First nest checks revealed a pleasant surprise. A pair of ASY martins remained in gourd #4 and I was able to catch both by hand. The female with band ES 02 2014 on her right leg was a four year old martin hatched here on June 11, 2014. She has returned home in 2015, 2016, 2017 and now this year. I have had her in hand every year as she usually remains in her nest for me. She must remember the frequent handling as a nestling and shows no fear. She has made 3.5 round trips from here to South America! She is nesting in the same gourd rack that she hatched from. She was one of four nestlings banded at 11 days of age from gourd #1. Her brother with band #5 also returned as a SY IN 2015 and has also returned as an ASY in 2016 and 2017. I have not identified him this year but he may be among the other red banded martins here this year. I have 6 or 7 red banded martins return each year from 5 of the years that we have banded. All are banded with a federal band on the left leg and a red band on the right. The colored bands stand out much better than the federal bands and can be read with a good pair of binoculars or a spotting scope, unlike the federal bands which require the bird to be captured.
Even if you do not have the opportunity to band your martin nestlings, frequent nest checks are key to assuring that some of your nestlings return home for years to come. I initially contacted the local Audubon affiliate to see if they could refer me to a local licensed bird bander. The rest is history as we collect data about natal dispersal of our banded birds as they are reported. Most returning martins are within a radius of 25 miles. They have been reported from 5 outlying martin colonies. This year, I also have an ASY male with an orange band on his left leg.
From this year forward, the bands will still be red but with a white embossed WI for Wisconsin and sequentually numbered from 001 and beyond with no year included. They should be easier to read less imprints.
Conduct frequent nest checks to produce as many martins as possible.
Ed
Red band Wi 02 2014
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Ed Svetich-WI
- Posts: 815
- Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2004 10:05 pm
- Location: Brooks, Wi (McGinnis Lake)
- Martin Colony History: 24 Super and Excluder Gourds on two gourd racks, all SREH. Full occupancy. My philosophy is to maximize fledge % with existing cavities rather than adding gourds to grow colony, thus providing opportunities for new colony expansion. Fledge over 100 nestlings yearly from 24 gourds. Band nestlings in cooperation with state university. 2019 Adendum: Reduced colony size to 12 gourds to focus on more intensive management regimen.
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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.
Very interesting! Thank you!