Rembering your first pair of Martins

[MamaBruff]

My shiny new Trendsetter was put up this year, shortly after we moved "out in the country"... The first ASY martin stopped by on March 31, and then I had an assortment of PM visitors off and on. It was hard to tell who was SYM and SYF. Then it happened! On May 31 Bill and Alice (their official names, after my grandparents who always had martins) settled in to compartment #9 and got right busy building a nest. Bill went first, diving down to get bits of cypress mulch. Alice followed, under his watchful eye. He brought green tree leaves and rose petals to line the nest. The SYMs followed then and mimicked their actions. Another ASYM/SYF pair built a nest, but the female disappeared one stormy night. So Bill and Alice became my "Precious", my one and only pair. Mr Precious was a good hunter, hauling in all sorts of bugs for his 2 chicks. So graceful and handsome. Mrs Precious became "Mamatude" when any person or animal was present in the back yard. She even chased off the SYMs when they got too close to her nest! But my Precious founding pair NEVER protested, no more than their normal sounds when I worked with their house and gently handled their babies. The two babies were a day apart, and the difference became more apparent as they grew older. Both appeared to be thriving (to my untrained, newbie eyes) at 20 days, my final nest check... and on day 26, Miss Biggy fledged with fanfare! (But the little one had expired several days previous, sadly. I was unable to determine the cause of her demise.) My Precious Three flew all around the site, taking breaks for baby, and then they flew northeast at dusk, towards a roosting site, I assume. I saw them do fly-bys for the next couple of days. I heard them call and I waved and called back. Then they were gone.

The Precious Purple Martins and I learned a lot this first year together, and I am convinced- and think they are too- that we will do better next year! Hopefully Bill and Alice will return safely, "Miss Biggy"(or Mr. Biggy) will find a mate upon her homecoming, and the SYMs who called my site "home" will do the same.

PS: The PMCA forum members taught me so much and helped me along like only friends can do. I can't imagine being a newbie landlord without them!

[dhjohnson]

Great post Mary!
Thanks for sharing your personal experiences!
Best wishes for a successful 2014 season!
Debbie

What happened to Tammy Bears...we both started colonies the same year! I followed her posts religiously! Tammy Bears...how was 2013?

[James Strickland FL]

When I was a boy in Al it was in the 1960's. Everyone had Gourds up on the farms near me. I had all real gourds back then. In 2005 I had put up 24 Super Gourds on a canal in a house that I just bought in a open area. I later put up a Mk-12. BOth had a pair. I had to start back over in 2008 after leaving my house for a year and had to take down all of my houses during that year. It was a few year before I was able to get more martins. I think that back in the 60's there were a lot more people that keep martins and over the years it has went down. We know that the more martins in an area you are more likely in getting to your start up colony. I hope that this year I can double the numbers and can increase each year after that. I have not done anything really different from when I was a boy, but I am glad to have them again in my life. I have already started getting things set-up for this year and it will be happening in just about 3 months from now.

[dhjohnson]

James,
Great history and best of luck expanding in 2014. I followed your posts last year and celebrated right along with you!
Debbie

[ken buker]

Hello Debbie,

It has been a while but I posted my experience of becoming a martin landlord after 30+ years trying back in 2005. Rather than rewrite it I attached the following link so you can access it in my forum post archives.

http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewt ... highlight=

Hope you enjoy it.

Ken Buker

[dhjohnson]

Okay Ken,
That was truely a memorable story!

Laverne,
What about yours? Haven't heard from you in quite a while! Please share your memories with us all! You gave me some very good advice my first year! You have great experience to share!
Thanks for that one Ken!
Debbie

[Martin man RI]

First Pair 1994 1 Pair 2 fledged. First trio house given to me as a gift.
Managed over 100 pairs in 2013 First colony seen in the 1970's along a
road way. Why so important to place sites in public eye. Had it not been for
this historic colony along a road I probably would have never had the passion to save Martins. Thats why today most of my sites are in public
locations and seen by many. Took two years to get first pair. The location
was 18 miles away from the nearest colony in central RI

Ray

[dhjohnson]

Rode Island Man,
Another inspirational gem!
Public sites are so important but can be troublesome sometimes. One our public sites in NC was recently vandalized. What do you do? Go on. The motivation comes from within! Offer to help when you can. Show others it is an important campaign that gives back as much as it receives! The personal satisfaction is reward enough!
Thanks to everyone willing to share and inspire us new comers that are beginning to understand what it is all about!
Best of luck to everyone in 2014!
Debbie

[phldave]

I read in this post that sometimes the female stays on the nest during nest checks. Do you dare disturb her to check out the clutch, or do you just leave her alone. Will she move enough for you to look at the eggs? Share your experiences with this. Do any stay put when you slide the nest tray out?

Thanks,
Dave

[dhjohnson]

Pldave,
Just read the bird. Some moved over for me to check eggs, some didn't. Their eyes will show their trust or fear! Give them some space if they seem flighty. Others don't have their rmind up yet so they will move over a bit so you can still count eggs! Get to know your birds and let them get to trust you. They are very forgiving and very devoted to their clutch! If they leave, they will return!
Best of luck in 2014!
Debbie

[Ron Shaffer]

..6/2/04...very special day for me. Finally...that elusive 1st pair was carrying in nesting material!! I was so tickled I could barely stand it....suddenly here comes my wife in our big toyota FourRunner...but at the time I would have sworn it was Dale Jr. or Tony Stewart...she was going soooo fast!! My racks are alongside the driveway, so I'm giving her the universal slow down signal - pushing palms down below the waist.. She clearly sees me...but she ain't slowin down for nothin!!..my joy is rapidly turning to rage!! I just knew she was gonna scare that male off as he was making several trips to the ground to get material.

....she jumps out of the SUV, crying, shaking, and flapping her hands like a fledgling in late July.....I'M PREGNANT!!!!!

I broke down in tears of joy, and forgot all about my birds. I was lucky enough to attract that first pair my first year of trying, but we had been trying to become parents for nearly 7 years.
Thanks to Dr. Steven Stanley of Marietta, OH for finally diagnosing her properly.

[dhjohnson]

Ron,
A truely great story. One I'm sure sure you will never forget and ones you can share with the next generation! My grown kids indulge me in my martin passion but they watch the birds too! They laugh at their antics and enjoy them coming and going!
Thanks for sharing your story and best of luck for the 2014 season!
Debbie