Why in the area for so long and not at the nests already?

[Guest]

Hi, all. Newbie here.

Last year was my first offering of martin housing. Got one pair, and had a successful brooding.

The martins are numerous around here right now, but few seem to be paying attention to the nesting gourds. I *think* our pair is back, as several days ago I saw a pair paying attention to the same gourd that was used last year. I am quite diligent with a professional target pellet rifle at eliminating sparrows and starlings; no competitive problems going on. Yet I am perplexed that the martins seem to be paying little attention to the nesting sites. We have a large acreage, and there are lots of martins flying about the pond. But we see them only occasionally up near the nesting gourds.

Question: Do martins return immediately to the nesting gourds and hang out in or around the nests until they lay? Or do they overnight off site in the trees somewhere and take their sweet time at coming back to nest; in other words, do they hang around the area for a month or so before coming to the nesting sites? Am I feeling unnecessarily impatient, or is there a chance we've been abandoned?

I have not played the dawn song this year, as I thought the returning pair would take care of the additional attractions for me. Should I get it playing?

[Mary Dawnsong]

Hi Brian,

Do not assume last season's single pair will return and restart your colony. The odds are against that. Martins do not mate for life and only about 50% of breeders survive and return each season.

How many of your breeding birds from last season will return?
Banding studies tell us that only 50% of our breeding birds survive and return the next season. If they return with a mate, it is likely NOT their mate from last season. From "Banding Purple Martins" - http://www.purplemartin.org/update/BandingPM11(3).pdf

Adult and subadult breeders have strong site-fidelity and about half of them will return to their previous colony site the following season. The other half presumably died or breed elsewhere.

Mate fidelity is low in the Purple Martin. The vast majority of martins have a different mate each breeding season, even if the old mate is present again the following season.

If you are not certain that martins have already claimed compartments, then I recommend playing the dawnsong.

Martins may spend much of their time away from housing -until- they start nestbuilding and egg-laying. The timing of this is very dependent on weather. If it has been cool, rainy, or windy then they may be more focused on feeding themselves than on reproduction. They may also be spending most of their time at a favorite hunting spot where they have the most success catching insects. In Kansas, this is probably a place sheltered from wind! (I grew up west of Hutchinson)

My colony is in Michigan and my scout arrived April 1. By the third week in April I had about 60 ASY martins here; I probably have about 90 now. Given the current weather forecast, I do not expect egg-laying here until the fourth week in May. That means most of my ASY martins will be resident for 6-8 weeks before their first egg is laid. That is a typical spring schedule for my colony.

Regarding the birds hunting over the pond...
Are you absolutely certain that they are martins and not some of the other 4 species of swallows found in your area? Barn Swallows, Bank Swallows, Cliff Swallows and Northern Rough-winged Swallows are all found in your area and some of those species are much more plentiful than Purple Martins. Chimney Swifts are also found in your area. These other swallows and swifts hunt in groups over ponds. Folks often confuse them with martins because of their similar flight and vocalizations. I have also read reports on this forum that other swallows and especially Chimney Swifts appear to be attracted to the martin dawnsong recording, which is especially confusing to new/hopeful landlords.

If those are martins at the pond, then I would assume they belong to another colony site and just hunt at your pond.

Good luck building your colony,
Mary

[Guest]

What a wonderfully helpful reply, Mary. Thank you.

I thought mate fidelity was high, and I thought percentage of return was higher. I appreciate the correction!

I have been an avid bird identifier for years, and am familiar with all the various swallows. There is no question that we have a strong population of PM's in the area, and what have been over our pond. But I appreciate the warning, and agree with the beginner's confusion. To me, though, I now recognize these various swallows even from a distance as quite different.

It has in fact been cool and rainy, so I suspect your advice is right on track. We'll get busy and set up the recording immediately now!

I have another question I'll start a new topic on, to distinguish it.

[Mary Dawnsong]

Hi Bryan,

Welcome to the forum!
I read your Barn Swallow post and think it would be just amazing to have all those Barnies flying around!

Glad you didn't take offence when I questioned the ID of the birds at the pond.
As an avid birder, it might surprise you to learn that a fair percentage of folks trying to start a martin colony have never seen martins. That's because the population of martins in much of the north has fallen drastically over the last few decades. In my area, most folks call Barn Swallows "martins" and many believe the Tree Swallows occupying their martin house are martins.

It's great to have a swallow-lover participating on the forum!

My best, Mary

[briansupernaw]

Hello Bryan,

I have a small colony in Valley Center that is on its 3rd active year. It progressively grew. First year 2 pair, 2nd year 5 pair, and I now have 7 pair in an 8 unit gourd rack so far. The sub-adults have been arriving in big numbers the last week.

I have 1 gourd with 6 eggs, and the other have no eggs although they have all been nest building for the last 3 weeks. The last weeks rain put a hold on their activity. In fact the one gourd with 6 eggs was about 3 weeks earlier than any of the previous years.

I wouldn't worry. If you see the Martins, then I am sure they see your housing. Most of the eggs layed in the last 2 years didn't begin until mid to late May. I think you are also right about the current tenants (especially the male) attracting the other visitors.

Brian

[Guest]

Mary, I still shrink a bit when I remember the ignorance of the behaviors regarding birds some 40 years ago. When I was a child my grandpa would reward me for each barn swallow I could shoot with my bb gun and feed to the cats. He hated them in his barn, messing up his equipment and his son's boat. So now I'm raising far more than I ever shot as a kid, paying my penance.

Brian Supernaw, thanks for your hello. I am straight east of Valley Center. As you know, 77th street is at your town's south end, by Bartel's True Value. Straight east on 77th to Greenwich Rd, and a half mile south, is my house. We must get together and share our martin set ups.

Yes, the martins are occasionally landing on and examining the gourds, but none on a consistent basis. There is a colony a mile over the hill from us. I know they're here. Your "mid to late May" comment is quite encouraging.

--Bryan Pulliam

[briansupernaw]

Bryan.

My setup is in my front yard. I am on the corner of Clay and Colby (directly east of the community building which in Lions park). The best martin activity, and most consistent is from 8 AM to 11AM.

You sound like you know Valley very well so you can find it easily if you ever happen to be in the neighborhood. If you see me out front just come on up to talk. I'll always talk about the birds. Brian

[kimball911]

Brian: I live in SE Kansas, about 2 hrs East of Wichita on 54 - My Martins arrived first part of April, fooled around for a few weeks, then decided to get busy and build a nest, which they did. I have 4 pairs and have seen up to 13 at the site. I have 3 nests built, no eggs of yet, but our weather has been quite rainy and chilly. I haven't seen them hanging around the houses too much, but they return every night. Be patient, they've got a lot of time to raise young and are probably just enjoying the sunshine. If you ever get around Iola, stop in, I work at the Police Department so you should be able to find it.

[Daniel Airola]

Here are some statistics on survival and nest site fidelity from our color-banding study of bridge-nesting martins in Sacramento, CA. Annual survival of adults that bred the previous year (i.e., captured at nests) was 75% in both 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. Of banded birds relocated in more than 1 year, 89% returned to the same colony in the subsequent year. Multiplying the survival and return rates together give you the % of birds that nested in one year at a site that returned to the same site (0.89 x 0.75) = 67%.

It's hard to say how similar the situation in California bridges is to that of housing and gourds in the eastern U.S., but I thought some of you might be interested in an independently-derived estimate. We have not banded enough birds to calculate the rate of year-to-year mate fidelity in our population, but I also believe that it is low based on what data we have.