats to both of you! You’re helping the martins expand their numbers.. great totals!
Good luck,
Rob
PMCA member
Laplace, La
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Thomabear
Posts: 484
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 10:10 am
Location: Cut Off, Louisiana

brent wrote: ↑
Fri Apr 29, 2022 6:07 pm
 Wow. That must have been a sight to behold. My check today revealed 26 young and 73 eggs. All hatching on time as predicted by the prognosticator. Good to have. Helpful. Brent
What is a prognosticator?🤔
2019- 6 Pair, 30 Fledged
2020- 8 Pair, 32 Fledged
2021- 10 Pair, 39 Fledged
HOSP count 130, Starlings 2
2022- 31 Pair, 146 Fledged
HOSP count to date 17, Starlings 1
2023- 28 Pair, 124 Fledged
HOSP count 47, Starlings 1
2024- 40 Pair, 192 Fledged
HOSP count 37
2025-42 Pair, 202 Fledged
HOSP count 46
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TravisF
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun May 26, 2019 4:37 pm
Location: Missouri
Martin Colony History: 2018 1 SY pair, were not successful in nesting
2019 4 pairs. Learned the hard way the importance of predator/pest control. Lost a few eggs to sparrows and lost an entire nest of babies to a black snake. Stepped up sparrow control and installed electric snake guards. Fledged 12
2020 35 cavities offered. 31 pairs with 27 pairs nesting. Fledged 113
2021 69 cavities offered. Another big jump with 61 pairs nesting. Totaled 291 eggs and fledged 274. Almost all the losses were from capped eggs with two chicks dying in the nest from unknown causes. Plan to have 113 cavities available in 2022.
2022 Offered 98 cavities. Jumped up to 83 nesting pairs. Had 3 nests with 7 eggs, and one nest with 8 eggs. 437 total eggs laid and fledged 411. Thought my last chicks had fledged August 14th, but noticed a martin entering a gourd a few times late August. Lowered housing and had 3 young martins probably 2 weeks old. Last fledging on Sept. 7.

Thomabear,

I believe it's a tool that's used to determine possible hatch dates, fledge dates, etc. If I'm not mistaken, it's sold on this website.
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brent
Posts: 1280
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:43 pm
Location: Raceland, Louisiana

Yes, Travis is right. It is a great tool to use. All you do is line up the number of eggs on the first day the first egg is laid. It then tells you when hatching begins, earliest fledge day and the date to start plug and string. It is awesome. I recommend it to any landlord. Takes all the guessing out. They sell it here. Officially called Purple Martin Prognosticator. Brent
Brent
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Thomabear
Posts: 484
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 10:10 am
Location: Cut Off, Louisiana

I do tend to get my numbers crossed up sometimes. This looks like a great tool and a perfect fit for my Martin supplies. Thanks for sharing!
2019- 6 Pair, 30 Fledged
2020- 8 Pair, 32 Fledged
2021- 10 Pair, 39 Fledged
HOSP count 130, Starlings 2
2022- 31 Pair, 146 Fledged
HOSP count to date 17, Starlings 1
2023- 28 Pair, 124 Fledged
HOSP count 47, Starlings 1
2024- 40 Pair, 192 Fledged
HOSP count 37
2025-42 Pair, 202 Fledged
HOSP count 46
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