One or three colonies?

[Keith]

I offer housing in three locations on my 8 acres. All are visible with the other. Which is it?⅞

[John Barrow]

Keith,
I would think whatever you choose to call it would be up to you. Do you do nest-checks, keep records? I see that you had 84 pairs in 2020 --was that on the 8 acres? How are the different sites performing? Any owls or predators around? Do you do nest checks, keep records?

I have an 8 acre site in So Tx. I run 32 gourds on it and don't need more. I gifted a Troyer system to a neighbor down the grade within 200 yards to supplement his small martin house. He exchanged it for a 16 unit Troyer and cut out some trees from his front yard. Both of us are equaling out today. Both "colonies" are popular.

At my colony of 32 gourds, I nest checked and recorded 13 pairs that raised two broods of nestlings, most fledging around 11 or 12 for the season of 2012.

In 2014 we recovered 8 of 13 martins that had been tagged with geolocators in 2013--the best recovery to that date. (The other 5 were recovered from my home colony of about 45 pairs in Corpus Christi).

A colony, colonies, super colonies, or whatever you choose to name it is up to the host. IMO, keeping records, offering sustainable housing and reaching peaks with the martins is what's it's about. All personal!!

[flyin-lowe]

I'm guessing the only way to actually answer your question would be with a banding study. There is no way to know what the birds are thinking. But if they were banded and from one year to the next most of the birds from each cluster of houses returned to that same cluster then they probably look at each group of houses as a separate colony. If over the years the birds were jumping from one location on your property to another I would say they look at the entire place as one colony...

[Keith]

I combine the 3 to arrive at my totals. Some years back when my 30 compartment housing was full, I added another set of housing in another area and then when it almost filled, I put more at other edge of property. What I find interesting is that each of the three sets always arrive a few weeks apart in order they were installed. If there is any advantage to this set-up it is that warnings of hawk present us heard by all.

[C.C.Martins]

I combine the 3 to arrive at my totals. Some years back when my 30 compartment housing was full, I added another set of housing in another area and then when it almost filled, I put more at other edge of property. What I find interesting is that each of the three sets always arrive a few weeks apart in order they were installed. If there is any advantage to this set-up it is that warnings of hawk present us heard by all.

Keith,
Quite right on the early hawk warning. One of the many benefits to my neighbor having his gourds in front like mine is more watchful eyes, hawks do try and im sure are sucessful but after watching a hawk fly low along a sidewalk, between cars, and before it could get into his gourds from below, ours had raised the alarm and they all took off. Man that hawk was fast.
Really helps.
Good luck this coming season!
Tom