Concerning weather in south Louisiana

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Martintown33
Posts: 1029
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

SE Louisiana.. Rained all day yesterday.. high of 46 degrees, windy and cloudy today.. I don’t think my martins have been able to feed in 2 days. I always start getting nervous on the second day.. I’ve been flipping thawed crickets, but no takers.. I’ve loaded their porches with crickets but haven’t seen any takers yet. They’ve spent most of the day inside today .. tomorrow is supposed to be a high of 54 degrees, sunny and low winds so hopefully they’ll be able to catch up… anybody else in south Louisiana dealing with similar issues?
Rob
PMCA member
Laplace, La
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brent
Posts: 1085
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:43 pm
Location: Raceland, Louisiana

Hi Rob. I’m concerned too. I hope tomorrow will be a better day. They had several very good feeding days leading up to this mess so maybe they were able to get lots of insects and fatten up. I looked at mine today and they stayed around all day. A few times they’d fly off but not for long. I didn’t try to flip crickets because the wind was so strong and truthfully I was so cold it was hard for me to be out for any time. Fingers crossed and a few prayers. If they can fly all the way over I think they’ll make it through a couple of days. Tomorrow will be in the 50’s and with all the water around I’m just about certain they’ll find food. Good luck. Brent
Brent
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dsonyay
Posts: 1586
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go. :)

Had a great day today near Lafayette.. mod 50s max temp.. the 11 I have were very active all day. Came in late this evening .. seemed fine.

Gonna be cold tomorrow morning again, but they’ll be fine. Very mild afternoon temps. :)
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Thomas Maddox
Posts: 274
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:23 pm
Location: Sulphur, Louisiana

After it warms up today, the rest of the week looks nice in Southern Louisiana! I'm excited this week also bc I have my first Troyer gourds coming in.
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dsonyay
Posts: 1586
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go. :)

Thomas Maddox wrote: ↑
Mon Feb 19, 2024 8:51 am
 After it warms up today, the rest of the week looks nice in Southern Louisiana! I'm excited this week also bc I have my first Troyer gourds coming in.
I was outside a few minutes ago and the martins are chattering away.. they are out, flying, singing.. doing their typical pre nesting socializing. Fun to watch. It was 31f this morning at sunrise but we’re about to pass 40 at 8am. Very sunny too .. bright blue sky. Will be a great week here
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Martintown33
Posts: 1029
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

Yes.. they made it through with no problems… really getting some big numbers early on.. great stretch of weather coming..
Rob
PMCA member
Laplace, La
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Conrad Baker
Posts: 658
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:43 pm
Location: Paulina, Louisiana

I have lots of Crane flies everywhere. I hope the Martins like them, because there are tons of them everywhere. They look like a mosquito, but are much larger. They should keep the Martins fed until this cooler weather is over.
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dsonyay
Posts: 1586
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go. :)

Conrad Baker wrote: ↑
Tue Feb 20, 2024 4:27 pm
 I have lots of Crane flies everywhere. I hope the Martins like them, because there are tons of them everywhere. They look like a mosquito, but are much larger. They should keep the Martins fed until this cooler weather is over.
Cranw flies are really heavy this year down here in Broussard area. I see the bluebirds, and those little yellow rump warblers gobbling them up.. I’m not sure if the purple martins are feeding on them but I do see them doing circles around a lot of the roofs in the neighborhood so they may be actually feeding on them.
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Phil01
Posts: 215
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 6:42 pm
Location: Fernandina Beach FL
Martin Colony History: 34 Cavities offered.
24 unit gourd rack with Troyer Horizontal and Vertical Gourds. Sunset Inn aluminum house with 4 Troyer Horizontal Gourds.

2020- 1 pair, 4 eggs, fledged 3
2021- 3 pair, 15 eggs, fledged 8
2022- 5 pair, 26 eggs, fledged 21
2023- 10 pair, 53 eggs, fledged 27

PMCA Member

Thomas, you’re gonna love those Troyer Gourds! Well made and the martins love them too! I’m a huge fan of the tunnels, helps keep them a little safer. Hope they fill up!
Phil
PMCA member
Fernandina Beach, FL
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Thomas Maddox
Posts: 274
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:23 pm
Location: Sulphur, Louisiana

Same with the Crane flies here in Sulphur.
Phil, thanks and I hope I get some!
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Martintown33
Posts: 1029
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

Crane flies EVERYWHERE here in Laplace!
Rob
PMCA member
Laplace, La
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