Martins of the Corn Have Youngins'!

avesrun · Fri Jun 17, 2016 7:31 pm

I was VERY surprised when nest checking my lone asy pair nest today to find that 5 of the 6 eggs are hatched. Cute little pinkies a day old. Phase 2 of three is complete! The male and female have been in/out of the nest gourd feeding. I'm concerned mostly about the heat. We've been in the high 80s and low to mid 90s . Tomorrow high is 90 and Fathers' Day is supposed to be 95. I thought about putting a shade panel above the nest gourd but am leary to change anything for fear of messing them up. If they can survive the next two days it's supposed to be back in 80s next week. Anyway, 3 out of 4 phases complete (nest; check eggs;check hatch; check)! Phase 4 is FLEDGE so here we go. I've been battling House Wrens tying to take over empty gourds on the rack. I wanted to close the entrances to the empty gourds but decided against it; don't want to steer them toward the nest gourd. House sparrows have been a non-issue for weeks; however, as luck has it I spotted a male AND female on the rackjust minutes ago. I hope they find the one or both of the two spar o door traps I have on the trio house with the gourds. Otherwise, the shotgun will be deployed soon. The martin pair have become quite accustomed to shotgun blasts with the several starlings I've eliminated this season.
Heres a photo of my setup; you can see how high the corn is presently; I think moving the pole further out into the open is what helped me get this pair this season. The martin nest is in the THGourd on the lower left:

My satellite Purple Martin Lake is doing well. As of nest check today:
13 nests
59 eggs of which 15 have hatched.
Best of rest of season everyone!
TimG

taxidermy lady · Fri Jun 17, 2016 7:45 pm

Get the fireworks out!

What a boom at purple Martin lake! That's super Tim!
I've had house wrens in and out of gourds too! What's with this? Are they bored?

Good luck at both your sites!

pmartinlover2 · Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:10 pm

That's a cool looking site Tim! Think what it will look like from above in a plane. The Martians have landed!!! Only its martins! I love it. Are your gourds vented? I have 2 nests that have hatched this week in the 101* heat index and they are doing fine. THG have 2 vents and the Excluder has 1. Good luck with your babies!
_____
Jody

Archer · Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:48 pm

Hi Tim, I must commend that farmer in that situation for allowing you to set up in the middle of his field(For all I know, its your field). Most would not allow it and this one deserves an honorable mention.

warbird · Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:04 am

Congratulations nice setup and I like the name of your colony

avesrun · Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:20 am

Thanks everyone! Enjoying father's day a.m. watching the asy parents in/out feeding the babes.

Sharon: the house wrens can be a serious threat for a new colony. Whichever of my bluebird boxes don't get used I allow the wrens to nest in. I've tried not allowing wrens but it makes for even more trouble with Martin housing. I do not let them on the rack period. They will peck eggs.

Jody I do have two pvc vents on all gourds and sure am glad for it with these temps!

Archer I do own the portion of the corn field with the Martin house and get a small amount of rent $ from farmer. So small that I told him to keep the $ for putting up with the Martin housing. I hope it keeps him pacified. He's a nice farmer and I I'm trying to maintain good relationship.
Best of season all; I'm counting the days to fledged time for the founding pair.
TimG

Peter Alberda · Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:02 pm

How far is the house from your home? I'm thinking about moving mine out for next year but that will put me about 150 feet from our home. It would also move them to about 75 feet from the nearest tree.

avesrun · Tue Jun 21, 2016 11:41 am

Hey Peter: Just caught your note here at work. I don't have the exact measurement but pretty sure the martin setup in the corn is at least 100 ft. from my home dwelling; maybe even a little farther. I know there is a lot of truth (and security benefits) to martins liking to be near human houses but I don't think it's a crucial factor. My satellite site w/ 13 pair in its second successful season doesn't have human housing anywhere near it. There is one house about a mile away but that's it.

I think moving my martin setup FURTHER AWAY from my home and more into the open really helped me get my first pair at home and could help you too. It's my opinion that you need to explore all options after several seasons of seeing martins but not getting nesters. If you do get martins after moving the pole further out into the open, after your colony gets established you could always move the poles a little bit closer back toward your home little by little once the side fidelity kicks in. I may end up doing so myself. Best of luck and I hope you join me in getting some "martins of the corn" (If anyone is wondering about that, "martins of the corn" is a play on the title of a horror/suspense movie that came years ago titled "Children of the Corn")

It's about some kids that kept disappearing when they would venture out into a corn field.
TimG

taxidermy lady · Tue Jun 21, 2016 2:11 pm

I will put my 2 cents worth into this subject! (I'm really green)!!! I believe Tim is right because ever since I moved mine out about 30 ft. I'm getting a lot more visitors this year! Now is that why? Who knows! I am about 92 ft. From my shed with the redneck pool and garden close by! Good luck! Give it a shot!