Final Update at my Colony

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James Strickland FL
Posts: 2249
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 8:04 pm
Location: Reidsville NC
Martin Colony History: 2017 Had a lot visitors no Matins nesting, hoping 2018 will be different.
2018 Had 1 pair
2019 had 30 pair

:grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: WOW! What a season. I ended up with 45 pair and they produced 273 young. I had 5 pair the renested and they fledged 16 more. Which gave me total of 289 that Fledged. The last one just left the nest today. I think that they will be around for a few more days and then off to Brazil for the season. I can not be more blessed than what happen this year. GOD really gave me lot of joy this year. I did not have any snakes, raccoons, starlings, or the hawk take any. I am not sure what will happen next year, but if things do as well I should have close to 85 to 90 pair. That will be the biggest colony here in South Florida, which is what I am hoping for. There are so many friends and people that have helped me get to this point from the Forum and I would just like to say THANK YOU! My hopes are that everyone on here can be blessed with my success in your hopes with getting these wonderful birds. The one thing I can say is to never never give up, I almost did and I would not have the numbers that I had. It took year to get them, but one day you will look out and there they will be and that is how it starts. I hope all of you up North have a great season and God Bless You All! :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin:
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dhjohnson
Posts: 478
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2012 4:24 pm
Location: North Carolina/Clayton
Martin Colony History: 5th year hostess. Currently 58 confirmed breeding pair. 218 Fledged, 35 older nestlings, 2 new nests with 8 nestlings. 100% occupancy

Wow James,
What a smashing report! You totally hit it out of the park!
Best wishes for a great year in 2017!
You are on a roll now...don't let up!

Debbie
Debbie Johnson
Clayton/NC (Archer Lodge)
2012 New Site 6 pair, 21 Fledged
2013 24 pair, 102 eggs, 94 hatched, 89 Fledged. What a great year!
2014 37 pair, 211 eggs, 193 Hatched, 178 Fledged, 1 nest of 5 young left! Late start but picked up speed quickly!
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pmartinlover2
Posts: 521
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 6:37 pm
Location: IL/Hillsboro
Martin Colony History: 2011 Home site--1 SY pair--2 fledged
2016 Satellite Site---4 pair--19 eggs laid--17 hatched--16 fledged
2017 Satellite Site--8 pair--37 eggs laid--34 hatched--34 fledged
2018 11 pair--fledged 60
2019 20 pair-fledged 94
2020 23pair-fledged 108

What a fantastic report, James! The martins love your site (so do I) and must feel very safe what with no predators this year. My first nest ever just fledged,,,what fun watching them grow up and get into the air! I'm like you and everybody else here,,,already thinking about next year, wondering if I'll grow and how much? Maybe some more of the southern landlords will join this thread and let us northerners know about their 2016 seasons??? Thanks for the update.
_____
Jody
Jody in Central Illinois
Landlord in 2016
2016—4 pr fledged 16
2017—8 pr fledged 34
2018—11 pr fledged 60
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Okie
Posts: 541
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:26 pm
Location: Claremore, OK
Martin Colony History: 2016 Informed landlord now Have 2 pair returning from 2015 That is a miracle. Hoping for a very successful year, sparrow population on decline.
First house was plastic with crescent holes Had martins within a few days. Ignorant landlord gradually lost them
Then got Trio House and still lost most of them. Lots of sparrows

pmartinlover2 wrote: Maybe some more of the southern landlords will join this thread and let us northerners know about their 2016 seasons???
_____
Jody
Well Jody here's mine for whatever it's worth along with a question for the experts.
2 ASY males returned from last year & both found SY females. Never any other lookers. #1 pair laid 6 eggs. #2 pair were in the process of egg laying & had 4, then male sparrow destroyed eggs & ran off that pair. [To date trapped 94 & that male was trapped same day but AFTER his dasterly deed :cry: ]
#1 pair raised the 6 successfully....UNTIL I intervened :oops:
I learned NOT to put sparrow trap in the house during fledging time. I had 1 trap in & delayed lowering the house to check until they fledged. But fledging dragged out over several days and with 100* heat index I finally felt that I needed to remove that trap. It did have a dead, decaying sparrow in it.
As I lowered the house 2 fledged. One flew into a window & was stunned. Could not catch it. They both flew off without the parents knowledge. I worried all night but did see a bird the next day in the compartment below theirs and deducted it had to be one of those two, just not quite finding the right hole.
2 others later successfully fledged. However papa brought his brood back for several days & I always counted 4.... not 6 :cry:

So my question is: Do you all think those 2 died without parents feeding them? I feel responsible for that.
AND the other question is: On another thread they are talking about plugging holes during fledging time but I never have figured out how the plugged holes without lowering the houses. How come mine fledged prematurely & theirs don't????? How do you accomplished that?
Okie
PMCA member
2016 Started with 2 pair, 1 pair abandoned after HOSP destroyed eggs
1 pair= 6 eggs, 6 fledged
2017 1 pair so far, But they abandoned before nest complete for ?reason? Now Bridless and joined the Wannabes
2018 One pair ASY male SY female 5 eggs, 5 fledged
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marcus
Posts: 314
Joined: Tue May 10, 2016 10:21 pm
Location: Fairland OK
Martin Colony History: Mom n Dad had a plastic 12 unit martin house with some martins as long as I can remember. In 2013 they had 1 pair. I don't think they fledged any. I then started learning how to take care of martins and in 2014 we took that house down and put up a Troyer 18 gourd rack. We had 7 pair with 28 fledged.That summer I built a T-14 (I was only 12). I was also given 4 natural gourds that I hung beneath the T-14. In 2015, we had 23 pair although only 22 pair fledged young. They fledged 88 young. In 2016, we had 36 pair, 210 eggs, 163 hatched, 149 fledge!! One pair fledged 2 broods. In 2017, I had 36 pair with 35 fledging young. They laid 204 eggs, hatched 155, and fledged 152.

Okie,
I wait until the house is as low as I want it and then I put the plugs in the entrances of nestlings 23 days and older. I leave them in until 5 min. after the house is back up.(of course I tie a long string to the plug first) Then I just pull the plugs out.
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warbird
Posts: 220
Joined: Tue May 26, 2015 10:04 am
Location: Calofornia MO

Thats like 6 or more eggs a nest with no bad eggs or sparrows and all fledged. That's very good. I only had 6 eggs in three nest out of 35 pair with most being 4 to 5 and several bad eggs. You have any pictures of your site? That's by far the best I've heard of.
joe
2015 8 pair
2016 35 pair
2017 55 pair
2018 57 pair
2019 58 pair
2020 58 pair
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Matt F.
Posts: 3978
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 9:48 am
Location: Houston, TX

Great report James!
Congrats on a great season!
Image
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Steve Kroenke
Posts: 4342
Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 6:49 pm
Location: Louisiana/Logansport

Hey James,

What a fantastic final update for your purple martin colony! I am really looking forward to next year and reading about your even larger martin colony! You have taken great care of your martin colony. It has grown in size and is raising plenty of babies to seed new colonies in your area. Thanks for being a caring and excellent martin landlord.

Steve
PMCA Member
300+ pairs of martins each season
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Okie
Posts: 541
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:26 pm
Location: Claremore, OK
Martin Colony History: 2016 Informed landlord now Have 2 pair returning from 2015 That is a miracle. Hoping for a very successful year, sparrow population on decline.
First house was plastic with crescent holes Had martins within a few days. Ignorant landlord gradually lost them
Then got Trio House and still lost most of them. Lots of sparrows

Thanks Marcus but that still does not answer my question.
These 2 flew out while I was lowering the house long before I would have been able to put in a plug.
So How do you all get the house down to where you are physically able to put in a plug???
Okie
PMCA member
2016 Started with 2 pair, 1 pair abandoned after HOSP destroyed eggs
1 pair= 6 eggs, 6 fledged
2017 1 pair so far, But they abandoned before nest complete for ?reason? Now Bridless and joined the Wannabes
2018 One pair ASY male SY female 5 eggs, 5 fledged
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jedin
Posts: 158
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:19 pm
Location: Kentucky/Harrodsburg

Fantastic James!!!!
2011: First house late June, lots of visitors
2012: One pair of SY, 5 fledged
2013: 4 pair, 18 fledged
2014: 4 pair, 20 fledged
2015: 14 pair
2016: 18 pair
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BW Fowler
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 6:01 pm
Location: TX/Buda

James,

Fantastic! Great job. Thanks for all the hard work. Looking forward to your reports next year. Hoping you have another blessed season!

BW
2009-2013 a few visitors.
2014: 1 pair of SY love birds, 5 fledges; 2015: 7 pair, 34 Fldg; 2016: 12p/54F; 2017: 14p/71F;
2018: 24p/103F; 2019: 29p/130F; 2020: 38p/190F
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James Strickland FL
Posts: 2249
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 8:04 pm
Location: Reidsville NC
Martin Colony History: 2017 Had a lot visitors no Matins nesting, hoping 2018 will be different.
2018 Had 1 pair
2019 had 30 pair

Thanks Everyone and I hope to be bigger next year. I am are already looking at what I need to do. I wish others would put up houses around here.

Okie, I never lower my houses when I know that my young are at 25 days old. I have houses that are over water and I can not go after them if they fly onto the water.
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Okie
Posts: 541
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:26 pm
Location: Claremore, OK
Martin Colony History: 2016 Informed landlord now Have 2 pair returning from 2015 That is a miracle. Hoping for a very successful year, sparrow population on decline.
First house was plastic with crescent holes Had martins within a few days. Ignorant landlord gradually lost them
Then got Trio House and still lost most of them. Lots of sparrows

James Strickland FL wrote: Okie, I never lower my houses when I know that my young are at 25 days old. I have houses that are over water and I can not go after them if they fly onto the water.
That was my philosophy but when everyone was talking about plugging but never mentioned the danger of premature fledging upon lowering the house it really confused me.
After losing those 2 I will NEVER lower the house again during that time. I still feel horrible that those 2 most likely died due to my action.
Okie
PMCA member
2016 Started with 2 pair, 1 pair abandoned after HOSP destroyed eggs
1 pair= 6 eggs, 6 fledged
2017 1 pair so far, But they abandoned before nest complete for ?reason? Now Bridless and joined the Wannabes
2018 One pair ASY male SY female 5 eggs, 5 fledged
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4th Gen Martin Fan
Posts: 1498
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:19 pm
Location: TN/Collierville
Martin Colony History: I have been exposed to purple martin sounds in utero when my mother went out to get my father away from his martin colony.
I played around the martin colony every summer and watched as my father maintained his colony. In the late 50's until the 70's he did not notice European Starlings in south Texas.
When old enough, I helped maintain his colony. My primary task was eliminating English House Sparrows with a 1956 Benjamin 317 .177 air rifle.
When I settled into my own home, I started my first colony with an original Trio Castle and Trio Grandpa. When I moved again, I did not put up any martin houses. Frustration with European Starlings in the Southeast US was overwhelming.
Found PMCA Forum and learned about modern enlarged compartments and SREHs.
Inherited my father's last martin house, a Trio Grandma, modified it to modern specifications and have had good results since then.

Okie,
I am sorry about the potential loss of your two fledglings. You took a risk because you were considering the benefits of removing the trap. I would assume that the trap or entrance did not have a restrictor hole to exclude martins. I understand your concern.

I recently was contacted by a landlord who wanted me to check his T14 house. He was the new martin landlord after moving into the "people" house two weeks ago. Since neither of us knew the status of the nests I took a calculated risk in lowering the house. I lowered the house as slowly as I could and opened each section. When I opened one section I saw a very developed and mature nestling by itself. From its appearance it probably was going to fledge in one to two days. Its nest mates had probably already fledged. Although it may have been an adult, I doubt it.
It was one of those moments when I thought that I had pushed my luck. I treated all of the other nests in that house and knew that I had helped many nestlings because of the rampant mite infestation. As I raised the house back up, I was expecting the mature nestling to prematurely fledge, but it did not.
Just as badly as you feel about the possible loss of your 2 fledglings, I felt just as lucky.
In these circumstances, it is risks vs. benefits. You are a more experienced and better landlord from this experience.
Thank you for sharing your story and I hope that mine shows that it can just as easily go the other way.
Mark.
Mark.
Firm believer in HOSP/EUST Control, Enlarged Compartments, SREHs, Pole Predator Guards, Owl/Hawk Guards, Mite/Parasite Control, Housing Insulation, and Vents for Compartment Cooling.
PMCA Member.
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marcus
Posts: 314
Joined: Tue May 10, 2016 10:21 pm
Location: Fairland OK
Martin Colony History: Mom n Dad had a plastic 12 unit martin house with some martins as long as I can remember. In 2013 they had 1 pair. I don't think they fledged any. I then started learning how to take care of martins and in 2014 we took that house down and put up a Troyer 18 gourd rack. We had 7 pair with 28 fledged.That summer I built a T-14 (I was only 12). I was also given 4 natural gourds that I hung beneath the T-14. In 2015, we had 23 pair although only 22 pair fledged young. They fledged 88 young. In 2016, we had 36 pair, 210 eggs, 163 hatched, 149 fledge!! One pair fledged 2 broods. In 2017, I had 36 pair with 35 fledging young. They laid 204 eggs, hatched 155, and fledged 152.

Okie,
When there are multiple pairs, there are always some parents around to help any young that fledge when you lower the house. But with this experience I understand why you wouldn't want it to happen again. If you could some how plug the holes before lowering, that would be soooo nice. Best wishes, -Marcus
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John Evans
Posts: 323
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:56 pm
Location: Cocoa Beach Florida

Congratulations James. Wishing your birds a safe journey.

With the exceptions of Mark's situation, what are the benefits of lowering the house if you know some birds are close to fledge? When I hear that familiar chirp from the nests I know I am too late. If you monitor your colony my feeling is you you do a final nest check about a week before..Unless it's an emergency, Am I missing something?

John
PMCA Member
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taxidermy lady
Posts: 2988
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 10:21 am
Location: IL/Ellis Grove
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!

That is a fantastic martin colony! You'll have a super colony next year??? Great job James! Goodluck next year! :)
Sharon from southern Illinois
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Donnie Hurdt MN
Posts: 1723
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 11:14 pm
Location: North Prairie, MN

James, I am so glad you had a great year! I do hope that next year will be even better for you. :grin: Wow, no noticed predators! even better.
A nesting pair of Coopers Hawks in the woods near my site is what I think that kept me from having martins again this year. The few visitors that I did have always seemed to get alarmed and leave in a hurry giving alarm calls. The hawks were seen many times in the yard hunting birds or other prey even catching frogs in the pond.
On the other hand though the site that I manage at a local camp grounds has more nesting pair than ever before and I have a house up at my youngest son's place and after many years of waiting he got two pair this year. :grin: So all is not lost, I will hope that next year the hawks will not be back and the martins will come to nest.
PMCA member and Martin fanatic....
2011 A pair of subbies fledged three young but none returned in 2012 :-(
2015 One Pair of subbies came and stayed a few nits but got chased away by Bluebirds and Tree swallows. :-(
2017 0ne pair of subbies nested and fledged 4 young
2018 Tree Swallows AGAIN chased away any martins that wanted to nest :evil:
2019 Same old story................ :-(
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Okie
Posts: 541
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:26 pm
Location: Claremore, OK
Martin Colony History: 2016 Informed landlord now Have 2 pair returning from 2015 That is a miracle. Hoping for a very successful year, sparrow population on decline.
First house was plastic with crescent holes Had martins within a few days. Ignorant landlord gradually lost them
Then got Trio House and still lost most of them. Lots of sparrows

4th Gen Martin Fan wrote:Okie,
I am sorry about the potential loss of your two fledglings. You took a risk because you were considering the benefits of removing the trap. I would assume that the trap or entrance did not have a restrictor hole to exclude martins. I understand your concern.

Just as badly as you feel about the possible loss of your 2 fledglings, I felt just as lucky.
In these circumstances, it is risks vs. benefits. You are a more experienced and better landlord from this experience.
Thank you for sharing your story and I hope that mine shows that it can just as easily go the other way.
Mark.
Thanks for your sensitive post Mark. And any traps I put in have sparrow sized holes, not big enough for martins. Obviously never want to trap a martin.
And yes I did learn this year. Dispense with sparrow trapping until babies fledge. I presume when babies get that big they are less vulnerable to evils of the sparrows.
And I agree with John Evans. I will not lower the house during fledging. I am thinking that maybe I am supposed to oil the pole on my Trio as it squeaks horribly during any action. That is probably what spooked them.
Okie
PMCA member
2016 Started with 2 pair, 1 pair abandoned after HOSP destroyed eggs
1 pair= 6 eggs, 6 fledged
2017 1 pair so far, But they abandoned before nest complete for ?reason? Now Bridless and joined the Wannabes
2018 One pair ASY male SY female 5 eggs, 5 fledged
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tonyg
Posts: 1520
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 4:16 pm
Location: Olpe, KS
Martin Colony History: 22 year landlord, 14 at current residence..offering 9 racks and a homemade T-8 for 166 total cavities. 160 Pair in 2018 Racks consist of a Deluxe 12, AAA 16, Starburst 16, 2 K-18 Series, Super 24, 2 Gemini, Multi-purpose/two trio’s/4gourds and a T-8..Great hobby to be involved in..

Congrats on a great season James!! Hope you succeed on next seasons wishes!
22 year landlord..9 Rack Systems for 2018 and my home built T-8 for a total of 166 cavities..160 pair in 2018 ..SUPER COLONY!!! Love You Bev... Fan of those St. Louis Cardinals!!!!!
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