My Best & Worst year ever

[ToyinPA]

This has been my best & worst year combined.

Best:
Most pair ever 17. 12 ASY Males, 8 ASY Females, 5 SY Males, 9 SY Females. I had another SY male for a few days, but he moved on.

Most eggs laid 83.

Worst:
Arrival was late, like most in the Northern states, due to bad weather during migration. May was very wet here. We only had about 6 days of sun & no rain. May was also very cold with nights dipping into the low 30's. We also had a lot of northerly winds.

Nest building was difficult for the martins. They started, stopped, started again, several times. Finally they built in the rain.

Eggs laid 83 - 57 bad, so far = 26 eggs left to hatch. 8 eggs in nests yet. One is a re-nest with 6 eggs, the other is a late nest with 2 eggs. Egg loss was due to the cold wet weather. None were destroyed. They just didn't hatch.

I had several re-nests. One pair laid 11 eggs total, another 9, another 8, etc. Several did not re-nest.

18 eggs hatched. 9 chicks died. 3 were a couple weeks old & got sick. 2 were about a week old & got sick. I could not save them. The other 4 were newborns that died within 2-4 days of hatching. I suspect Coccidiosis (It is a parasitic disease of the intestinal tract of animals caused by coccidian protozoa. The disease spreads from one animal to another by contact with infected feces or ingestion of infected tissue. Diarrhea, which may become bloody in severe cases, is the primary symptom). Parents pass it on to their chicks during feeding. It can kill a chick in 1-2 days or later.

3 have fledged. One chick I rescued off the ground 3 times. He needed some TLC for a few days then he was ready. His parents had stopped feeding him, because they wanted him to fledge, but he couldn't fly yet. He actually sat on the balcony railing & rode the whole way down 3 times. He just sat there looking at me. I walked right up to him & picked him up. He knew I would fed him, so he sat still.

Many left for the roost a week or so ago. There are 11 or 12 martins here yet.

There are 6 chicks in nests yet. 3 are due to fledge next week & the other 3 just hatched a few days ago.

So if the last 6 make it I will only have 9 fledge this year. WAY below normal.

I was hoping the last 2 nests (8 eggs total) would hatch, but it looks like the pair with 6 eggs has abandoned the nest. I think the female may have gotten killed by a hawk, while at the river feeding. I have not seen her. The male was here 2 days ago, but haven't seen him since. The other nest the female has been sitting on her eggs, but they are past due now. So if neither nest hatches my egg loss will be 65 eggs lost out of 83. That's a 78% loss.... add in the chicks that died & dang!! that's about 90% loss this year :(.

I went thru about 5000 crickets this year & part of a bag of meal worms. Changed several nests for blow-fly & bird lice.

Another thing we noticed is the Hummingbird population is way down as well. Hardly any here this year. Others in my area reporting the same.

So this has been my worst year ever in 20 years. It looked like it would be a bumper crop year at first then things turned for the worst. Disease can take a chick in 1-2 days, or even just before they are due to fledge, & there is nothing you can do. Nature is nature.

I pray next year will be better.

Toy in PA

[taxidermy lady]

Toy you do your best! Thanks for what you do on here with answering questions for us and giving your time to the martins!

My humming birds empty the feeders every couple hours! I've never had so many! Maybe yours came over here!

My yard is covered in dragonflies every evening! The cool air has brought deer in my yard and my chickens are so happy the heat has subsided!

I hope your last nest fledge and I pray your colony and weather is better for you next year!

[Hanover Bill]

Toy;

So sorry to hear you have had such a rough go of it this season. As much as we try to do for our Martins, in the end Mother Nature has the final say, and often times she deals us a cruel blow. You did your best, and in the end, that's really all we can do.

Here's hoping your colony bounces back with a great season next year, you certainly deserve it.

Hanover Bill.

[C.C.Martins]

Toy,
From some of your posts you indicated this was a bad year, not from anything in your control that is sure. 57 bad eggs, boy. Mother nature dealt those blows, the ones you could you saved; the ones you couldn't were beyond control. I will say you helped us here in the forum immensely; I have a gallon of Diatomatious earth sitting around now...I was going to spread in my housing but switched to Sevin dust because of your suggestion. Good thing too. Ill use it on ants.

[-=DKC=-]

That is heartbreaking. Sorry for your losses.

[JRow]

So sorry Toy! Enjoy the last babies of the season the best you can and I wish you better conditions next year!

[ToyinPA]

Thanks guys . It's been pretty depressing loosing so many eggs & chicks this year.

I got to thinking....maybe this is Mother Natures way of controlling the Martin population in my area. Not many interested or willing to give of their time to care for a colony. Other than a few Amish farms with colonies I'm the only one that has any in my county.

It won't stop me tho. My houses will be ready, crickets will be in the freezer. Nesting materials in the garage & a bag of crushed eggs shells ready to go. I'll bundle up to flip crickets in the snow, freezing rain & cold winds when they return next year & enjoy every second of it .

Toy in PA

[Dave Duit]

That was a rough year Toy. Nature can put the big hurt on good landlords. Just know that all your efforts ultimately help the overall numbers of martins in the long run. Best of luck next season.

[Dan G]

This gad to be tough and you deserve a break next year. Hopefully you will get one. Although i have no exact5 numbers, i think alot of the local colonies had similar issues. I spoke to an amishman last eve who has 39 pairs. He had 105 chicks and multiple eggs that did not hatch. Thats an average od 2.7 chicks per nest. And there was a dead chick under his one T14 while i was there. He hasnt done a nest check recently due to the chicks being close to fledging. So the numbers are probably a bit lower. There were about 50 birds flying near dusk

[ToyinPA]

This gad to be tough and you deserve a break next year. Hopefully you will get one. Although i have no exact5 numbers, i think alot of the local colonies had similar issues. I spoke to an amishman last eve who has 39 pairs. He had 105 chicks and multiple eggs that did not hatch. Thats an average od 2.7 chicks per nest. And there was a dead chick under his one T14 while i was there. He hasnt done a nest check recently due to the chicks being close to fledging. So the numbers are probably a bit lower. There were about 50 birds flying near dusk

It was hard tossing all those eggs & taking new born chicks out of nests dead. Not one single egg had been damaged. May & parts of June (egg laying time) was just too wet & cold. One nest lost 11 eggs total. Just sickening.

I'd be interested in how many eggs they Amishman finds unhatched in his houses.

Toy in PA

[Doug Martin - PA]

Toy,

Sorry to hear of such a bad year. I know you really work hard at it and love your birds.

Over in Western PA it was somewhat similar but much better. I started out with 200 eggs early on with the likelihood of several more. I too had the cold spell with temps going down to the low 40s after the first were laid. Egg laying was halted. My nests were widely varied. Had 3 nests that fledged way before the others. Then had many fledge over a longer period of a few weeks.

Bottom line was 213 eggs and 161 fledged. Many eggs did not hatch this year. Several unexplained deaths but I had so many sub-adult bachelor males at my site causing trouble. Perhaps an extra dozen or more. They arrived very late.

So I thought I would have a banner year and fledge over 200. I was then lucky to get 160 out the door. I had to supplemental feed quite a bit. I soaked freeze dried mealworms in hot water and fed them on a platform. The parents would empty the tray quickly to the young. There were many times that flying insects just were not available in large numbers to support a large colony.

Still trying to figure out why the north facing units in the t-14 always produce great numbers while the south facing seem to always have troubles.

As of August 8th there are no birds returning to my site in the evening anymore. Numbers peaked the second week in July. My Gemini rack continues to serve as roost for another hundred or more that don't fit in the housing during the peak.

The site next door to me was a month behind mine and still has a few nests with young and about 25 coming in at night.

Doug

[ToyinPA]

Toy,

Sorry to hear of such a bad year. I know you really work hard at it and love your birds.

Over in Western PA it was somewhat similar but much better. I started out with 200 eggs early on with the likelihood of several more. I too had the cold spell with temps going down to the low 40s after the first were laid. Egg laying was halted. My nests were widely varied. Had 3 nests that fledged way before the others. Then had many fledge over a longer period of a few weeks.

Bottom line was 213 eggs and 161 fledged. Many eggs did not hatch this year. Several unexplained deaths but I had so many sub-adult bachelor males at my site causing trouble. Perhaps an extra dozen or more. They arrived very late.

So I thought I would have a banner year and fledge over 200. I was then lucky to get 160 out the door. I had to supplemental feed quite a bit. I soaked freeze dried mealworms in hot water and fed them on a platform. The parents would empty the tray quickly to the young. There were many times that flying insects just were not available in large numbers to support a large colony.

Still trying to figure out why the north facing units in the t-14 always produce great numbers while the south facing seem to always have troubles.

As of August 8th there are no birds returning to my site in the evening anymore. Numbers peaked the second week in July. My Gemini rack continues to serve as roost for another hundred or more that don't fit in the housing during the peak.

The site next door to me was a month behind mine and still has a few nests with young and about 25 coming in at night.

Doug

Doug:

Sorry you had so many losses too.

I still have 3 chicks in a nest. SY parents. They are getting feed regular. They were 2 weeks old on August 9th. They have a ways to go yet to fledge. I had 3 fledge a few weeks ago & 3 more last week. Several nests re-laid, but many of them didn't hatch either.

My counts to date:

17 pair + 1 spare SY Male that stayed several days then left (12 ASY Males, 8 ASY Females, 6 SY Males, 9 SY Females), 83 eggs laid, 65 bad, 18 hatched, 9 died. So far 6 have fledged. I figure I had a 90% loss this year. I think the weather, way too much rain & cold temps, was the cause of so many bad eggs. No idea why I had new born chicks dying in 2-4 days, other than lack of feeding & Coccidiosis. I lost a couple that were a few weeks old to Coccidiosis. I supplement fed & also hand fed a few chicks to get them thru.

One chick, nest of 2, the parents were trying to fledge. He refused. His clutch mate had fledged. He just needed more time. Rescued him off the ground 3 times. He would just sit patiently while I walked up to him & picked him up. He knew he'd get fed. Then twice he rode down on the balcony railing to be fed. Never flinched as we cranked the house down. Just sat there blinking at me. After a few days of stuffing him full he was ready & off he went.

With the most pair ever at my site & the most eggs laid I assumed I'd have a banner year too. Wasn't to be. Mother Nature was in total control.

My North & East facing units don't do as well as South. Just the opposite of yours.

I still have a few adults here with chicks. Chimney Swifts still here too. They will all be gone soon & the SY pair with the 3 chicks will be alone. I just hope they make it to fledge & thru migration.

If the last 3 chicks fledge that will be a total of 9 fledged from my site this year. Pretty bad, considering they laid 83 eggs.

Toy in PA