Mud Dams at the Quarry

[avesrun]

Did an unofficial nest check at my satellite quarry site today. Main goal was to tear out nest material from one persistent tree swallow that's been carrying nest material into a t14. Last year the Drew protocol worked just fine, but this year the TS arrived just about the same time as martins and there's been zillions of TS.

Anyway, I have at least 4-6 nests in the works I believe. The two troyer vertical gourds that I have both have significant mud dams that have been built toward the front of the nest; had never seen them before so it was a surprise. Pretty cool.

What is the ideal recommended interval for nest checks once there are known nests with green leaves? Thanks!

TimG

[JudyA]

Tim,
The Martin Watch Study recommends nest checks every 5 - 7 days apart. You should also stop nest checks for nests that are getting close to fledging, but should do a final nest check after fledging to verify all birds survived to fledge. I really like filling out the log sheet as it gives a single page record of the entire season.

I've been out of town and have not been on the forum for a few days; have you had any luck with your home site?
- Judy

[avesrun]

JudyA thanks for the reply. I think I'll go closer to the 7 day checks until I find eggs then go to 5. I very well may have eggs next week at the quarry site. They were very busy this a.m. bringing in more leaves and visiting the local water/mud hole. I'm thinking I may have 6 pair there currently. Noticed an unpaired sy male there also this a.m. snooping around and getting flack from the asy martins.

My home site still just the faithful asy pair; they have made a nest and watched them bringing in leaves on two days this week. They are amazing at their dedication to the site. they came in like clockwork last nite to their troyer horizontal gourd. Weather is supposed to be rainy nearly every day next week so I'm hoping it's mostly at night, and if not that there's bug hunting breaks inbetween rain events. Severe weather possible too so will be watching that.
Here's a couple photos of quarry nests with mud dams inside troyer vertical gourds. Maybe these are common; they were a new discovery for me.
Photos by my martin accomplice buddy LindaM
Tim G

[DebA]

I enjoy their different nest styles. Some mud, some don't. This year is the year of the mudders at my place. I am sure it keeps things glued into place. I have several nests with eggs with hatch dates May 29-31 mostly so far. Fun fun.
Deb

[ToyinPA]

I've had them big massive, thick & high, mud dams. One year they built above the openings. I don't know how they wiggled out. Since I changed to T-10 housing with nest trays only a few use some mud. Glad for that as it makes it easier to do nest changes.

This year I have some that made thier nest mostly of twigs & nothing else, while others used a ton of straw. I find all sorts of things in nests. Gum wrappers, zip ties, pieces of plastic combs, glass, pop can tabs, etc. You never know what they'll use.

Toy in PA

[avesrun]

Best wishes on the hatching DebA. Do the mud dams usually stay in tact for the nesting period? I'll try not to break the levees during my nest checks!

Interesting Toy; the mud dams at my site appear to be in their beginning stage so will see how high the dam gets! Being a relative newbie these martins seem to show something new every time I watch. This morning they were visiting the nearby water hole so assume the dams are getting taller. Haven't found any foreign objects yet although the quarry site doesn't have a lot of litter around due to my extreme diligence to keep it a clean area! I'm excited for the next nest check next week. Still might be a little early for eggs though. Plus it may not be possible due to forecasted rain for 4 days straight. I don't wish poor feeding conditions on the martins; however, flipping crickets is fun and now that I've got them trained and have crickets on hand I hopefully can get them through if the rain becomes an all day affair for consecutive days. Take care and best of remaining season everyone!

[taxidermy lady]

It looks like an old shoe string in your second picture. It's not straw the way it curves around. What is it?

[JamesinIA]

The Troyer vertical gourds are fairly shallow which leaves the nest somewhat exposed. The martins like to hide their nest bowl as much as possible and that is why they build the mud dams. They do the same thing in the un-modified Trio houses. J L Murray came up with the idea of installing a Super gourd porch inside the gourd just behind the entry tunnel and has had good results in more martins using those gourds. I have modified my vertical gourds and this year I have more nest in them than ever before.

I discussed this problem with Andy Troyer who agreed that they were a bit too shallow and wished they would have made them deeper. Maybe some day they will raise the entrance tunnel in order to increase the depth.

[DebA]

Yes, Tim, our (inserting myself into their lives) mud dams stay through the season and I'm even pulling nest trays out of houses to check. It gets a little wore down when babies start to move.

I'm so glad you're having flipping success!' It is so fun. The other morning a pair of chimney swifts hovered high above looking. I would have been thrilled to share. Nope but they were sure checking things out.

Man I have a lot of orioles. That's what I'm doing right now. Just mopped my floors (yuck) might as well sit outside while they dry.
Deb