Even after getting a colony established I'm guessing the problems of having a colony then continue either weather related ,starling and sparrows and predators ,.
Never thinking that a predator would come in the shape of a car,.
Have had nesting material on my bed and breakfast with egg shells ,which they were using and a sy male still managed to get himself killed right outside my driveway 'today when I came home from work ,had to scrape him up ,and not even a busy road at that , this landlord thing has lots of amazing moment but we all got to prepare for the bad times too ,feeling sad and amazed this agile and acrobatic bird flew all this way found a partner and started a nest and his life ended so suddenly ,very sad .
Mick
So sorry that happened to you. We were in our back yard with our two cats when a young hawk swooped down right in front of us and caught a martin. We never saw him coming. We started chasing after him and clapping and went to the ground, tried to get up with the martin, but was not strong enough to hold him. We ran to the martin but it was already dead. These things are disheartening but we still carry on for these beautiful little birds.
Mitch
Sorry to hear that. You are right, there is always something to watch out for, most of it out of our control. We live on a corner, two streets to contend with, one a highway the other a side street. Always people zooming by. And where do they go for maple seeds and small stuff to adorn their nests? The street, of course. I need a "CAUTION : SLOW DOWN! MARTIN CROSSING" sign.
Did you have storms today? We had hail for about 10 -15 minutes. Small pea sized. Most all birds were out feeding except sitting females. Will watch for injured or missing birds, but things seem normal right now. Hope yours are okay. Storms down by taxidermy lady right now.
Always something .
Judy
Larry and Judy Kronemeyer
est. 1999
1-12 compartment Trendsetter and 8 gourds(crescents)
12 gourd rack (crescents)
Member PMCA
Martin Colony History: Started trying to attract purple martins in 2012! It's finally happened in 2017! 5 years!!! ASY male and SY female came May 1st, fledged 5 babies!
Sorry Mick for your female being struck! I'm sure you will have a nice burial for her. This will happen in town I'm sure.
Yeah Judy the storms are just right above me in Ruma area? Good luck!
Yes it's about 8.15 and raining and thunder n lightning now larry n Judy and all,could get strong winds and hail again ,damn weather fingers crossed no upsets for anyone tonight ,I lowered my racks by 2ft before they came in too roost tonight and they came in ok didn't seem to mind them being lower ,just new it was going to storm tonight yes it's a test sometimes isn't it ,be safe everyone
Mick
