time of day to monitor for arriving martins

[efetridge]

Hello!
A couple years ago, my students built a purple martin nestbox and since then we have been trying to attract the martins. We've put up decoys and tried to play the dawn song, although I think we might need to find a way to increase the volume we are playing at.

A question has come: due to the constraints of our school schedule, in the Spring when we are looking for the martins arrival, we mostly observed with binoculars around the nestbox in the late morning / midday. Is this likely to be ineffective? How important is it to do your observations early in the morning -- or some other time? - in order to catch the spring arrival?

We are in western CT, in case that makes any difference.

Thank you for your help!
Evelyn

[flyin-lowe]

Any time of day will work. If they are going to check out your housing they will likely spend a good portion of the day buzzing around. Sometimes they will be gone for long periods of times feeding, depending on how the weather is. If they are there you won't need binoculars to spot them. It will help once you try to determine their age and sex.

[efetridge]

Thank you, that is helpful!!

[defed]

seems to me, i usually see visitors in the morning, then they must go off to feed/look for a mate during the day. if they are ready to nest, they will be back in the evening and will sleep in a compartment.

[Dave Reynolds]

seems to me, i usually see visitors in the morning, then they must go off to feed/look for a mate during the day. if they are ready to nest, they will be back in the evening and will sleep in a compartment.

..
.
That's the way it is here, also .. I usually see them in the early morning hours then gone for most of the day.. Sometime I will get them before I have unplugged the gourds for the start of the season. Good Luck

Dave.

[Caroline94535-ND]

My colony usually arrives around April 23. Some years they’ve returned as early as April 14 or as late as May 10.

I try to have all the clean gourds filled with pre-nests and hung on the rack arms before April 5.

No matter when they arrive, they always get snowed on during the first week.

Some years I’ve had them show up at 8 a.m., 11 a.m. - or as late as 8 p.m.

I always hear them first. No matter what I’m
doing, or what part of the house I am in…there is no mistaking that first “We’re home, Mom!” call.

You’ll know your returning birds from the new ones. The seasoned ones don’t even slow down to zoom straight into their own gourd.

My stiff bones “happy dance” all over the place.

[Martin man RI]

Hi Evelyn If you have had no resident Martins from the year before then you would look in the AM. Before 10AM
If you have a resident colony then get there before sundown as they will roam around all day then return at dusk to roost.
In the AM they can sometimes fly in and rest to keep warm. Numerous Martins make a pit stop here and continue on there
migration. With the martin its all location and type of home you place. I manage 10 sites and mostly use gourds and two aluminum houses modified extra large.
i fledge hundreds yearly. The Martin has made a complete recovery in some area's of New England. If in Five yrs
you dont get them move the site and use starling resistant conley holes. All my sites are super open in the center of golf clubs
and resident homes place in the most open location you can i have some on the edge of Narragansett bay! And i run
programs to encourage people to place gourds. There are colony's in NW CT also.
Good Luck
Ray
Barrington, RI

[Martintown33]

I usually hear them in the morning or mid morning, then I run outside to see them, either circling above or perched on the housing or gourd rack..
Rob