Hello to all,
Dropped my colony today instead of tomorrow; weather forecast looks iffy. Here are my data. Rack 1 - 1 gourd nothing but plastic, 71 eggs, 1 empty nest, and 45 young. Rack 2 - 85 eggs, 2 empty nests and 24 young and Rack 3 - 4 gourds nothing but plastic, 84 eggs, two empty nests and 8 young. Grand total - 5 bare gourds (looks like I just took them from the shipping box), 253 eggs, 5 nests that seem complete but no eggs and 77 young. Last week I had 304 possible fledges (young and eggs), this week 317. Just for kicks - I found one gourd on Rack 3 that needed help. The hose clamp securing the gourd was missing so before raising the colony from waist height, I made a trip to my shop, some 150 yards distant. When I returned, martins were already sitting on the porches. As I secured the hose clamp I witnessed adults existing their gourds before returning after I raised the rack. These birds certainly tolerate a lot of harassment from us land lords but they stick with us. See ya next week, Mike, Palm City, Martin County, Florida.
Nest Check #5 - 5/2/25
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mjfog
- Posts: 396
- 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.
2024 - 3 racks of 24 gourds. 330 eggs, 283 hatched, 250 fledged.