Purple Martin Update?May 10, 2006
My second year round hole purple martin colony continues to flourish and more SY martins are still arriving daily to claim territory. Though the number of new martins is slowing, I still can expect to gain a few more occupants into late May. All I can say is, Wow, what a purple martin season!
My last update was posted on April 28 and I had about 150 pairs of martins in residence. That number has grown and as of May 10, 2006, I now have approximately 165 pairs of martins and this number continues to change daily. There are 118 ASY pairs and 47 SYs in residence and a good number of single SY males are seeking territory and mates and these martins are competing with the established occupants. I have now doubled my number from 2005 when I attracted 81 pairs, 28 ASYs and 53 SYs, my first season. As you can see, the martin pair numbers based on maturation status has essentially flip flopped in 2006. I base my numbers on nest checks and extensive observations of my gourd racks and houses. However, it is possible the current total number could be slightly lower or higher due to the large number of martins involved. By the end of May, I should have a definite martin pair count.
I have 218 available cavities this year and my occupancy level is currently at 76%. With 165 pairs in residence, only 53 cavities are open and they are scattered about among my gourd racks and houses. This makes it difficult for SY males to find these "openings" and then fight for territory if a dominant ASY male is controlling them.
Over 700 eggs have been laid and over 500 young have hatched as of this date. Since these numbers are changing daily, I will present final totals at the end of the season. I am seeing many 5 and 6 egg clutches.
I am looking forward to seeing if more SY male martins will be able to establish territory and attract mates in my colony. It is getting late now and the number of available females is drying up rapidly.
We are having a fantastic purple martin season in northwest Louisiana. Hope everyone else is doing great, too.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Steve
Purple Martin Update...May 10, 2006
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Steve Kroenke
- Posts: 4342
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
- Location: Louisiana/Logansport
Last edited by Steve Kroenke on Wed May 10, 2006 6:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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stan davison
- Posts: 715
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:48 pm
- Location: Tulsa Oklahoma
Steve congrats on your numbers. You mention that you will still get subbies, I am in Oklahoma and just curious if and when my one ASY male will let subbies in and what time frame do i have left. Thanks.
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Steve Kroenke
- Posts: 4342
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
- Location: Louisiana/Logansport
Hey Stan,
I am below you in northwest Louisiana and we can still attract SYs into late May though the chances greatly diminish by the third week. My neighbor who has lived here all his life said he once attracted a pair of SYs in early June. You probably have all of May to attract SYs in your area. However, if you have an aggressive, dominant ASY male martin that controls multiple cavities, he can chase many newcomers away. Usually nest domination behavior will weaken when the male is paired, his mate selects a nest cavity, and she is incubating eggs. Plus as the season progresses the SY males become more aggressive and will compete vigorously with ASY males for territory. So hang in there and perhaps you will attract some SY males soon. Good luck.
Steve
I am below you in northwest Louisiana and we can still attract SYs into late May though the chances greatly diminish by the third week. My neighbor who has lived here all his life said he once attracted a pair of SYs in early June. You probably have all of May to attract SYs in your area. However, if you have an aggressive, dominant ASY male martin that controls multiple cavities, he can chase many newcomers away. Usually nest domination behavior will weaken when the male is paired, his mate selects a nest cavity, and she is incubating eggs. Plus as the season progresses the SY males become more aggressive and will compete vigorously with ASY males for territory. So hang in there and perhaps you will attract some SY males soon. Good luck.
Steve
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John Atteberry
Hello Steve,
All I can say is WOW!!!!!! You are doing great up there!!!!! I'm going to increase to 50 holes next year and will stop at that total because of the time factor!!! Work, wife, and kids take alot of time!!!! HA! I will have 22 Troyer Horizontal Gourds, 12 Tunnel Supergourds, 6 Tunnel Natureline Gourds, and 10 Trio enlarged compartments!!!! All gourds will be painted tan inside too! I will have a total of three poles, all from Creative Universe Enterprises!!!! Two gourd racks and one Multi-purpose Pole! It was good to hear from you!!! Thanks and have a great time and year Steve!!!! John!
All I can say is WOW!!!!!! You are doing great up there!!!!! I'm going to increase to 50 holes next year and will stop at that total because of the time factor!!! Work, wife, and kids take alot of time!!!! HA! I will have 22 Troyer Horizontal Gourds, 12 Tunnel Supergourds, 6 Tunnel Natureline Gourds, and 10 Trio enlarged compartments!!!! All gourds will be painted tan inside too! I will have a total of three poles, all from Creative Universe Enterprises!!!! Two gourd racks and one Multi-purpose Pole! It was good to hear from you!!! Thanks and have a great time and year Steve!!!! John!
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stan davison
- Posts: 715
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:48 pm
- Location: Tulsa Oklahoma
Thanks for the reply Steve, and i noticed this morning that when my adult pair showed up an SY female shot out the back of the housing. She must be roosting without detection. lol thanks...
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Steve Kroenke
- Posts: 4342
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
- Location: Louisiana/Logansport
Hey Stan,
I am still seeing more SYs arriving at my colony site and this morning there are a good number. Unfortunately, a SY male commited infanticide this morning and removed a newly hatched martin from one of my gourds before I could intervened. He dropped the baby to the ground and it died. This infanticide behavior will most likely get worse now as the bachelor SY males desperately try to secure territory and mates. So, you will probably see more SYs in your area soon.
Steve
Hey John,
Sounds like you have great martin plan for next season. I am sure your colony will continue to increase in size.
Next season, I will be using more Troyer horizontals and plan to replace my Natureline gourd rack, which I dislike a lot, with a Deluxe 18 gourd system. All Troyers will be placed on this new rack and I will add the cane perch poles, too. I plan to make other changes, too, including replacing my Lone Star gourd rack systems with the new Super gourd rack systems that use a 3 inch square tensile aluminum pole. I really like that pole and it stands up well to strong winds. I am still thinking about other changes already and the 2006 is still going strong! Good luck.
Steve
I am still seeing more SYs arriving at my colony site and this morning there are a good number. Unfortunately, a SY male commited infanticide this morning and removed a newly hatched martin from one of my gourds before I could intervened. He dropped the baby to the ground and it died. This infanticide behavior will most likely get worse now as the bachelor SY males desperately try to secure territory and mates. So, you will probably see more SYs in your area soon.
Steve
Hey John,
Sounds like you have great martin plan for next season. I am sure your colony will continue to increase in size.
Next season, I will be using more Troyer horizontals and plan to replace my Natureline gourd rack, which I dislike a lot, with a Deluxe 18 gourd system. All Troyers will be placed on this new rack and I will add the cane perch poles, too. I plan to make other changes, too, including replacing my Lone Star gourd rack systems with the new Super gourd rack systems that use a 3 inch square tensile aluminum pole. I really like that pole and it stands up well to strong winds. I am still thinking about other changes already and the 2006 is still going strong! Good luck.
Steve
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stan davison
- Posts: 715
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:48 pm
- Location: Tulsa Oklahoma
Saw a bunch more Sy females this morning and believe it or not an ASY male came to my site today and he is interested in a gourd. The dominant male won't run him off but makes a siren call if he tries to get in the hole. He has been here most of the morning and i believe he will fight for a compartment or gourd. Sorry to hear about the baby but i quess its part of nature. It is still fairly chilly here and i am wondering if that has much to do with the few numbers of sy males.
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John Atteberry
Hello Steve,
I sure do like the Super 24 Gourd Rack too and the 3 inch pole too! I bet it is strong in the wind too! The company that makes that rack has arms that can be put on the rack to hold Troyer gourds now and they can be hung in two different directions! I'm buying the AAA-16 Gourd Rack that will hold 16 Troyer Gourds too! They have those arms for this one too! All my three poles will be 16 feet tall! Two of them will go from 14 feet to 16 feet but the AAA-16 rack will already be 16 feet tall! It is like the 24 Gourd rack!
I have an ASY pair that has 7 babies and found out yesterday there was one missing after I notice there were 2 new SY males that showed up! One of the babies was right next to the hole! Then I looked around on the ground and din't see it! But do you know where it was? It was in the MSS-8 Trio House. The compartment was an ASY nest that has much bigger babies in it! The bigger babies were in the back enlarge compartment and the baby was in the front compartment crying out!!! Go figure!!!! So I put both babies toward the front of the nest so they can be fed first! Then later on that day I checked on them and all 7 were still together with the AST female sitting on them to keep them warm! They were cold from being away from the rest of the family! I patted the female's head and raised it back up! Today they were all healthy and happy! Caught them in time! Keep on having success!!! John!
I sure do like the Super 24 Gourd Rack too and the 3 inch pole too! I bet it is strong in the wind too! The company that makes that rack has arms that can be put on the rack to hold Troyer gourds now and they can be hung in two different directions! I'm buying the AAA-16 Gourd Rack that will hold 16 Troyer Gourds too! They have those arms for this one too! All my three poles will be 16 feet tall! Two of them will go from 14 feet to 16 feet but the AAA-16 rack will already be 16 feet tall! It is like the 24 Gourd rack!
I have an ASY pair that has 7 babies and found out yesterday there was one missing after I notice there were 2 new SY males that showed up! One of the babies was right next to the hole! Then I looked around on the ground and din't see it! But do you know where it was? It was in the MSS-8 Trio House. The compartment was an ASY nest that has much bigger babies in it! The bigger babies were in the back enlarge compartment and the baby was in the front compartment crying out!!! Go figure!!!! So I put both babies toward the front of the nest so they can be fed first! Then later on that day I checked on them and all 7 were still together with the AST female sitting on them to keep them warm! They were cold from being away from the rest of the family! I patted the female's head and raised it back up! Today they were all healthy and happy! Caught them in time! Keep on having success!!! John!
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Guest
Wow Steve......that is great. Wish you the best and hope your resident predators remain in check.
I had two pair last year.....ASY pair and SY pair. The ASY male returned and spent 3 weeks trying to attract a mate. He finally succeeded and they both disappeared.....I assume she wanted to nest elsewhere. Bummer, but I have another ASY male paired with an SY female that have spent the last 2 days here (not spending the night) and I had another unpaired, very dominant SY male that stayed the night last night for the first time. Sure nice to see activity again.
Keep up the good work. You have a great colony, a lot of knowledge, and you've helped a lot of folke out here on this website. I appreciate what you are doing.
I had two pair last year.....ASY pair and SY pair. The ASY male returned and spent 3 weeks trying to attract a mate. He finally succeeded and they both disappeared.....I assume she wanted to nest elsewhere. Bummer, but I have another ASY male paired with an SY female that have spent the last 2 days here (not spending the night) and I had another unpaired, very dominant SY male that stayed the night last night for the first time. Sure nice to see activity again.
Keep up the good work. You have a great colony, a lot of knowledge, and you've helped a lot of folke out here on this website. I appreciate what you are doing.
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Steve Kroenke
- Posts: 4342
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
- Location: Louisiana/Logansport
Hey John,
I may even buy the new proposed Super 36 Gourd rack system. But I will definitely get at least three of these Super gourd systems to replace my three Lone Star racks. I will probably use my various natural gourds on them, but you are correct that Troyer?s horizontals can be used. I still like the Deluxe racks, but you really need to add more perching space and the cane poles have worked great at my colony this season. I will probably get two more 18 gourd Deluxe racks for 2007 and place 36 Troyer horizontals.
What an unusual case of the ?missing? baby martin! But glad all is well now.
This morning, May 12, 2006, I watched a rogue ASY male martin that apparently is looking for territory enter a gourd and drop a recently hatched baby martin out the hole. I rushed over and placed the baby back in the nest and he/she didn?t appear to be hurt, but still could have sustained internal injuries from the fall. SY males will do this and so will bachelor ASYs that are seeking territory. My permanent residents with small young are having a big problem with primarily bachelor SY males trying to enter the nests and possibly commit infanticide. I DON?T trust these SY males at all when they enter an unguarded nest with small un-feathered baby martins. Territory seeking bachelor SY male martins are the number one enemy of newly hatched martins in my colony.
Steve
Hey Barb,
Thanks for the CONGRATS! Yes, this is a Purple Martin Garden of Eden over here. I have never seen anything like it. But we do have a few ?serpents? on the loose! Hope your colony is thriving, too.
Steve
Hey Hogwild,
Thanks man! My colony is doing fantastic so far, but early this morning two barred owls were hooting near Bob's colony. I walked over to his site and they quickly vanished in the darkness. I maintain a presence in the early mornings and this does keep them at bay. We will be getting ready for the resident Cooper's hawk attacks on our fledgling martins in June and July. It was terrible last season with multiple kills daily. But the rat snakes are being thwarted with our net traps.
I am happy that your colony is seeing activity again. You still probably have through May to attract breeding martins to your site. I know you have worked hard to provide good housing and protect the martins from predators/competitors.
Thanks again for those kind remarks and hope my postings provide some insights into martin biology/behavior.
Good luck.
Steve
I may even buy the new proposed Super 36 Gourd rack system. But I will definitely get at least three of these Super gourd systems to replace my three Lone Star racks. I will probably use my various natural gourds on them, but you are correct that Troyer?s horizontals can be used. I still like the Deluxe racks, but you really need to add more perching space and the cane poles have worked great at my colony this season. I will probably get two more 18 gourd Deluxe racks for 2007 and place 36 Troyer horizontals.
What an unusual case of the ?missing? baby martin! But glad all is well now.
This morning, May 12, 2006, I watched a rogue ASY male martin that apparently is looking for territory enter a gourd and drop a recently hatched baby martin out the hole. I rushed over and placed the baby back in the nest and he/she didn?t appear to be hurt, but still could have sustained internal injuries from the fall. SY males will do this and so will bachelor ASYs that are seeking territory. My permanent residents with small young are having a big problem with primarily bachelor SY males trying to enter the nests and possibly commit infanticide. I DON?T trust these SY males at all when they enter an unguarded nest with small un-feathered baby martins. Territory seeking bachelor SY male martins are the number one enemy of newly hatched martins in my colony.
Steve
Hey Barb,
Thanks for the CONGRATS! Yes, this is a Purple Martin Garden of Eden over here. I have never seen anything like it. But we do have a few ?serpents? on the loose! Hope your colony is thriving, too.
Steve
Hey Hogwild,
Thanks man! My colony is doing fantastic so far, but early this morning two barred owls were hooting near Bob's colony. I walked over to his site and they quickly vanished in the darkness. I maintain a presence in the early mornings and this does keep them at bay. We will be getting ready for the resident Cooper's hawk attacks on our fledgling martins in June and July. It was terrible last season with multiple kills daily. But the rat snakes are being thwarted with our net traps.
I am happy that your colony is seeing activity again. You still probably have through May to attract breeding martins to your site. I know you have worked hard to provide good housing and protect the martins from predators/competitors.
Thanks again for those kind remarks and hope my postings provide some insights into martin biology/behavior.
Good luck.
Steve
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Bob Rogers
- Posts: 226
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 6:48 pm
- Location: Arnold, Missouri
Steve,
Keep up the good work with your PM's --- North America would not be the same place without them. Hoping to get to Martinfest this year ---- maybe see you there. Good Luck
Keep up the good work with your PM's --- North America would not be the same place without them. Hoping to get to Martinfest this year ---- maybe see you there. Good Luck
Bob R.
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Steve Kroenke
- Posts: 4342
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
- Location: Louisiana/Logansport
Hey Bob,
I hope your martin colony is doing well this year!
I don't plan to attend MartinFest this year. I did attend twice several years ago and really enjoyed the festivities. I particularly liked meeting folks that I had emailed and discussed issues with on the Forum. The fellowship is wonderful and you can establish great friendships with other martineers. I even took my mountain bike and pedaled all over the countryside, looking for other martin colonies. There are PLENTY of martins around Victor's place! I hope you get to attend and meet Victor and his family and many of the fine folks you see on the Forum.
Steve
I hope your martin colony is doing well this year!
I don't plan to attend MartinFest this year. I did attend twice several years ago and really enjoyed the festivities. I particularly liked meeting folks that I had emailed and discussed issues with on the Forum. The fellowship is wonderful and you can establish great friendships with other martineers. I even took my mountain bike and pedaled all over the countryside, looking for other martin colonies. There are PLENTY of martins around Victor's place! I hope you get to attend and meet Victor and his family and many of the fine folks you see on the Forum.
Steve