Successful cricket tossing in South Texas

[John Barrow]

Tomorrow the weather stabilizes and warms up in this part of the state--I hope the warmth will follow quickly to the east.

Louise Chambers and I were in Port O'Connor this weekend, arriving Friday in temps in the upper 40's. It would get no warmer through the weekend. We had about 20 martins hanging around the housing and immediately thawed crickets in the freezer there. I buy crickets by the 1000, immediately freeze them in their box, then remove the frozen crickets into ziploc bags for storage. I have about 4000 left over from last season's feedings. I thaw them in hot water and completely drain the water before offering them with slingshots or plastic spoons. We have not set up our feeding stations yet, which is a much better way to feed once the birds have learned to use them. This will be the fourth or fifth year to feed crickets. During my first successful time to feed martins, it took hungry martins and about 15 minutes of failure before a single martin grabbed a cricket, then the frenzy started.

It took only 3 or 4 throws (flinging them with plastic spoons as high as we could into the air) before the martins began to feed on them. We fed one time late Friday, four times on Saturday and twice today-Sunday. We ended up feeding 25-30 different birds--probably some neighboring birds and possibly a few migrants. Fortunately our growth has been relatively slow so far this year so that most birds had been there for at least two weeks and fed well during that time. None of the martins appeared stressed, although they were hungry. We fed a total of about 900 crickets during the sessions.

Both of our feeding sessions were interrupted Sunday when a coopers hawk sailed into the area. His presence had been tipped off by other birds in the neighborhood and he caught nothing. I still believe it is imperative to stop feeding immediately if an accipiter hawk is seen or suspected to be in the area.

We returned to Corpus Christi this afternoon with the temps at a high of 40. Our 13 resident martins were now 18 and all were sitting on the housing when we arrived. We immediately thawed crickets and fed about 200 before the martins stopped eating and went inside their gourds to get out of the cold wind. In the bunch of new arrivals was a female martin that I had banded in past years. I have not read the band but suspect she is 3 yoa and banded as a nestling in 2003. We have tried two later feedings but the martins are not responding. It appears they are riding it out in the gourds and resting for the temps in the 60s tomorrow.

I wish all success in feeding their martins if they are determined to do so. It is a good feeling to know they are getting something to eat, and it is a habit they will remember year to year. It takes a combination of hungry martinsand a patient landlord who will fling enough times to get one interested for one to succeed. I believe it is possible for every landlord to accomplish success in feeding, provided the martins are hungry and there is no available food.

Best wishes to all.

[apundt-TX]

Awesome John! Thanks for feeding them.

[Mary Wilson-SW Ont]

John, that is a great report .. its always thrilling to hear of success in feeding. Few things give such satisfaction as getting our birds trained, and knowing we can help them ride out the weather. I also believe they remember from year-to-year. Supplemental feeding is probably the single most important advancement in "martineering", given the increasing unpredictability and extreme conditions of the weather. Hope you and Louise both have a great year at your colonies.

[Guest]

Thanks, John for that post. Even though I do not have martins yet (hopefully this season), I will know what to do, if the weather goes nasty for the martins.

You and Emil are two of the "forever teaching" martin landlords on here, and we all appreciate it. There is always something to learn from you two.


Best wishes for a great season. Looking forward to those migration reports to come

Lanell

[Sue]

John, it's great that you are able to feed them. I, too, have 2000 crickets from last year that I never had to use. Do you think they would still be any good? I wondered, as small as they are, if they wouldn't be all dehydrated.

[kimball911]

I'm wanting to buy some crickets just in case the cold weather lasts longer than usual. Can you advise the steps on freezing/thawing them out. Are they still alive after they thaw out and how high would a feeder station need to be. I've had an active colony for 9-10 years, but have never fed, but would like to.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Jphn and Louise, I am so happy that you are able to feed the martins. I will try both crickets & mealworms the first thing in the morning...I sure am getting worried as its not getting warmer....I tried crickets 2 days ago, scrambled eggs twice today, but no takers...

[Louise Chambers]

kimball, if you go to the post near the top of the page, titled resources for the 2006 season, it contains links to articles, or to pdfs. there is a good article on feeding there, near the bottom.

Once the crickets are frozen, they will not revive when thawed. A minute in a cup of hot water is enough to thaw a few 100. Feeding station should be high enough to keep martins safe from cats, and can be 10 ft or so, but does not have to be that high. Sometimes martins will all sit on a roof for warmth when it's cold, then you can toss a few handfuls of crickets and or mealworms onto the roof.

check out the article mentioned above, it should help. there is a link on pmca's catalog where you can buy crickets. feeding stations can also be purchased or you can make your own. good luck!

Louise

[John Barrow]

Hi Friends,

Thank you all for the kind comments. It really is neat to feed the martins for a day or two, knowing that when they can find their own food--you're out of business.

Emil, I hope it works for you tomorrow. I would look for one of your alpha males--one of the earlier returners sticking his head out of a gourd. Flick a 10-15 crickets out in front of him-maybe 5 or 10 feet above him. That is how I started, but I can also say that if you have some martins sitting out hungry on your system, the females will be the most aggressive and eat the most. You can almost flick a cricket into their mouth.

Hopefully this will be the only time we will have to cover this subject, but with the current drought, I suspect I will be feeding martins as they feed their nestlings well into June.

Best wishes to you. John

[Davlyn]

Hello John,
Over the last few days I have been sad because I have no martins
yet! They should have been back by now but I guess under these
circumstances (bad weather) its best that their not! Good luck and maybe
the weather will improve over the next few days.

[John Barrow]

Hi April.

Although the earliest returns are pretty much in line with the past, they represent a very small percentage of the martin population--like a few hundred out of thousands yet to come. The great bulk is arriving a little slower.

Many of the thousands yet to come will come in the next 3-4 weeks, after which the subbies will begin their return. They hit here in mass around
April 10 and their migration is much heavier and faster.

Right now is a good time to have martins, only because we are selfish and want them. BUT, it is a hard time, particularly in this weather, for them to be well fed and have comfort. Within a month nearly every landlord in the eastern US, three or four states deep, will have some of their martins back, and most at a time when they will flourish.

Yours will return. I feel that very strongly. They return when they do, and the timing is usually perfect for the majority of the population.

I wish you the best this year.
jb

[Davlyn]

Hi John,
Thanks for the reassurance I really needed that!!!!!
I wish you the best this year!

[John Barrow]

Cold weather also continues in Corpus Christi. We are supposed to hit 61 today when (IF) the fog burns off. But it remains under 50 at noon. Tomorrow will bring strong southeast trade winds which should immediately begin warming up the state.

This morning I installed our platform feeder and placed live mealworms in the trays. Martins were there eating within 20 minutes. Although mine fed on crickets yesterday and this morning they are still hungry and other martins will find little relief in areas to the north. I hope those that try will succeed today in supplemental feeding.

Good luck friends. jb