Leaving

[Rupert]

Looks like my Martins are starting to thin out. What is the protocol for leaving ,what ages leave first, do they leave by family groups, etc. Any knowledge would be most appreciated.

[jamesjohnson5551]

Three to seven eggs (average four to six) are laid and incubated by the female for 16 days. The young are fed small insects at first, which are increased in size as the young birds grow. This continues until the young birds fledge after about 28 days. After fledging, the brood is kept together for one to two weeks, returning to the nest cavity for awhile for the night and/or during daytime thunderstorms. Shortly after fledging, martins begin pre-migratory flocking and soon return to South America. By the end of September, most Purple Martins have left Texas for the wintering grounds. Ninety percent of the Purple Martin population is believed to winter in and around the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Others can be found east of the Andes from Venezuela north to northern Bolivia.

[James Strickland FL]

As I have found through the years. This time of the year you will have the martins around 9 or 10 show up and though out the day. In the evening you may see a few. Most of what they are doing is showing the fledglings how to catch insects and building up there wings for the big flight. At night they are already sleeping in big groups. You may see a lot of martins from around other colonies to see your set-up for next year. It is not likely that your young will come back as SY'S to your site. I think we have about 2 weeks left before they will be gone for the year.

[Mark Peters]

My young ones are not ready to leave. I am thinking 2nd week of July before I see them heading out.

Houston, Tx

[onthelakejake]

This is my third year trying to attract martins. This year I put up 3 pods and all 3 attracted mating pairs. I now have 10 young in various stages of development. I left last years house up even though it has no nests. Now that the young are learning to fly the old house has become very popular. I think I'm getting visitors in addition to fledglings from my own colony. I counted 17 flying birds this morning and still have 5 young birds in one nest. The 5 will likely be fledgling this week. I hate to see them leave but am excited about the next season. I'm planning on putting up at least 6 more pods and will continue to offer the house for visitors as well. My relative patience has paid off. Any suggestions on the number of pods I should add for next year? Are six enough? I have plenty of room for more.