on all the photos I have seen of colonies, you will see martins on perches. My pair are either in the nest or in the sky. I have never seen the female on a perch. So I cannot even see her to tell if she is an asy or a sy (if I could tell the difference).
I thought maybe when the babies hatched they would sit on the perches so I could see them. Nope, they fly straight into the nest, the other one comes out of nest and leaves, and they keep trading off.
sometimes the sy unpaired male sits on the perch for a few minutes.
that's it.
at on point I was wondering why I wanted martins for 19 years when I was hardly ever seeing them.....
my martins never sit outside of the nest
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Guest
Is the perch in a good spot...ie., not near a tree and not close to the ground? I'm not an expert but seems the martins like to sweep down off a perch or housing to gain speed before beginning their climb. If the housing is too close to the ground, or too close to your house, or too close to a fence it may be easier to perch elsewhere. Seems they hang around my perch more when other martins are around. I assume this is to protect their nest. My perch is 16 - 18 ft high so it is easy to glide down to the house and gourds from this vantage point.
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Guest
I have a t-14 with a pole 20 feet above ground. but we do have a semi-circle of trees maybe 100 feet away.
there are perches on top the t-14, and I added other perches coming off some of the porches.
maybe they just need to protect the young from the sy male and an unmated sparrow I cannot get rid of?
sharon
there are perches on top the t-14, and I added other perches coming off some of the porches.
maybe they just need to protect the young from the sy male and an unmated sparrow I cannot get rid of?
sharon
Do you just have the 1 pair? This situation sounds very unusual. If you just have the one pair, just wait awhile they will start coming outside to preen and take a break from all the feeding chores.
I'm a "nestcamaholic" Is 18 hours a day a bad thing? (I have 2 this year, luckily I have 2 eyes!)
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Guest
yep....only one pair. have been here almost a month, and haven't seen them on the perches yet. Seem the asy male on the perch once or twice when he was trying to attract a second female. Have never seen the female except when she pokes her head out of compartment, or when she is flying.
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CraigMo.
- Posts: 1480
- Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 12:30 pm
- Location: Missouri/Lone Jack
- Martin Colony History: Active since 2003
Sharon , I think my first year I had martins(1 pair) they never really hung around either. But the house across the street did. He had around 8 pairs then. I think it has something to do with just 1 pair. When you get more pairs next year they will hang around. I have 22 pairs now and if they are not feeding their young they are around all the time. I can usually count 15 at any given time. They go in phases on being around, I think
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Guest
HI SHARON,
I TOO HAVE ONLY ONE PAIR OF SY BIRDS THIS YEAR. THEY HAVE SHOWN SIMILAR BEHAVIOR----PROTECTING THE NEST. I ALSO HAVE A SINGLE SY MALE HANGING AROUND. I THINK THE REAL PROBLEM THAT I HAD WAS A LOT OF STARLINGS SHOWED UP ABOUT TIME THE MARTINS DID. IT TOOK ME A LITTLE WHILE TO GET AHEAD OF THE STARLINGS. AFTER THE STARLINGS WERE ELIMINATED THE MARTINS TENDED TO PERCH OUTSIDE ON THE POLE MORE.
GOOD LUCK---BRUCE P.
I TOO HAVE ONLY ONE PAIR OF SY BIRDS THIS YEAR. THEY HAVE SHOWN SIMILAR BEHAVIOR----PROTECTING THE NEST. I ALSO HAVE A SINGLE SY MALE HANGING AROUND. I THINK THE REAL PROBLEM THAT I HAD WAS A LOT OF STARLINGS SHOWED UP ABOUT TIME THE MARTINS DID. IT TOOK ME A LITTLE WHILE TO GET AHEAD OF THE STARLINGS. AFTER THE STARLINGS WERE ELIMINATED THE MARTINS TENDED TO PERCH OUTSIDE ON THE POLE MORE.
GOOD LUCK---BRUCE P.
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Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
I think you have all nailed it - this single, probably SY, pair is doing an excellent job of protecting their young. With a bachelor male PM hanging around AND a House Sparrow, they have their hands full.
Now, Sharon, think about it. The female has been incubating her eggs. She sat on them for the biggest part of 15 days - no wonder you haven't been seeing her. Now, they've hatched and she's busy feeding the nestlings.
It sounds like you have an intelligent, devoted pair as the founders of your colony. Be proud of them - they will be back next year and they will attract many other Purple Martins to your site. When there are more eyes to watch the skies for hawks, you will see a lot more activity outside the nest cavity next season; and a lot more fighting... enjoy...
Now, Sharon, think about it. The female has been incubating her eggs. She sat on them for the biggest part of 15 days - no wonder you haven't been seeing her. Now, they've hatched and she's busy feeding the nestlings.
It sounds like you have an intelligent, devoted pair as the founders of your colony. Be proud of them - they will be back next year and they will attract many other Purple Martins to your site. When there are more eyes to watch the skies for hawks, you will see a lot more activity outside the nest cavity next season; and a lot more fighting... enjoy...
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne
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Guest
thanks for the replies regarding not seeing my martins.
you can imagine that after trying for martins for 19 years (many years getting up at 4:00 in the morning to start the "dawnsong", buying mirrors, poles, trio, grandpa, gourds, and now the T-14 (to keep birds I didn't have warmer in the cold Wisconsin spring), as well as hiring men to dig holes, move holes around the yard for possible better spots, repaint the T-14....the list goes on......that I am not about to give up because I don't see enough "purple"
you can imagine that after trying for martins for 19 years (many years getting up at 4:00 in the morning to start the "dawnsong", buying mirrors, poles, trio, grandpa, gourds, and now the T-14 (to keep birds I didn't have warmer in the cold Wisconsin spring), as well as hiring men to dig holes, move holes around the yard for possible better spots, repaint the T-14....the list goes on......that I am not about to give up because I don't see enough "purple"