Old nests
-
Thomas Maddox
- Posts: 580
- Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:23 pm
- Location: Sulphur, Louisiana
I left some of last year's nesting material in my PM house. So will new PMs think that other PMs live there and not try to claim a cavity? Or will they try to claim it?
-
C.C.Martins
- Posts: 3368
- Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:15 am
- Location: Corpus Christi Tx
- Martin Colony History: 2016- Visitors.
2017- 5 pair. 15 fledged
2018- 18 pair. 85 fledged
2019- 17 pair. 81 fledged
2020- 25 pair. 111 fledged
2021- 28 pair. 118 fledged
2022- 33 pair. 151 fledged
2023- 33 pair. 165 fledged
2024- 40 pair. 185 fledged
2025- 40 pair. 181 fledged
HOSP:
Home colony: mix natural, super, Troyer and excluder gourds, enlarged compartment house. All SREH.
Satellite colony: Oso Bay Preserve: 49 PMCA excluder gourds; 16 room Lonestar Goliad with Modified Excluder entrances.
2019: Visitors
2020: 3 pair, 11 fledged
2021: 10 pair, 30 fledged
2022: 11 pair, 35 fledged
2023: 18 pair, 101 fledged
2024: 39 pair, 181 fledged
2025: 51 pair, 216 fledged
PMCA member
Thomas,
Think they will claim it just fine. They may look around a bit more but they will move right in
Think they will claim it just fine. They may look around a bit more but they will move right in
A good house sparrow is a dead house sparrow.
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
HOSP: 17. Starlings: 23
-
flyin-lowe
- Posts: 3789
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:49 am
- Location: Indiana/Henry Co.
Some people leave the previous years nests in their cavities over the winter. I remove all mine but leaving them shouldn't cause any problems. My T 14's are heavy enough with the the house and nesting trays. I don't need to add any more weight by leaving all the nests in... lol
2026 HOSP 27
2025 62 pair HOSP 20
2024 60 pair, HOSP 44
2023 60+ pair, HOSP 8
2022 60 nests with 262 eggs, HOSP 14
2021 62 pair, HOSP 9
2020 42 nest, HOSP 8
2019- 31 pair
2018- 15 pair 49 fledged
2017 3 SY pair, 12 eggs , fledged 10. 4 additional lone SY's
2016 1 pair fledged 4
2015 Visitors
2014 Visitors
2013 Moved 6 miles, 1 pair fledged 2.
2012 30 pair fledged 100.
2011 12 pair 43 fledged.
2010 5 pair 14 fledged.
2025 62 pair HOSP 20
2024 60 pair, HOSP 44
2023 60+ pair, HOSP 8
2022 60 nests with 262 eggs, HOSP 14
2021 62 pair, HOSP 9
2020 42 nest, HOSP 8
2019- 31 pair
2018- 15 pair 49 fledged
2017 3 SY pair, 12 eggs , fledged 10. 4 additional lone SY's
2016 1 pair fledged 4
2015 Visitors
2014 Visitors
2013 Moved 6 miles, 1 pair fledged 2.
2012 30 pair fledged 100.
2011 12 pair 43 fledged.
2010 5 pair 14 fledged.
-
Thomas Maddox
- Posts: 580
- Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:23 pm
- Location: Sulphur, Louisiana
Thanks for the replies!
-
Conrad Baker
- Posts: 756
- Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:43 pm
- Location: Paulina, Louisiana
Maybe last year's Martins will recognize the furnishings and move right in. Can't hurt anything.
-
mwren
- Posts: 174
- Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 2:43 pm
- Location: OH/Athens
- Martin Colony History: I have had my martin colony on the dam of one of my ponds for nine years. The colony has grown each year, but I am now concentrating on helping friends and acquaintances who have shown interests in martins. My colony consists of three T-14's with 8 Troyer gourds attatched to each T-14, a Troyer gourd rack with 12 gourds, and another gourd rack with 18 Troyer gourds for a total of 96 nest cavities. I am having serious predation issues with hawks and owls and am experimenting with various hawk guards and "screens". Established successful supplemental feeding the last few seasons and have had a blast flipping mostly meal worms and some crickets. Faculty from Ohio University are using my colony as a research site to study parasites that target cavity nesting birds. In exchange for access to my bird trail nest boxes and martin housing, they are banding all birds involved in their study.
I have experimented with not cleaning some of my nest boxes until end of winter or early spring. I was concerned about some insect life that might be harmful to returning martins. I found some small mite like insects in a couple of nest boxes, and also found some species of flies that survived the winter here in Ohio. I don't have any proof as yet to help to determine if these insects could cause harm to the soon to arrive birds.
Some Ohio University orinthologists and entomologists have done some research during the peak of the nesting seasons that was most interested in Blow Flys. Hopefully they might be able to expand their study and determine if leaving nest boxes dirty through the winter is a harmful practice or not. Hopefull we will learn something with proof to learn.
Mike "Bird" Wren
Some Ohio University orinthologists and entomologists have done some research during the peak of the nesting seasons that was most interested in Blow Flys. Hopefully they might be able to expand their study and determine if leaving nest boxes dirty through the winter is a harmful practice or not. Hopefull we will learn something with proof to learn.
Mike "Bird" Wren
Mike "Bird" Wren