Martin in central PA!

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ToyinPA
Posts: 2227
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:07 pm
Location: PA/Avis
Martin Colony History: The 1972 St. Agnes flood wiped out all the Martins in my area. One day, in 1997-98, 5 or 6 Martins landed on the power wires crossing my back yard. I had no house for them. They kept coming back day after day. We got a martin house a few weeks later & they have been coming back every year since. I average 12-15 pair per year.

Location: Avis, PA... 20 miles west of Williamsport.

Had a lone ASY male show up today. Had one show up 2 weeks ago, then we had 4 inches of snow the next day & hadn't seen it since. We didn't have the house up yet, as the weather was not Martin freindly until a few days ago. Could be the same one, or a different one. This one went into the house a few times & hung out a while singing & then left. Hopefully he'll be back tomorrow with a few friends :).

Opps he's back. Maybe he'll stay the night :).

Toy in PA
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CUL Lou~Mich

Toy. An ASY Male?? Wow. If he was there earlier, then left, then came back singing, it sure sounds good for your outlook. You just might be another of those folks whose colony is started with ASYs. That's why my housing goes up before the ASYs are due, and stays up till after they've left for the winter. If an ASY Male comes around, I want to welcome him to open houses, NOT turn him away by having the holes closed, cause it's too early. Good luck on him attracting a bunch more. CUL Lou
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ToyinPA
Posts: 2227
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:07 pm
Location: PA/Avis
Martin Colony History: The 1972 St. Agnes flood wiped out all the Martins in my area. One day, in 1997-98, 5 or 6 Martins landed on the power wires crossing my back yard. I had no house for them. They kept coming back day after day. We got a martin house a few weeks later & they have been coming back every year since. I average 12-15 pair per year.

Every year I get ASY males first, then the females show up along with a few subbies.

The very first year they came we had no house for them. I had 5 Martins. all adults, visiting daily. They kept coming to our yard sitting on the many power lines that cross my property & singing away. So we got them a house. They have returned every year since. We usually get 4-7 nesting pair each year. I think allot depends on the weather & the long trip back from the deep south as to how many we end up with. I know we lost a female one year to a broken leg. She hung in there & feed her chicks until they were ready to fledge then flew away & died. She'd crash land on the balcony with dragonflies & lay on her chest, hobble to the nest hole & feed her 3 chicks, then she'd rest & fly off for more dragonflies. The male ended up fledging the babies. That's dedication!

Our weather can do freaky things this time of year (like the snow 2 weeks ago & cold temps last week), so I tend to wait to put the house up. Also one year the sparrows took it over before the martins got here & we had to keep tossing them out. The neighbors had seeded their yard & spread it with straw. The sparrows packed a 5 gallon bucket full of their straw into our martin house daily!! Now I only get 2 pair of sparrows that share the house with the martins. The male we have here today is diving at the male sparrow. Tomorrow if he brings friends they will torment the daylights out of the sparrows. I've seen the martins actually sit in front of the sparrow nest hole & refuse to let them in to feed their babies until dark.

We also let the house up for a few weeks after all the babies fledge, as the parents keep bringing them back during the day. Once we no longer see them we take the house down & clean it & store it for winter. We also remove the tri-tel pole & store it for winter. We get too many wind storms over winter to risk letting it up to be damaged.

I just checked the house & the male is gone. It's almost dark, so he may have gone to the forest for the night. Tomorrow is another day :).

Hey the humming birds will be here soon too :).

Toy in PA
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Guest

Toy...........None seen here yet but you sure know how, to put a fellow, on his window watch. :wink: Sounds like you may be, in business. Congrats.
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Guest

PS....Someone turned up the volume, on Dawnsong two notches and it seems, to be pointing Southwest. :lol:
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ToyinPA
Posts: 2227
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:07 pm
Location: PA/Avis
Martin Colony History: The 1972 St. Agnes flood wiped out all the Martins in my area. One day, in 1997-98, 5 or 6 Martins landed on the power wires crossing my back yard. I had no house for them. They kept coming back day after day. We got a martin house a few weeks later & they have been coming back every year since. I average 12-15 pair per year.

docgipe:

>PS....Someone turned up the volume, on Dawnsong two notches and it seems, to be pointing Southwest<

Go ahead....cause he was back this morning & I saw a few more on my way home from work. A male & female sitting on power lines. I work in Pine Creek a few miles from my house. So they're here!!

I don't use anything to attract mine. They just show up cause they like me, LOL.

Keep your eyes to the sky ;).

Toy
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Guest

Toy...........get the utter half to kick those two nesting sparrows out, in the cold. I would take more decisive action because I can.....at least at this point in time. I dumped, on two and a half pairs, in the past week. That seemed, to settle it. None have returned.....yet. They seem, to be building, in my neighbors boxes. That's good for now. I might be able to convert him too. He saw the starlings take out our Titmouse nesting mother in three minutes or less. The male escaped but has cleared the area. I got both starlings.....a couple times over but that was not enough.
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Guest

Maybe......not sure. :lol:
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Guest

Nope..............if it was one it kept on moving. I was to far away to confirm but starlings have not been on the site for several weeks. Antsy?? Well heck yes. :lol:
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ToyinPA
Posts: 2227
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:07 pm
Location: PA/Avis
Martin Colony History: The 1972 St. Agnes flood wiped out all the Martins in my area. One day, in 1997-98, 5 or 6 Martins landed on the power wires crossing my back yard. I had no house for them. They kept coming back day after day. We got a martin house a few weeks later & they have been coming back every year since. I average 12-15 pair per year.

I still only have the one lone male. He spends the night in the house & leaves in the Am. Since I work I don't know if he comes back during the day or not. He's back again each night tho. Soon the rest will be here :).

A few years aog it way May before we got any, so it could be this is just their year to show up later.

Toy
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Guest

PMCA would like your report. If you have not done so please consider filing one. Go to Scout Report page and scroll down. We need, to show others, that Martins do occupy sites, in North Central Pennsylvania.
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