Good Friday has been good to me! News Flash...He's Banded!

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

After 4 years, I can finally say that I have a for-real all black adult male P.M. visiting my housing in the Spring! This guy is making friends with the decoys and seems to really like the gourd rack. I've never had any Martins visit this early in the season and those that did come along in late summer were real nervous, never landing or only staying for a few minutes. At least this guy is taking time to survey the area and get his bearings. I'm at work and was able to see it through a webcam. My mother-in-law was able to go to the house and saw it flying. Here are some pics. I'm totally geeked right now! P.S. all gourds are S.R.E.H. but the Trio Castle has round holes. Only time will tell if this is the start of a new colony in Michigan. Yee Haaa. Weather is... winds from SW at 19 MPH, sunny and unusually warm at 79 degrees.

[Matt F.]

Great report Fred!

I always remember the line in Mary D.'s signature that used to read something like "In Michigan, every martin matters - including Fred's decoys"

Man I hope this is your year!

By the way, where has she been?

[Guest]

I hope this is the start of a new colony. I remember when you started the quest 4 years ago and did a general survey of existing colonies.

[Dave]

Way to go Fred, hang in there you are almost a landlord.

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

Hey I really appreciate all the encouragement guys! I've done about all a person can do so the rest is really outside my control. Only thing left to do is hope. Well, he's still there and the sun's going down. The camera has great low-light capability and I can still see him. He's tried to enter his "preferred" SREH gourd but not got in yet. I'm not going to kill myself over it though. As long as the Trio castle is 10 feet away with enlarged compartments and round holes, he can get in there just fine. If however he wants the total luxury, warmth and comfort of a well seasoned all-natural gourd he's gonna have to learn to squeeze! Around here I wouldn't want them to get used to anything else. If he's gonna stay here he's gotta work hard and play by the the rules! P.S. The dawnsong and daychatter stopped at 7PM. He flew off "presumably over the creek to feed" and came back. He's done this several times. The area is quiet now and he's been beak-kissing the decoys. The quiet doesn't seem to bother him. My mother-in-law went back over with her cell phone and binoculars to confirm it's real.

[Guest]

Outstanding Fred!!! This is very good news and sounds promising.

Keep us updated.

[Mary Dawnsong]

This is wonderful news, Fred!

He likes your place, no question about that.
Isn't he something special!

[klcretired]

Fred,
That's Great News.....it's fun isn't it????

[Guest]

Congratulations, Fred!!!!!! My colony got started this year (after 4 years trying) by one lone ASY male. He brought in the rest and I have 6 pairs.
Hope you have as many, if not more.


Have a great season!!!



Lanell

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

I really hope he is a keeper Fred, and brings many more with him. I am getting my hopes up here too, one of my neighbors got his martins yesterday.
I am working in a small town (Paynsville,MN.) which is thirty some miles from my home. There is an old wooden martin house in a backyard there that is blocked in by trees on three sids and by a house on the other. One of the trees branches are almost over the martin house and the other trees are very close. Yet this person has three or four pair in this old house and the martins have to dive down almost virtically to get to their house. All I can do is shake my head and wonder how they can be so attatched to such a poor site. It is still home sweet home to the martins I guess.
Good to see you back again Mary Dawnsong!

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

Thanks again, especially to you Mary for providing the guidance and encouragement to perservere in an area where they are less than abundant. If this works out, I'll be joining the ranks of Kevin Booms, one of the few Michigan people who has "dirt" Martins as opposed to "water" Martins. As it stands, this guy is already breaking all the rules. He doesn't show up at 8AM, he's not an SY Male and I'm not on a lake. For this area, breaking the rules seems like the only way it's going to happen. Yes, A whole new chapter opens up. Now I have to review all the do's and don'ts for this situation. On with the next stage of trepidation...Will he stay and will he find a mate? We'll see.

And Mary, where have you been? Have you intentionally delayed getting set up so as to force greater dispersal? It's been speculated you know! Great to see you're back for another round! Fred

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

He was here again at 7AM. I went out and acted casual. Took some pictures and talked to him. He flew off a couple times and was back again in a couple minutes. Then around 9AM, a Starling landed on the gourd rack a couple feet away from him. I took aim from the bedroom 143 feet away let the Starling have 1. I hit him and both birds flew off. The Martin came right back but seemed a little rattled. Either by the shooting or the fact that another Starling was in the Troyer trap squawking and flapping about 60 feet away. At any rate, the Martin flew off and has been gone for 90 minutes. Hopefully just out for breakfast or maybe trying to find a mate to bring back. We'll see.

[Al Denton]

Good for you Fred! You and I can appreciate the experience of having a visit. I hope this is "your guy" Al

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

Well, I as a little leary about whether he'd return after I blasted the Starling of the cross arm only 2 feet away from him. But...He truly was just out for breakfast. He returned around 1PM full of energy! He's been vocalizing now quite a bit. While he was gone, I replaced the Dawnsong with Daychatter and it's almost like he talking to the recording. Within 15 minutes I watched him negotiate the SREH on the black-foam walled Naturelines as well as the natural gourds! This guy's a pro and no wonder...He must have had a good upbringing. He's got a single aluminum band on each ankle! Next purchase...spotting scope. What does it take to read his band info from 40 feet away I could probably get closer) I'm taking recommendations at this point. I'd love to be able to thank his "hatchmaster" directly! He's a great bird!

[Guest]

Congratulations, Al!!!! He'll be back - it's your year




Lanell

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

Man oh Man, who is this guy? Using an old "finderscope" from a just-as-old telescope, I camped out (or should I say "cramped out") by the gourd rack for an hour trying to read his numbers. All I have so far from the left band are something like the following...from most likely to least likely...SB then S8 then 5B or 58. The sun angle was just right only for an instant. Probably part of something generic like USB for United States Banding labs. I don't know yet. So then he goes aloft and really starts a call like he's trying to attract other Martins or something. He gets the attention of a couple Tree Swallows up high and then he dives down onto something I can't see. Well well well, for the next 5 minutes he has flushed a Cooper's hawk from a brushy area 1/4 mile away and roused him into flight. Keeping an altitude advantage, this boisterous fella proceeds singlely to give this guy several close passes to the tail and one bird or the other let out a shriek each time. When a second Cooper's hawk showed up, Mr. Martin kept his distance yet when both had moved 1/2 mile away, my banded warrior returned again to the gourd rack. Having given it his best effort, I felt compelled to return the favor and so took the "great gun" outdoors and put one squarely down the middle of a particularly irksome bull HOSP who had been flitting around and raising a ruckus. Jeeze, don't Martins get sunstroke or cataracs or something? The sun is INTENSE here today and this guy is just soaking it up. On his brief departures I wonder if he's going to the stream for water? The sad part is that I still have to do my taxes! Yuk.

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Fred,

After all these years of trying and now you are close to it! This male martin does seem to have taken a liking to your colony. He keeps coming back! Now if he roosts, you will really know he is interested. Good luck and please keep us posted. You and Al may just be martin landlords in 2006!

Steve

[Mary Dawnsong]

Well Fred, he's just cleaning up the neighborhood. Trying to make it as attractive and safe for a mate as possible. After all it IS his neighborhood.

In Michigan, martins sleep in housing starting the first night they arrive at the colony. I know this for certain from watching my gourd cams. Martins also sleep in fairly late in Michigan because of our cool mornings with no insect activity. If he was at your site at 7 AM, then he likely slept in your housing. He is also vocalizing and defending his territory. I believe there is an excellent chance he is staying.

OK. It is possible that he's bonded to a different site that has not yet been opened for the season. Our weather is unseasonably warm with perfect south winds for migration and I have the most martins here I've ever seen in mid-April. (Remember last season? We had a major snow storm around April 20!) So, perhaps his regular landlord hasn't figured out that it's time to open housing and he's waiting for that to happen. But my money is on him staying with you.

Aluminum bands are almost impossible to read with any scope. You can spend your entire weekend trying to pick up a character at a time. One of the bands is the USGS band and it's got a lot of stuff you don't need to read; it's also has a string that uniquely identifies your bird.
Read the info at the Bird Banding Laboratory, including the link "All About Bird Bands":
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/

You are welcome to borrow my scope.

Good luck to you and your warrior,
Mary

[Guest]

Loved your excitement Fred, hope he decides you have the best place to hang out and have a family.

Good Luck!

[Mary Wilson-SW Ont]

Fred, I am sincerely hoping this is the start of a brand-new colony for you ..... I know they'll be given the best of accommodations and care !