Sad Day in Ky

[Guest]

This being the 12th day of cooler weather here in Ky is reaking havic on my martins. I have noticed over the past several days there hasn't been the usual activity from the dozen or so of my early returners. This morning when I went out to feed my goats and chickens there was a very weak ASY male on the ground. I scooped him up and on my way back to the house noticed another already deceased in another area of the yard. I chopped some hard boiled egg for the survivor to eat but he was too weak, later he passed away.

I had only noticed a couple others on the houses today and assumed the rest may have socumbed to the weather. To my surprise this evening, I noticed some feathers hanging out of a low hanging gourd. When I reached up to remove what I thought would be a deceased bird it pulled away from me. I then went to get a flashlight and step ladder and found at least seven or eight live birds all nestled warm and snug inside this gourd. For curiousity I reached a finger inside and found it to be pretty warm in there compared to the outside. The birds were surprisingly calm and not one flew out of the gourd, which kink of concerned me. A few minutes later four other adults flew back to the colony.

I have found in years past that when the weather is cold the birds will be gone from the colony trying to scrounge up food most of the day. I hope we get some better weather over the next few days. The forecast is calling for temps to reach the sixties. today barely reached the fifties and was rainy. Hang in there guys.

[Kent Justus]

Dan,

The weather should really improve very soon. Sorry to hear of your loss, and appreciate your trying to help the others. It has been great reading about all of the success stories with landlords feeding their birds this season. Hang in there. - Kent / Mt. Vernon, Arkansas

[John Atteberry]

Hello Dan,
Sad to hear that too and hope the rest make it! Lets hope this weather pattern is over for good! John!

[Sparky]

Hang in there Dan, the weather will get better. It's a darn shame when the weather gets to these birds. You have to wonder why? Glad you were able to help a few.

[John & Linda - KY]

We are located near the Ohio River about 25 miles upstream from Owensboro. We were also worried about survival of our nine early arrivals, but checked the gourds last Friday and there were no dead birds in them or on the ground. Today there are several martins on our gourd racks and they seem to be in fairly good spirits, so we are hopeful for 100% survival. Last year we lost quite a few birds to bad weather. The difference? Last year the cold weather came with constant rain/drizzle. This year, even though the temperatures were actually lower than last, we had breaks of one to two days in the clouds. I think these fair days with highs in the 48 - 52 degree range allowed the martins to move to the river and feed. -- John

[LarryMelcher/KY]

It has been very bad conditions in my part of Kentucky, just south of Louisville. I have been ordering crickets in bulk... 3 to 4000 crickets so far. My martins are accepting crickets great, and it's a nice feeling knowing that I have no dead martins. It takes some extra effort, but very much worth it.

I was pleasantly suprised when I had to get some crickets at a bait store a few weeks ago... the clerk said there were a lot of folks buying crickets to feed marlins. I tried not to laugh... so many times before I've had folks ask or comment about marlins, not martins. Looks like the internet forums are doing good spreading the info about supplemental feeding.

[Guest]

Before leaving for Florida the 7the of april we had several early arrivals; due to the warmer weather we had before the cold snap. I returned from Florida this past Saturday only to see no activity here in Southern Ky. I was gone for a week. I have yet to see any of my martins. It is suppose to be warmer this week. I hope that they went somewhere warmer to get out of the brutal weather. Watching closely for any signs of movement.

[klcretired]

Dan,
Welcome to the forum,all of us land lords go thru this at one time or another,all we can do is try and help the best that we can.

[dtownes]

Our first returners this morning. Two pair. 17 nests last year. Hope the rest are on the way!?