Broussard LA. 2025 Season Thread

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LCM
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2025 4:33 pm
Location: Many Louisiana
Martin Colony History: Have had martins 20 years, I have anywhere from 6 pair to 10 pair
yearly.

Broussard La. reply to season thread
Extremely informative. All the years I have had purple martins, I have worked and never took the time to do the homework of the different age groups of martins.
I am extremely happy and thankful to report that on March 6, 2025 I seen what appeared to be an adult male, didn’t see again until today March 12. With adult male are 2 other Martins, for sure one is a female and I’m not sure of the other.
There is an all out war between those 3 Martins and 2 bluebirds.
Totally my fault BECAUSE out of ignorance I have allowed box after box of bluebird boxes to yield bluebirds that I placed to close to the Martin boxes. Now I’m paying for it, so here is wha I’ve done. In January of 2025 the light came on so I relocated several bluebird boxes in the neighboring pasture away from the Martin houses. They are everything a bluebird could want. Seems they all took the relocated boxes fine except for one pair 😢. I really don’t know what to do about this feisty relentless pair. Any one would be so kind as to give any ideas? Thank you
Sincerely and God Bess from Many La.
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

LCM wrote: ↑
Wed Mar 12, 2025 1:33 pm
 Broussard La. reply to season thread
Extremely informative. All the years I have had purple martins, I have worked and never took the time to do the homework of the different age groups of martins.
I am extremely happy and thankful to report that on March 6, 2025 I seen what appeared to be an adult male, didn’t see again until today March 12. With adult male are 2 other Martins, for sure one is a female and I’m not sure of the other.
There is an all out war between those 3 Martins and 2 bluebirds.
Totally my fault BECAUSE out of ignorance I have allowed box after box of bluebird boxes to yield bluebirds that I placed to close to the Martin boxes. Now I’m paying for it, so here is wha I’ve done. In January of 2025 the light came on so I relocated several bluebird boxes in the neighboring pasture away from the Martin houses. They are everything a bluebird could want. Seems they all took the relocated boxes fine except for one pair 😢. I really don’t know what to do about this feisty relentless pair. Any one would be so kind as to give any ideas? Thank you
Sincerely and God Bess from Many La.
LCM— thanks. You’re going to do fine. Seems like you have a couple of martins taking interest already. Please create a subject/post so we can follow your progress.

Take care.
David
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

14 March: At the evening arrival, two male ASYs were doing some serious fighting over a compartment on the 4 unit house. They locked up and went down to the ground 3 or 4 times. My schnauzer was out there, and I was a bit worried he’d catch one on the ground.

I have many birds at this point, but no nest building yet. No subbies spotted yet.
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

I shot a really good video of the PMs coming in tonight. I recorded it in 4k HD, and the result was really nice. It’s a bit long but there’s so much interesting things to see.. up in the sky you’ll see many swirling around for quite a while. They arrive in groups and make loud, shrill calls as they arrive. And the chatter towards the end is very loud. Seems to be a happy group. I’m guessing I have about 26 total.

https://youtu.be/wccZPxBATSw?si=ujETWA332ig2xuGP

Shift to landscape mode if watching on your phone :)



David-
Broussard La.
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

Lowered the rack yesterday— no nests, but many compartments have a few leaves in them… any day now.

No Sub adults yet.

About 26-28 martins total coming in at night.


Good weather
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Thomas Maddox
Posts: 442
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:23 pm
Location: Sulphur, Louisiana

Any time now the nest building will begin! Great weather here in SWLA also. Thanks for the update
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

6 April. SY males arrive. Behaving at the moment. This one little fella has only a bright purple head and chin/neck area.. no splotches yet.

Lots of nest building started up too. It’s like they paused everything to wait for the really strong southerly winds to cease. For about 5 days the winds were very strong and gusty 24 hrs a day. Crazy. I ended up lowering the rack quite a bit.
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

14 nests. 4 vacancies….

One or two may have eggs.. mamas didnt leave during check.

No issues with HS or Starlings.
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Thomas Maddox
Posts: 442
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:23 pm
Location: Sulphur, Louisiana

dsonyay wrote: ↑
Sat Apr 12, 2025 8:12 pm
 14 nests. 4 vacancies….

One or two may have eggs.. mamas didnt leave during check.

No issues with HS or Starlings.
Nice. Have you been able to control their numbers or you just don't have them?
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

Thomas Maddox wrote: ↑
Sun Apr 13, 2025 10:05 am
dsonyay wrote: ↑
Sat Apr 12, 2025 8:12 pm
 14 nests. 4 vacancies….

One or two may have eggs.. mamas didnt leave during check.

No issues with HS or Starlings.
Nice. Have you been able to control their numbers or you just don't have them?
Controlled by air rifle and starling resistant openings. :). Once in a while I see a starling try to enter, but have never had issues with them entering.

HS are a bit problematic around here ever since a neighbor moved next door and has bird feeders. :(
But my air rifle has ended any trespasser trying to nest. She feeds the type seeds HS are not prone to like, but it seems to attract them anyway. We also have a lot of nesting House Finches in the area and they seem to be territorial with the HS population. But yeah, I have to keep an eye out for HS.
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LCM
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2025 4:33 pm
Location: Many Louisiana
Martin Colony History: Have had martins 20 years, I have anywhere from 6 pair to 10 pair
yearly.

Good morning everyone, I often wondered why I have NEVER had house sparrows. Maybe hopefully it’s because I have SO many finches, purple house American etc.
Glad to have this knowledge as to potentially why.
Starlings, another story. Just know that’s the reason for decline. I’m ready now though, bring it on, lol
Linda from Many La
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

Dawn Song:

First morning of Dawn Song this season. Loud and clear

https://youtube.com/shorts/zzR77pm57LQ? ... BkdJlIo0eS
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LCM
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2025 4:33 pm
Location: Many Louisiana
Martin Colony History: Have had martins 20 years, I have anywhere from 6 pair to 10 pair
yearly.

Music to my ears Mr Dsonyay, thank you for sharing!!
Linda from Many La
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Mstan
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2024 7:52 pm
Location: Missouri
Martin Colony History: 2023 two gourd racks 24 gourds ,kept no records. Became an official landlord. 2024 28 gourds keeping records.

I really like your rack set up. Thank you for the video.
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

Mstan wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 17, 2025 9:40 am
 I really like your rack set up. Thank you for the video.
Thanks vm.. ds
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

LCM wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 17, 2025 9:36 am
 Music to my ears Mr Dsonyay, thank you for sharing!!
Linda from Many La
Thanks.. yeah I usually hear these calls high in the sky in the early morning hours, but starting last season I began getting these great songs from inside the gourd rack. Up close and loud. Very cool!
Last edited by dsonyay on Sat Apr 19, 2025 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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brent
Posts: 1160
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 2:43 pm
Location: Raceland, Louisiana

Awesome!! I heard one here the other morning. Can’t believe how loud they can be. Thanks for sharing.
Brent
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dsonyay
Posts: 1627
Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:10 pm
Location: Louisiana/Broussard
Martin Colony History: 2010-2014 located in Slidell LA. Gourd rack with 16 gourds. Max of 2 pairs during this short period in Slidell. Plenty of fledglings.

2014-present.. moved to Broussard LA. Same Gourd Rack but added a 6 room house (modified from a 12 room)

2020: after a long drought of nothing, 4 pairs and 4 nests, 23 eggs total.
6 fledges.

2021: 9 pair, 47 eggs
36 hatchlings
30 fledged

2022: about 12 pairs.. many eggs, all fledged.. only had one hatchling die.. probably because of our schnauzer. :(

2023: 16 pairs. So far about 60 chicks with about a dozen eggs to go.

2024: 13 pair. About 60 eggs

19 April.

Egg laying begins.

4 eggs total in 3 compartments .

14 of 18 compartments with nests.

Edit: And quite a bit of ASY/SY fighting. Particularly in compartment two. (The house).

Take care all
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