Hello my friends!
A group of residents is looking at saving a small colony of martins
they found last summer nesting in a old wooden box. In Seabrook NH
In the South East corner of the state. NH has only about three colony's left
they are the weakess of the New England states or north east states. I have told them to once you have a example for folks to see gourd racks will be placed and the species will double. They nest in near by Parker River in north east MA. about four miles away The pair that nested in NH were probably run off from parker and landed in NH. Seabrook is prime for martins its wide open swamp lands. If the state is to see a comeback of the species this is the place to start. Low elevation and much warmer then inland. I wish them the best of luck and i would be more than happy to see
my yearlings head north and start the recover.
Ray
New Hampshire Residents interested in saving Martins
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John Miller
- Posts: 4840
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
Thank you for sharing this.
I know it's an old saying but human nature that people usually don't care about things until they are gone, or nearly so -- but better late than never.
John M
I know it's an old saying but human nature that people usually don't care about things until they are gone, or nearly so -- but better late than never.
John M
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Doug Martin - PA
- Posts: 1978
- Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:47 am
- Location: Pennsylvania/Fombell
- Martin Colony History: First pair in 2009 after 28 years of trying. 3 pairs 2010, 17 pairs 2011 and 35-45 pairs since. Many additional colonies are now springing up around mine in an area once completely void of Martins. I offer 50 compartments at my site consisting of primarily Excluder II gourds on Gemini racks. Also a wooden T-14. I utilize electric fence type predator guards on the base of the poles. Supplemental feeding is crucial in maintaining my colony. I platform feed throughout the season as needed. My site tends to be a stop over point for additional birds as they migrate further north.
Ray,
Although not quite as hard hit as your area Western PA was also down to a very small number of colonies.
There were a few great Martin landlords in the area that put a lot of time and effort into nurturing the remaining colonies back to health. New housing was erected at the sites that still had birds, mainly in the form of T-14s. One site was resurected in a county where no other colonies existed anywhere around. It consisted of a few pair in 1 Trio castle on a broken pole only 6-8 ft off the ground.
These sites were monitored and the S&S were trapped and removed. More importantly supplemental feeding was done at these sites during poor weather. This is what I believe made the ultimate difference here. Now all successful colonies supplemental feed here.
The Martin population in Western PA is now back to a very healthy state. Colonies are overflowing and new landlords are being born each year as a result. Even my colony that was started in 2009 (after a 28 year effort) has overflowed to almost 40 pair here to over 20 pairs next door. Now we will both be overflowing this season.
It takes several committed people, superior management, excluder entrances, and supplemental feeding, as well as a few years of breeding to get the job done. But our area is living proof that it can be done. The key is to build the remaining colonies to an overflow state and limit the numbers at them. You then need good prospective landlords in the area waiting in the wings for their first pair.
Good luck up there. I hope you all realize it takes more than proper housing in a tough area. You got to keep them alive during cold spells. The combination of this and perfect colony management is very powerful.
The landlords in our area have a get together each year. You are welcome to bring some folks down and see our results and share in our ideas. I think we had almost a dozen new colonies started just last year.
Here is a link to some interesting information from the rebuild.
http://www.purple-martin.org/
Doug
Although not quite as hard hit as your area Western PA was also down to a very small number of colonies.
There were a few great Martin landlords in the area that put a lot of time and effort into nurturing the remaining colonies back to health. New housing was erected at the sites that still had birds, mainly in the form of T-14s. One site was resurected in a county where no other colonies existed anywhere around. It consisted of a few pair in 1 Trio castle on a broken pole only 6-8 ft off the ground.
These sites were monitored and the S&S were trapped and removed. More importantly supplemental feeding was done at these sites during poor weather. This is what I believe made the ultimate difference here. Now all successful colonies supplemental feed here.
The Martin population in Western PA is now back to a very healthy state. Colonies are overflowing and new landlords are being born each year as a result. Even my colony that was started in 2009 (after a 28 year effort) has overflowed to almost 40 pair here to over 20 pairs next door. Now we will both be overflowing this season.
It takes several committed people, superior management, excluder entrances, and supplemental feeding, as well as a few years of breeding to get the job done. But our area is living proof that it can be done. The key is to build the remaining colonies to an overflow state and limit the numbers at them. You then need good prospective landlords in the area waiting in the wings for their first pair.
Good luck up there. I hope you all realize it takes more than proper housing in a tough area. You got to keep them alive during cold spells. The combination of this and perfect colony management is very powerful.
The landlords in our area have a get together each year. You are welcome to bring some folks down and see our results and share in our ideas. I think we had almost a dozen new colonies started just last year.
Here is a link to some interesting information from the rebuild.
http://www.purple-martin.org/
Doug
Supplemental feeding plays a major role in Western Pennsylvania. Finally got my 1st pair in 2009 after 28 years of effort. The colony has grown quickly to 45 pairs that I care for. Many new colonies have now sprung up around me in the past few years as well. Where there was none.... there is many.