I understand that the adult birds learn to enter and exit this entry quite easily but what about the babies and their coming out party,do they have much trouble navigating that entance?What about when they return to the nest for the short time they are here this year,do they return to their same nest compartment box ,gourd or what have you and roost inside?
dick
WDC's and the babies
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Mary Dawnsong
- Posts: 1685
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 8:17 pm
- Location: Michigan, Livingston County
Hi Dick,
Compared to round holes, I believe that young have a more trouble getting out of crescent, but haven't had enough experience with WDC to know yet. Believe it or not, that's a GOOD thing. One big management problem with martins is premature fledging. In other words, young jumping out of the nest before they are old enough to fly. Premature fledging can be caused by problems like malnutrition, parasites, excessive heat, and overcrowding. However, it can also be caused by active young pushing each other out a round entry hole when competing for food -or- by too-adventurous personalities. Premature fledges die if left on the ground. A landlord can return them to the nest, but they often jump again.
When I switched from round holes to crescent holes, premature fledging absolutely stopped happening in my colony.
I am not aware of young in my colony ever failing to fledge because they couldn't exit. Eventually they become motivated enough to exit. The parent birds use a variety of techniques to lure them out, like cutting off their food then luring them onto the porch with a dragonfly. Last season a landlord described a mother martin who force her last nestling to fledge by dragging the reluctant youngster out by his leg and dropping him off the porch!
WDC may have advantages over crescent after fledgling has occurred:
WDC is definitely easier for most martins at my site to enter and exit than crescent. This seems to be especially true for the new fledglings who have so much trouble getting inside their crescent gourds when they return from a day of flight/hunting training. I am hoping that going all WDC will reduce the number of fledglings roosting outside. With our cool Michigan nights, I just didn't see outside roosting when my colony was round holes. Then I switched to crescent and suddenly dozens are roosting on the gourd racks late in the season. WDC is my hope for getting the fledglings back inside where they are safer from owls.
Compared to round holes, I believe that young have a more trouble getting out of crescent, but haven't had enough experience with WDC to know yet. Believe it or not, that's a GOOD thing. One big management problem with martins is premature fledging. In other words, young jumping out of the nest before they are old enough to fly. Premature fledging can be caused by problems like malnutrition, parasites, excessive heat, and overcrowding. However, it can also be caused by active young pushing each other out a round entry hole when competing for food -or- by too-adventurous personalities. Premature fledges die if left on the ground. A landlord can return them to the nest, but they often jump again.
When I switched from round holes to crescent holes, premature fledging absolutely stopped happening in my colony.
I am not aware of young in my colony ever failing to fledge because they couldn't exit. Eventually they become motivated enough to exit. The parent birds use a variety of techniques to lure them out, like cutting off their food then luring them onto the porch with a dragonfly. Last season a landlord described a mother martin who force her last nestling to fledge by dragging the reluctant youngster out by his leg and dropping him off the porch!
WDC may have advantages over crescent after fledgling has occurred:
WDC is definitely easier for most martins at my site to enter and exit than crescent. This seems to be especially true for the new fledglings who have so much trouble getting inside their crescent gourds when they return from a day of flight/hunting training. I am hoping that going all WDC will reduce the number of fledglings roosting outside. With our cool Michigan nights, I just didn't see outside roosting when my colony was round holes. Then I switched to crescent and suddenly dozens are roosting on the gourd racks late in the season. WDC is my hope for getting the fledglings back inside where they are safer from owls.
Last edited by Mary Dawnsong on Mon May 08, 2006 8:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
Click here to see my colony
"In Michigan every martin matters"
"In Michigan every martin matters"
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Mary Dawnsong
- Posts: 1685
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 8:17 pm
- Location: Michigan, Livingston County
Dick, I just edited my post above and added info about premature fledging that you might find useful.
Click here to see my colony
"In Michigan every martin matters"
"In Michigan every martin matters"