When I arrived home today I noticed alot of martins at my colony.This is unusual because around five in the afternoon they are usually out feeding.
About an hour before sunset I new why ,there were a few more subbies in attendance.It had been very quite for about two weeks with no new arrivals and all the terrritories being established.The mateless sy males were going crazy trying to get the new arrivals attention.The new females would peer inside but were very uneasy.They flew off at sunset with the males in hot pursuit, and they did not return. I bet they will return in the morning.It is strange, because they have not started nesting yet, but some of my birds have babies that are a week old. I don't keep records,and I should. I remember durring my first year the only pair I had fledged thier young on the Fourth of July..So ,I don't now if it is unusual to still see subbies arriving here in Texas..
more subbies
As far as I can tell, my last subbies arrived about 2 weeks ago. Some already have eggs. They got here and got busy. I"ve noticed that once the ASY males began to let up on them and they began nesting, they have become extremely territorial...much moreso than the ASY males. I guess they have to be pretty scrappy to push their way into an established colony. They sure are paying those ASY males back! It's fun to watch.
Patrick
Patrick