Is it too late
-
Guest
I am wondering how long do we watch for the PMs to move in? We have had several Male Adults come by and look the place over but stay only a short time then fly off. The same thing happened last year. This is our second year trying. Is it too late to expect them? We live in the southwest part of Va. Thanks for any help......Dewey
-
Mary Dawnsong
- Posts: 1685
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 8:17 pm
- Location: Michigan, Livingston County
Hi Dewey,
Here in southern Michigan the chances of attracting breeding martins plummets after about June 15. However, I have had a few clutches started in early July. Your season is earlier than mine, so adjust by maybe a week or two. A local landlord will be able to give you better advice.
As you probably know, martins have site fidelity. This means that adult martins will return to last season's colony site -if- they bred successfully there. So, your adult male visitors may have been passing through on their way "home".
Many new colonies are started by subadult martins who have never bred, thus have no "home" to return to. The subbies should be starting to migrate into your area, looking for a home of their own. You can follow the migration on this PMCA webpage:
http://purplemartin.org/scoutreport/
Click on the outline of your state to see adult scout reports by individual landlords. On your state page you can also find the link to subadult scout reports.
Good luck starting your colony, Mary
Here in southern Michigan the chances of attracting breeding martins plummets after about June 15. However, I have had a few clutches started in early July. Your season is earlier than mine, so adjust by maybe a week or two. A local landlord will be able to give you better advice.
As you probably know, martins have site fidelity. This means that adult martins will return to last season's colony site -if- they bred successfully there. So, your adult male visitors may have been passing through on their way "home".
Many new colonies are started by subadult martins who have never bred, thus have no "home" to return to. The subbies should be starting to migrate into your area, looking for a home of their own. You can follow the migration on this PMCA webpage:
http://purplemartin.org/scoutreport/
Click on the outline of your state to see adult scout reports by individual landlords. On your state page you can also find the link to subadult scout reports.
Good luck starting your colony, Mary
Click here to see my colony
"In Michigan every martin matters"
"In Michigan every martin matters"
-
Emil Pampell-Tx
- Posts: 6743
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:26 pm
- Location: Tx, Richmond (SW of Houston)
- Martin Colony History: First started in Gretna, La in 1969 with a small homemade house, have had martins ever since at 2 different homes in Texas
Dewey, the single most important thing for martins is to have the housing in a wide open area. If you have visitors, and if they don't stay, then the martins do not feel safe at your place. Maybe the trees are too close to your housing. Can you move the house to a more wide open place...other things that martins like are open fields nearby. If you have a house in a small opening, the martins are afraid that hawks & owls will catch them (the predators hide in the trees and swoop down and catch the martins).