So...amazingly, I feel that I have four nesting pairs! I've counted almost 11 birds at the box at one time. I've seen nest material and leaves going into three cavities for sure, and I'm pretty sure about the fourth. I can't see the box at all hours, so I may be missing some stuff. I did the first nest check today because I felt that the birds were very attached to the site and unlikely to be scared off. When I showed up for it, no birds were right at the box, so that's a plus. Found five eggs in one cavity and three in another! WhooHoo!
Interestingly enough, most of the birds I would classify as ASY males and females. I might have a SY male or two just recently. I'm going to go over my photos soon to try to be sure. I just know that the two nests that have eggs are definitely sired by ASY males. Isn't that odd for a new colony? The old martin box still has two nests in it. Presumably those are returning birds from last year which have site fidelity. Maybe they had more martin pairs last year than they knew of and some of them switched to the T14. Otherwise, I'd wonder if a nearby colony had bad luck last year and I've got their birds.
I am absolutely thrilled to see so many birds making use of the new housing. I believe that SY birds should still be arriving here for a little longer. So who knows what this year might bring.
My wife was seriously fed up with the songbird magnet at our old house. It is SO wonderful to hear natural warbling and chatter and see their activities. Hopefully this site can make a ton more fledglings to go out and kick off colonies for local landlord wannabes.
Good luck to everyone out there. There's a little more hope for those in central Michigan. Thanks again to those to gave advice and guidance.
Cheers!
