SY Male stopped by, first sighting in 3 years.

[Ryan]

I was pretty much giving up hope this year, when yesterday I stopped at home to grab something mid afternoon and the dawnsong that I was blasting with the wind direction sounded like it had an extra track. It was in fact an excited second year male soaring around looking for the source of the sound.

I watched with a satisfied feeling, forgetting how much larger martins are than the dozens of tree swallows that are housed on our property every summer and I see daily, every year. I haven't seen a PM in three summers, and only brief viewings at that with 5 actual purple martins seen in 14 years, so this is kind of big for me. The best part is that this is my best site to date, and we've been at this house for three summers so this is the first martin to actually see the site.

He stayed for about an hour, perched in a dead ash tree close to the housing, buzzed the housing and decoys and then took off and flew out of site for the rest of the day. Looked surprisingly comfortable.

This morning around 10:30, there I heard him again, this time on the housing chirping. I had moved the speaker horn to the martin housing from where it was 100 yards away on a high hill for maximum sound travel. I watched as he stayed for almost an hour again, jumping from gourd to chalet, peeking in the holes to find out where that sound was coming from. I turned the dawnsong way down today, to very quiet just to keep him interested.

I gotta admit, it feels really good to see one again. It's tough up here with no known colonies within 50 miles all to the Southeast. I'd really love to know where he hatched from.

[flyin-lowe]

Almost looks like a female but I couldn't tell from the picture. Usually the pattern on the SY males underside is a little more "splotchy" for lack of better terms. Seeing it in person, you are probably correct with your identification. Either way congrats to you. No matter what the sex is, having them show up in your neck of the woods is great.

[Matt F.]

That is awesome news Ryan!!!!
I still frequently think about you and your Martin housing, and your journey to get a colony started.
I think this may be the first photo I've seen of your new sight, and it looks amazing
Any news of any sightings at other locations you've setup housing at?

[Ryan]

Almost looks like a female but I couldn't tell from the picture. Usually the pattern on the SY males underside is a little more "splotchy" for lack of better terms. Seeing it in person, you are probably correct with your identification. Either way congrats to you. No matter what the sex is, having them show up in your neck of the woods is great.

You know what, I did find it a bit "brown" on the head/face/back of the head when I looked through the binoculars. I figured the chance of a female is really low so I dismissed it.

My other SY males had the splotches that you talked about. I know what you mean. This one had very dark purple under the chin area and stopping at the upper chest. I just assumed this one had its splotches up high and together.

I'll have to watch more. It's been overcast both days. I was shooting into the sun with camera so tough to get good colour. I'll also listen for clicks. This one chirps a bit but not that much and really I've only observed it for under 2 hours so maybe I missed something. I really don't have any experience with a female here.

[Ryan]

That is awesome news Ryan!!!!
I still frequently think about you and your Martin housing, and your journey to get a colony started.
I think this may be the first photo I've seen of your new sight, and it looks amazing
Any news of any sightings at other locations you've setup housing at?

Thanks Matt. I appreciate the help over the years. All sites I built housing at are empty, and the worst news was the site that the older man had 25 miles from me had no martins last year or this year. He had about 6 pairs when I met him 6-7 years ago. I built a chalet system and installed it for him but he'd put it up too early and the tree swallows wouldn't let martins land on it. That really hurt my chances when he lost his colony so now I think closest is 50-70 miles away.

[Mstan]

Ryan, I love your rack system and the spot it is located is beautiful. I hope you achieve 100% occupancy.
Stan

[C.C.Martins]

Ryan, thats awesome!!!!! Congrats, male or female its there on your house.
First, you have a beautiful place good lord. Its awesome.
Second, listen close to the vocalization. You may be right, we have a subbie male here but has no subbie colorings, slight hue to his head but for weeks thought he was a she.
Hope he or she attracts a mate for you!
Tom

[Martintown33]

Hard to tell in photo, but looks like it could be SY.. you can tell for sure by listening to his song.. a male Martin has a series of rapidly repeated click sounds at the end of a song phrase. It’s an unmistakable sound.. can’t miss it.. it’s a sure fire way to identify male or female..
… That’s a great location for your martins! Wide open with fresh water right near by… can’t beat that… hope your numbers grow quickly!
Good luck
Rob

[Jones4381]

That he is a she...imo opinion but as others mentioned it doesn't matter, what counts it your beautiful offering and passion that will be felt by them...again Imo but I'm a little quirky like that believing in living forms energy, vibe, or whatever people call it in their own way. My suggestion is keep up the path you're on and the rewards for all parties will be dynamic and mutually beneficial. Congratulations and if you ever need someone to care take...hit me up...I'd stay there for a minute or 2.

[Ryan]

Thanks. So I've never expected to see a single female here first. What does that mean? I've read sooo much about SY Males starting colonies and how the process goes, but really haven't studied a single female situation. Common sense tells me there's a good chance she would just fly and join an active colony elsewhere easily, be drawn in? More so than a male? I'm just curious what experienced landlords expectations would be here.

She's been around for and hour or close to it both days. First day flying around the area mid afternoon and not landing on the house before leaving. Yesterday I moved the power horn to play quietly in the housing system and the bird landed on the housing and peeked in every entrance for almost an hour before leaving, showing up about 10:30am. I'd like to get my loud speaker going again to maybe pick off some travelling SY martins as we have another couple weeks here, but I don't want to spook her although she didn't mind the volume at first, landing on the speaker in a tree. My plan was to get a songbird magnet and play it quietly at the housing and also go back to my power horn 100 yards away, but I'm not sure if that's a mistake. I'd hate to miss any SY males flying around a few miles away for the next 2 weeks.

We've got an inch and a half of rain in the next 24 hours coming, so I guess I shouldn't expect to see her/he today.

[dsonyay]

Regardless of the sex (I’m guessing SY male), it’s a good sign to have a visit like that… there are others around for sure— at some point it’ll happen. I had a similar experience after moving from Slidell to Broussard La. A few barren years, occasional visits.. and then one year nestings started.. and after a few short years, I’m bursting at the seams.

[Phil01]

Congrats Ryan! I’ve been reading your posts since I’ve been on this forum and always routing for you!
The fact that you have one checking out your housing is a great sign for sure!
I can’t tell from the pic if a male or female SY. Heck, I can’t tell in person till they vocalize sometimes. Some SY males are very oblivious, then some not so much..
Either way, love your site! Very beautiful countryside! If I were a Martin, I’d live there! Hope they attract a mate and many more!
Phil