Cold, buy out!!

[Meem]

Hi All,

I was looking out the window, and my three (one female and two males) flew out of the gourd they have been sharing. It is 36 degrees, no rain but wind is really blowing. They circled for about five minutes and then zoomed back in the gourd. Do you think they were able to eat enough to keep them going are should I go buy some crickets? Will these smalll and fast feeding spurts keep them alive till this nasty weather goes away?

I feel so helpless...
Meem

[apundt-TX]

You must have read my mind....I was gonna post a question for all the landlords with birds returning early. What activity is happening today at your colonies with this cold weather.

Thanks for the info. Probably getting quick bites to eat with causing to much use of there energy reserves.


A.P.

[Guest]

With 36 degree weather I would be rushing to buy crickets or mealworms (even better grow your own for next season). Try placing 5-10 in a small cup (1-2 oz) place in each occupied compartment. Mealworms would be preferable as they can't leave the container but are easier to noticed (due to noise created by their movement)by curious birds.

[Mary Wilson-SW Ont]

Meem, 36 degrees and wind = no food for martins. The often quoted threshold for insects flying is 50 degrees, and even that is assuming all other conditions are optimal (ie. sunny, no wind). Another factor to take into consideration is what shape your martins were in when they got there. Has the weather turned suddenly from nice, martin-friendly weather to this? If so, then they probably were feeding somewhat before it turned and may be in relatively good shape which will help them withstand a brief cold snap. If the weather has been marginal before their return, then they probably are weak already and need some help. If this weather is expected to continue for you, I would certainly get some crickets. Put them in the freezer to kill them; takes about an hour, I think. Then thaw them at room temp, for about 1/2 hour spread out on a paper towel - if you're in a hurry you can microwave them but be careful, overcooked crickets really smell. Crickts in the freezer is great peace of mind - you can try flinging them, but also put them on porches - many people have had success this way. Good luck, and hope the bad weather passes quickly.

[Meem]

Mary, Stan and APundt,

Thanks for the returns. Mary they have been here since the 3rd. They have not been coming back till sunset. I am assuming they have been eating. I just ran to the pet store and bought three doz. crickets. It's cold out there.......We have been having beautiful, warm weather up until yesterday. Suppose to last thru Monday and then be back in the mid 70s. It has warmed up to 37..... Whewwwwww Us Texans aren't used to this goofy weather.....

Hope it warms up for ya'll too. Thanks again all

Meem

[Sparky]

Meem,
Ya, ditto on the crickets or meal worms. You can get them a bait shops. pet stores, and if you have time throught the PMCA shop with overnight delivery.
Very unusual this year that my martins are not back yet. Usually by the 14th I have most of them. But, it may be the cold keeping them south. Great news for me or I'd be tossing crickets in the cold wet rain today. That task is something I've had to do every year. Maybe not this year

[Mary Wilson-SW Ont]

Meem, your martins have been back since the 3rd - that's 2 weeks and if the weather was good in those two weeks then your birds should be strong. If your bad weather breaks in several days, they'll be fine, but crickets in the freezer are always good peace of mind. If you don't need to use them right now, keep in mind that a great opportunity to "train" your birds is coming during the time they're feeding young. If for any reason you feel your birds might not be finding enough food for their young, put the crickets on a feeding tray. The benefit of this is that your birds will learn that the feeding tray = food, and if the weather is terrible next spring when they return, they may remember that. I'm attaching a post I made elsewhere, about the value of summertime feeding, so don't worry if the crickets you have right now are not used ... you can put them to very good use yet this year ! Here's the post:

"One day I saw a nestling at the base of our gourd rack. I fed him some crickets, and then replaced him in his gourd, where I saw that unfortunately he would be easily pushed aside by his 3 much larger and healthier siblings. I thought he would probably die before my next check. Shortly after that I began experimenting with providing supplemental food on the feeder tray, mostly egg, but some crickets as well. I would put egg out in the evening (usually 3 eggs at a time), when the birds were doing their ?before bedtime? feeding of their young. It seemed that birds from about 4 different nests would repeatedly fly to the tray, and take food back to their young. One of these nests was the one described above, and I was so pleased to find, at my next check, that the severely undersized baby had fully caught up to his siblings and all 4 birds looked healthy and eventually fledged successfully. The things I observed from this are: 1) Once martins learn to accept supplemental food, they are very ready to take advantage of it when they need to. 2) The last hatched young of a nest is always at some degree of a disadvantage, but can be helped to survive if a parent bird has ready access to a food supply. 3) Not all birds learn to do this ? out of 31 nests in our backyard colony, only 4 went to the tray to feed their young, although many more adults than that went to the tray in springtime to save themselves, which perhaps supports idea #4): If they don?t need the food, they will ignore it, contrary to some peoples? fears that we will train the birds to be dependent on us. Some evenings the tray was cleaned right out, and other evenings it was only partially used. (Later on, when all birds were fledged, many babies would sit in and all around the edge of the feeder tray, waiting for someone to pick up egg and put it in their mouths! Very funny to watch. Maybe some of them will ?remember? a feeding tray and not need to be ?trained? to accept supplemental food. ) "

I don't know if you have a feeder tray. If you don't, then putting something up to offer eggshell on would be very good. It doesn't need to be fancy - our first feeder tray was an old broomstick stuck in the ground with a plastic plant saucer wired to the top - no more than 5 feet high or so, but the martins used it continually to get eggshells. From there, it is an easy step to offer food. A martin that learns food is available from a feeder tray in the summertime is a martin that may remember in the spring, and teach other birds as well. Best wishes to you !!!

[Meem]

Mary, Thanks bunches... I have a pole with a plastic saucer. I have cleaned and microed (sp) my egg shells, just waiting for the pms. I tried awhile ago to fling some crickets up, but they just fell back to the ground. I will put some in the tray in the am. Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks again,
Meem

[~Patrick~]

Sparky,

Have you tossed crickets to your martins in bad weather in years past? If so, did they take them and how long did it take for them to get started? Luckily, my martins aren't here yet. It was in the mid 20s most of the day.

Thanks,

Patrick

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I tried crickets about 3PM yesterday, I have 20 martins, but the wind simply blew the crickets away, I couldn't even tell how high they went, and the martins totally ignored them. I put the crickets into a feeder at the top of the gourd rack, the martins sat within a foot of the crickets, but they never looked at them...It indeed is a learning process involved with martins, they are slow to change habits. Maybe today (Sunday) I can try again.. I just got the paper in and the driveway has a bit of snow and ice crystals that the wind blew into the cracks, the first time we have seen that in about 10 years...

[Guest]

Place the crickets/mealworms(live ones work best) in a small container in each cavity!! This works.


I can't imagine myself flinging crickets in cold, windy,rainy conditions - especially to recently arrived birds that are not accustomed to humans or this kind of behavior on their part.

[Meem]

Emil, I tried again this am and they just looked at me before they flew. Somehow I have another visitor. It is a female, so now I have four. I tried to put the crickets in the gourds they are staying, but the pms flew out in the cold. What to do, What to do????? On top of everything I have a couple of starlings that haven't been around before. I shot one, but they keep coming back.

Stan, I don't like it either, but I am 68 years old and it is kinda hard to keep getting the racks down. I just keep asking the good Lord to make this go away fast for the pms sake.....

Meem

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I tried 2 scrambled eggs early this morning, the martins flew away to a power line..they look healthy

Later I tried 2 more scrambled eggs, and I tried about 30 spoonfuls all around them, they looked but wouldn't take them..they were even hopping from gourd to gourd househunting, so I think they will be ok

[Laverne]

Sunday: Cloudy with a few sprinkles developing during the afternoon. Cold. High around 40F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday night: Cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 39F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Monday: Cloudy with a few showers. High 57F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Monday night: Mainly cloudy. Low 53F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday (24 hours): Occasional showers possible. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the low 60s.
Wednesday (24 hours): Partly cloudy, chance of a thunderstorm. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 60s.
Thursday (24 hours): Showers possible. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 50s.
Friday (24 hours): Showers. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the low 50s.
Saturday (24 hours): Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 40s

The above reflects the weather forecast for the Houston area for the next week. This type of weather will allow your Purple Martins to fend for themselves. The only thing I am worrying about at present is the rain. It is not supposed to be constant - only showers. They will be able to find enough food to maintain through this week.

I have (in years past) attempted to feed my Purple Martins. I was trying to "train" them. I gave up - I don't think it is possible to prepare them for a bad turn in the weather. I had to wait until they were honestly hungry - then, they paid attention to me and the crickets I was tossing. I know you are all concerned and don't want to see them suffer. But, the three birds at my place are in great shape and I am leaving them alone so they can conserve their energy. Because I have the knowledge and the technology of some experienced weather forecasters at my finger tips - I know this bad weather will not continue and is no threat to my colony.

I made a post earlier in the season to alert everyone to be prepared for severe weather. "Crickets, Get Your Crickets!" - but, that post was aimed at landlords further north of us. It is true that Texas can be hit with some very severe weather - but, it happens up north every single season. The horror stories of starving, freezing, Purple Martins have come from considerably further north than the Red River. Bad weather has killed a lot of Purple Martins in the northern climate and several landlords from Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New England, Canada have proven that supplemental feeding of your colony during spells of severe weather will help a lot. Even when they do all they can, some birds may still die, but, a lot will survive.

Anybody new to this Forum can read all about the bad weather and supplemental feeding by going to the PMCA Home page and type in "supplemental feeding" at the "search" window. It is very interesting reading.

Y'all stay warm - tomorrow will be a better day.

Sincerely,
Laverne

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Laverne, about 15 years ago, my brother-in-law lost 17 birds, they all starved to death at his house here in Houston.....He found them all dead in two compartments, he noticed some tails sticking out of the house....Now I know that this doesn't happen often, but he now lives near Bryan, and he lost martins there 2 other times since...

Don't get too comfortable here in the Houston area, they can and have starved to death before....its a bit late when you find them dead. I will watch the weather tomorrow, the 4th day that they have not gone out to eat, and see what happens. They did still look OK today..

[Guest]

I know that flinging crickets can sometimes be tricky, especially if martins have never had it done before. Can't you put crickets in their compartment/gourd? If you are feeding the frozen crickets, I know this is easy, but if you have to buy crickets at the pet store they will move around. They shouldn't be hopping out of the compartment, tho, should they? Like to hear your opinions in case I have to do that someday.




Lanell

.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I think its best to freeze them, as they die in the freezer in about 30 min or less..some people freeze them in bags with about 30 in each bag, then thaw them out when ready to use..

It works fair to put them into the cavity that they are in, but early in the season, they switch around a lot, so I don't know where they hang out..it also works somewhat to put them on the porch...but the wind blows them off the porch

Of course, I am inexperience, so maybe someone else will say...

[Guest]

Live food moves and attracts attention . That is why I prefer mealworms - I don't think martins will chase crickets inside a gourd.

I have an idea on how to attach a feeding container inside a gourd and hope to post a picture soon.

[Guest]

Well here it goes - quick and dirty.

Attach a rigid (coat hanger should work) wire to the feeding container.

Drill 2 3/16 holes on gourd just above the cleaning entrance.

Install container.

This is to demonstrate a concept - it requires fine tuning but will it work?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I thought we would finally get warmer tomorrow, they predicted a high of 58 tomorrow, now they lowered it down to 49deg, so that will be the 5th straight day with no food tomorrow....I will try more crickets and mealworms tomorrow morning.

It seems to drag on longer and longer, and get colder and colder than originally predicted by the weather people....