Martins arrive in the Sandhills of North Carolina

[Condorman]

They've been some scattered sightings of PM's around Moore County in south -central North Carolina over the past week and a half, but today a pair showed up at my daughter's small colony in Southern Pines. March 18th. I'll have to remember this date. Here's the interesting part, and others may have witnessed the same thing. Last year I followed all the pairs pretty closely and know which compartments were used by breeding pairs. These two birds, a male and female, have returned to the same compartment a breeding pair used last year, and were two of the first birds to arrive last year. Now, I've studied birds all my life, and feel I have a pretty good handle on bird behavior. I am certain these two birds, a mated pair, did not fly all the way to Brazil together last fall, spend the winter in Brazil together, and then turn around and fly all the way back to North Carolina together from Brazil, and arrive at the home colony on the same day,. and immediately go back to the same compartment they used last year. It's just got to be coincidence! But pretty incredible.
Several other colonies also had birds arrive today, so there must have been a push of birds from the south the last few days.

[C.C.Martins]

It makes you wonder though doesn't it?

One of the neat things about these guys, mysteries that keep us like a moth to a candle. Ones we can be sure about, banded, unique markings, or calls there is little doubt, but we do watch just about everything they do like hawks. Those that seem familiar, we feel in our gut are the same birds, they are the ones we keep as special in my book.