The School Colony: 9 of 23 young lost last week

[Scully]

Wednesday of last week, right before the record cold front hit we went out and did nest checks. In our 48 gourds were found 23 small young among five nests. and 175 eggs among thirty-six nests, six gourds with no eggs or young.

I was mostly concerned about the nestlings, and the effect that perhaps 48 hours of limited feeding would have on them.

Only 14 or those 23 nestlings survived to this week, and among the nestlings in those nests that survived the difference in size already apparent between nestlings was stark, certainly more than normal will become runts.

Effects of the inclement weather on eggs is harder to judge: It appears that two of those 36 clutches of eggs will not hatch, and one clutch was lost to causes unknown. However, these are the sort of losses that can occur even in perfect weather.

That the cold snap DID have an effect on eggs though seems plain. Many of our new broods hatched out since then gave rise to far fewer nestlings than expected, including one clutch of six eggs that gave rise to just one young, all the other eggs having disappeared.

To put it in a nutshell, last week we had 41 nests with eggs or young for a total of 198 eggs and young combined.

This week we have 87 young among twenty-five nests, and 90 eggs among twenty-two nests.

This week we have 45 nests with eggs and young for a total of just 177 eggs and young combined. Sounds like a lot but it represents a net loss of 21 eggs and young since last week despite the initiation of four new clutches. Many losses are inevitable I know, even in good years, but we are not used to seeing this many losses this early.

At lest the remaining young in depleted nests will have a better chance at survival now should this prove to be a hard year.

Martins are indeed susceptible to weather. Fortunately no dead ones picked up around the colony after a severe thunderstorm with dime-size hail this morning.


Mike Scully

[Patrick W. Dusek]

yes the low temps was very tuff on the eggs, had one nest with 6 eggs and only one hatched.

Later, Patrick

[Louise Chambers]

We lost most of our eggs (about 2 doz nests had eggs, only a couple of them hatched after the cold, and only 1 hatched out of 6 eggs in those that hatched). Martins are busy laying more eggs. We did not lose any of our birds that we know of, a couple of the migrants that were stalled here looked very bad and probably did not survive, but most did.

[Peggy Riley]

I have several nests that only hatched 2-3 chicks too. Glad to see the weather getting back to normal.

[sille59]

This is my first time dealing with cold weather and the effect on eggs. Normally once it turns warm here it stays. I live in south Alabama and had extended cloudy and cool days around May 4 & 5. I know several posted concerns about the martins being gone from the nest, and the eggs being damaged. Question is how would I know the eggs are damaged and what should be done if anything? Do the martins remove non-viable eggs, or just lay additional ones among the damaged ones? Tim

[Peggy Riley]

Sille59 it can be hard to tell bad eggs from good ones. If you have nests with chicks and unhatched eggs I'd wait several days before removing the bad eggs. But I'd definitely remove them.

If all the eggs are bad she will usually lay again. Some remove the eggs and some don't.

Peggy

[Scully]

Ya, I've had nests with up to ten eggs in them; an old clutch and a new one. That many does appear to affect the hatching of the good clutch, but in many cases you cannot tell good egg from bad.

In our colony, the reverberations of that cold spell continue, with two presumably bad clutches disappearing and the demise of those young rendered runts by the bad weather.

123 young among thirty-four nests, 27 eggs among eight nests, six gourds with no eggs or young.

So... before the cold snap... 198 eggs and young. Last Friday 177 eggs and young. Yesterday 150 eggs and young.

My sense of it is though the effect has "bottomed out" and I look to those empty gourds to pick up new clutches. Still, that puts the late/renesters in peril of summer heat.

One thing you learn keeping martins is just how unique the weather on any given year turns out to be. Can't say we've had any identical years in all the years we've been paying attention.

Mike Scully

[Peggy Riley]

I found a whole nest of 7 eggs gone yesterday. She laid about the time the weather turned bad about a month ago.

Mike your right about the heat and later clutches. I'd rather they fledge in June but always have a big bunch in the heat of July.

Thanks for doing what you do!!!

Peggy