Martin Colony History: 2019 - Sighting 2020 - Pair investigating 2021 - Got 2 eggs. HOSPs poked holes in them. Commence HOSP reduction 2022 - Off to a good start, tree swallows took over and Martins left 2023 - Off to a good start, Martin population dwindled and they eventually left 2024 - New standalone pole and gourd rack. 1 nest, 4 eggs, none hatched 2025 - 9 nests, 37 eggs, 23 hatched, 19 fledged!
We had 10 babies fledge from our home site this year. 5 in a BO9 and 5 in a Troyer horizontal. They were returning to their gourds to spend the night for awhile, then none were coming back to the BO9. We suspected this, but verified last night. All 10 are returning, but they are all piling into the Troyer. We cleaned out the gourds and put some shavings back in them after they fledged to take care of any mites etc.. so that shouldn’t be a problem. Is this just normal behavior? We just laugh when looking at the camera because sometimes all you see is wings and beaks.
