Nest Check #14
-
mjfog
- Posts: 366
- Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2017 3:40 pm
- Location: Palm City, FL
- Martin Colony History: 2018 will be my first try. 6 S&K B09s. 29 eggs - 8 fledged
2019 - 12 Troyer Horizontals with tunnels, 6 S&K B09s and 12 B011s all with tunnels. 43 eggs - 36 fledged
2020 - Rack 1 - 6 B011s, Rack 2 - 24 B011s, and Rack 3 - 24 Troyer Horizontals. All gourds have tunnels, porches and crescent/Conley 11 entrances; racks have predator guards. 161 eggs - 88 fledged.
2021 - 54 gourds-214 eggs, 184 hatched, 168 fledged.
2022 - 3 racks of 24 gourds. 363 eggs, 294 hatched, 278 fledged.
2023 - 3 racks of 24 gourds. 321 eggs, 276 hatched, 246 fledged.
Don't know when the Forum came back to life but I've conducted 5 weekly nest checks at my colony since my last post. In summary, have had 237 young fledge so far from my three racks of 24 gourds each. 81 from Rack 1 and 78 each from Racks 2 & 3. I will post 2023 data after my last check which could be 6/28; have 8 young still in gourds. Did have a "new" predator this year, a small corn snake. I removed it from the gourd and on inspection did find a lump in its midsection that was a Chic-fil-A meal. My racks have predator guards but this little guy defeated the guard on rack 1. I will find the gap and correct my error before next season. I released the perp on the far end of my property and haven't seen it since. No avian predators this season.