Hands on colony management, a practical approach

[Ed Svetich-WI]

Data has always been important to me. Biology and the scientific method is my background. If I found an interesting insect, animal or plant, I would research it until I could identify it. I can even tell you what species of bird blow fly was present attacking my nestlings. What I found with a martin colony was a ready made source of information that could be captured, collated and used to improve outcomes.

After some early overly enthusiastic visions of a massive number of cavities to save the species, I downsized just a bit and settled on 24 gourds on two accessible gourd racks. Looking out this morning at gourd racks full of this years' nestlings on a rainy 58° morning, I decided to tabulate the number of hands on cavity events recorded on the Project Martinwatch Nest Data Sheet thus far this season.On 16 dates, I inspected all 24 gourds. That is 384 events. These were to document the presence of nests, first and last eggs, hatch day, two nest replacements, periodic health checks of nestlings and to confirm fledgling. Additionally, there were individual inspections of cavities for the outlier nests where inspections of other cavities was not warranted. Add another 100 to keep an eye on runts, confirm hatch days for those nests where it was delayed and we can call it 484 individual "hands on" contacts. This does not take into account those many times that I lowered(and raised) the gourd racks in advance of predicted weather events. The only time that I determined the actual time spent on any activity was for the minimum two nest replacements. That activity averaged 4 minutes per nest. 24 nests x 4 minutes x 2 nest replacements= 3.2 hours.

In the six years 2012-2017, the results of this approach have justified the effort. A total of 754 eggs have been produced by 139 pair of martins ( 5.42 average). 715 eggs hatched ( 5.14 average). 696 birds fledged for an average of 5.007 per pair.I cannot tell you how many times I have been encouraged by fellow martin enthusiasts to expand my colony. They are somewhat crestfallen at my refusal to grow bigger. As I tell them, I could add more gourds and maybe I could fill every one. My reason for maintaining the staus quo is simple. A 30% or 50% increase in martin nests would, at some point, detract from my ability to maintain a ratio of 5 fledglings per pair of adults. Suppose that 36 pair each produced 4 fledglings for a yearly total of 144 young. This year my 24 pair have already fledged 116 young.

When I speak with martin colonies which have many more cavities, there responses about the number of eggs, number of hatched and number fledged are always preceded by "about" this many. They often find dead nestlings on final cleanup. How sad. Could these have fledged with a more"hands on" approach? How many martin colonies send in data on a Project Martinwatch Data Sheet? My suggestion is to manage that number of cavities that can be managed. If you can actually manage many cavties successfully, you have my admiration. For those who were successful in establishing a martin colony for the first time this year, congratulations. My advice is to gradually grow your colony. When you are at 100% occupancy, expand if you can manage the additional responsibility. The goal should not be how many martins are present. Expanding martin distribution throughout their range should be the goal.

Spread the wealth.

Ed

[ToyinPA]

I do the same Ed. In fact I record daily events from the time they arrive to the last day they are here. The weather sun/clouds/rain/snow/etc, temps, incidents, nest checks, etc. I record how many eggs laid & on what day, hatch dates, egg loss, death, fledging, etc.

When I do nest checks, which to date I have done at least 40 that I recorded, I inspect each chick for mites, bird lice, blow fly larva, dehydration, Greater Black Wasps stuck to their beak or in their throat, etc. Any & all are removed & the nests changed. They get used to me picking them up. Many other nest checks, not recorded, I just to do a quick check if I saw a SY or HS enter a nest. I crank the house down & make sure the chicks are OK & crank it back up.

I had 3 S& K barns. The top levels we ended up closing off, as you can't do nest checks/changes. The rooms were too small, no nest trays & the poles a pain to lower & raise. Can't tell you how many times I pinched my fingers. We also had one come crashing down in a storm &it sheared off the buttons. So I upgraded to 2 T-10's/nest trays/3 inch square poles/winches. We added 2 vents to each room. The martins like these houses. The openings were round, so we ended up closing them in half. Used Luan wood. Worked great. The nest trays are plastic, so we added Luan wood floors to keep the chicks from getting splay leg. I decided to limit my colony to 20 pair. That's what I feel I can properly care for. It's not cheap buying 6000 crickets every year when you're on fixed income.

Every year I strive to fledge at least one more chick than the previous year. This year it won't happen. The weather was against my colony from the start. I had major egg losses & lost half my chicks to Coccidiosis disease. If all the chicks I have now fledge my count will be 9 for the year. Pretty bad results for all the work I put in, but you can't fight Mother Nature.

Not everyone is meant to be a Martin landlord. Just because you want them doesn't mean you should have them. It takes time & patience & in many areas finances (crickets/meal worms) to keep them feed on bad weather days. I talked a person out of putting up houses as I knew they would not make a good landlord. The Martins should not suffer because of human wants & desires.

My suggestion is to start small. Wait a couple years to educate yourself & learn how things work before you expand. Then limit how many rooms you offer, so that you can have the time & finances to properly care for them in the future. Keep good records so you know what is going on in each room.....and most important enjoy them .

Toy in PA

[Courtney-NC]

Hi Ed,

I too like numbers and data. I also agree with you regarding the number of cavities you can manage. For example, one of the public sites I manage has 36 cavities and will not be expanding anymore. It takes me 30 minutes to drive out there from my house (if no traffic accidents or jams). If I work quickly, I can finish all nestchecks (when there are eggs and young to be counted and aged/sized in almost all cavities) in 45 minutes, but it often takes me over an hour, especially when I have to treat nests for mites or do nest changes, and write down all of my observations in my notebook. One hot and sweaty day in June, I was out there for 2 hours treating individual nests after an especially bad mite infestation. Add to that the time spent traveling out there and back, and that's almost half my day. I feel that it is time well spent, though. I know the care given increases the colony output and increases the chances of extra SYs seeding other colony sites the following year. It also enables me to speak to members of the public more often about martins and educate them on these wonderful songbirds. Almost every time I am out there, someone comes up to me to ask me about the martins. I'm always happy to talk to them.
I really would like to study this colony more and get data on percentages of nests used by ASYs vs SYs every year and see what the average is, but with a young family to take care of, I just can't do it all.
Thank you to all of the landlords/caretakers out there that do what it takes to provide quality care for your colony sites, no matter how big or small!

[Ed Svetich-WI]

Toy,

Sorry about your issues this year. I have watched your weather with dismay. Your efforts and dedication will pay dividends. Although some will disagree with us, limiting martin colony size also may limit those times when things so amiss. Think severe weather, disease or predators that decimates some colonies.

Another consideration that I neglected to bring up was the cost involved in establishing a martin colony even before the first martin is attracted. Several years ago, I calculated the acquisition costs of my equipment, two gourd racks with 2" aluminum poles, 24 Super and Excluder gourds, 24 owl guards, replacement caps for the gourds and porches for the Super Gourds. The cost at that time was $1300.00. That was in addition to the tapes, traps, a multipurpose rack, Trio houses and replacement SREH entrances that I eventually sold for pennies on the dollar. I have not kept up on current costs.

I read here on the Forum about hopeful martin landlords who have yet to attract a martin but have already acquired a large number of cavities, be it gourds, T-14s or very expensive aluminum houses. As we all know, wanting martins and getting them are two different things. I personally know landlords who went crazy when they finally attracted their first nesting pair of martins and bought martin houses, every kind of martin gourd known to man as well as every store-bought feeding tray, etc. only to discover that they were overwhelmed even before they had all of their new bought cavities filled. They sold off what they could and still do not have enough time to manage what they have left.

Most of us can ride through the countryside and easily find very expensive yard ornaments on tall poles (empty martin housing) sitting empty. Reality meets expectations.

One person who did it correctly is Emil. Grow your own gourds, modify them and keep costs within reason. I envy him. I was not able to grow gourds or industrious enough to modify natural gourds.

Grow into the hobby. Keep it realistic.

Ed

[-=DKC=-]

As a first year landlord I can attest to the steep learning curve if you want to be hands-on. I've only had 4 pair this year but they are a lot of work. I can't imagine having more than a dozen pairs myself.

My last 5 babies are giving me gray hairs. The experience has been very rewarding and I love having them around but sometimes I wonder if I'm cut out for this.

[Dave Duit]

As a mentor here in central Iowa, I teach my new landlords to start out small and grow according to how you feel about your honest ability to maintain good management in the numbers of cavities. I like this thread because it shows people that it isn't a contest in the numbers of martins, rather how well you manage those numbers.

[C.C.Martins]

This is a good thread. It illustrates the hard work, time and dedication necessary for a colony and its management. I talk about the birds (to those that will listen) and tell them all the same thing; they are wonderful birds and high maintenance. Quality vs quantity for me. Im with DKC; Im not offering more than 15 cavities next year. I had a relatively easy year, some ups and downs but not too bad still my stress level was pretty high...I worried a lot. And this was my first year.

[handyman315]

As a first-year landlord (after three unsuccessful years), my age and financial resources have restrained my enthusiasm, not to mention that I struggled with record keeping this first nesting year. To be frank, I'd rather spend time watching my PMs than logging data (sorry). As a PC geek, I tried to log everything in an Excel spreadsheet and ended up spending 90% of my time on format and 10% on meaningful data.

My plans for the off season include cleaning and storing, pole strengthening and stabilizing for my 24-gourd-capable S&K rack to combat these Ohio winds, and the remainder of my S&K Barn will be turned into 6" X 12" cavities (about half now).

This year I only hoisted 16 gourds on my 24-rack system and plan to do the same next year unless demand is markedly greater. Three unsuccessful years have grounded me in reality and I would have been thrilled with just one nesting pair. My 2017 season started with four nesting pair, and ended with three pair who fledged every egg laid.

What the other landlords are saying here has particular significance to this 70+ year old landlord, i.e., I'm just not able to properly manage a colony much bigger than what I have now. Let's be honest, the best time to do nest checks is in the blazing afternoon summer sun, and frankly between lowering and raising the housing, squinting and peering into the cavity darknesses, logging the results (after chasing the wind-blown paper), and nest changing and/or pest prevention, I'm exhausted.

Future proofing my colony once I take that final migration myself? Yep, already grooming the (PM-interested) son-in-law next door.

[Rodger Drye]

My father a one of a kind hosted Purple Martin's for many years. He never counted them or did nest checks. He had an excellent location site for his Colony - right in a cove on the Pee Dee River. Back in the fifties and sixties they didn't have computers like today and information gained was only from word of mouth.
He had natural Gourds and in the sixties they came out with these small 6-7/8" Plastic Gourd's I remember they were $5.00 to $9.00 a piece but he found some at an old country store in Kingstree, South Carolina for $2.00 each. They had white ones and brown ones. He bought mostly brown ones because they looked more like the natural gourds.

Thus, began his odyssey in having Mega Birds. He said he would keep putting up gourds as long as the Bird's came. And did they come.!! Next to his property was some high rise Power Lines and the Martin's absolutely Loved them. They would congregate in the hundreds if not thousands. Folks from nearby town of Albemarle, NC would ride by in their cars especially on weekends. His place was on a circle and everyone started calling it going to circle. That meant riding to the River and watching all the Bird's. I'd never heard of a Roost back then so I guess it was the closest I would ever come to actually seeing a PM Roost. Definitly on my Bucket List.!

At the end of a season I would help him clean all those Gourds of which none of them had a clean out or inspection door.
He invented this clever little hooked clean-out tool out of a coat hanger of which I still have a couple laying around.
At the beginning of the next year I would help him put his gourds back up. Each gourd had to have a 1/2 tablespoon of Seven Dust and about 1/8 teaspoon of Sulfur.

He did not have winches. All his poles leaned down or hinged with a 3/4" Bolt. His Racks were all welded steal most in the T formation but he did have several of the Star or Cluster type.

True to his word he did keep installing more gourd's as the Bird's would fill them up. He was a used car wholesale Dealer and his lot was right there not far from his Site. I can't remember his Bird's ever crapping on his cars or trucks. I guess it was like showing their appreciation.

He was so proud and happy with his Martins. Especially on the weekends when people would come by. It was like a Merry Go Round sometimes with some circling over and over again. Sometimes folks would stop and I think that's when he liked it best. So he could talk about his Bird's - He Loved It.!! He had this Martin tape that he would play with loud speakers and the Bird's would get so excited flying around.! Like something out of a Movie .!

In 1969 I joined the US Marine Corps and did the VietNam Thing. He and my Mom would send me what we called back then a "Care Package". It would have Cookies and Pop Tarts and I would share them with my Marine buddies. I remember I got 2 photos of him where he had caught a 250lb. 7 1/2ft Grouper on a rod & reel off the Capt. Alex out of Muriel's Inlet, SC
The other picture was a State sign placed by the town of Albemarle, NC in front of his Martin Site Colony. It was a state certified {Bird Sanctuary} sign. He was so proud grinning from ear to rar. Man, He Loved those Bird's.!

He never did Nest Checks, or counted his birds. He never kept records of any kind be it eggs, hatchlings, or fledged. I don't know if he knew the difference between a ASY and a SY Bird.

So for Dad there wasn't much of what folks today call hands on management. But he was super successful and died peaceful and happy. After all isn't that what life's all about. Life is short enough as it is. I'm glad my parents raised in me a free spirt to go and do what a lot of people wouldn't think of doing. That's the way they lived their lives and I'm grateful that they in turn passed their DNA and Genes on to me. To live life to the fullest doesn't necessarily mean to live life to the Biggest.!!

Rodger

[Rodger Drye]

My father a one of a kind hosted Purple Martin's for many years. He never counted them or did nest checks. He had an excellent location site for his Colony - right in a cove on the Pee Dee River. Back in the fifties and sixties they didn't have computers like today and information gained was only from word of mouth.
He had natural Gourds and in the sixties they came out with these small 6-7/8" Plastic Gourd's I remember they were $5.00 to $9.00 a piece but he found some at an old country store in Kingstree, South Carolina for $2.00 each. They had white ones and brown ones. He bought mostly brown ones because they looked more like the natural gourds.

Thus, began his odyssey in having Mega Birds. He said he would keep putting up gourds as long as the Bird's came. And did they come.!! Next to his property was some high rise Power Lines and the Martin's absolutely Loved them. They would congregate in the hundreds if not thousands. Folks from nearby town of Albemarle, NC would ride by in their cars especially on weekends. His place was on a circle and everyone started calling it going to circle. That meant riding to the River and watching all the Bird's. I'd never heard of a Roost back then so I guess it was the closest I would ever come to actually seeing a PM Roost. Definitly on my Bucket List.!

At the end of a season I would help him clean all those Gourds of which none of them had a clean out or inspection door.
He invented this clever little hooked clean-out tool out of a coat hanger of which I still have a couple laying around.
At the beginning of the next year I would help him put his gourds back up. Each gourd had to have a 1/2 tablespoon of Seven Dust and about 1/8 teaspoon of Sulfur.

He did not have winches. All his poles leaned down or hinged with a 3/4" Bolt. His Racks were all welded steal most in the T formation but he did have several of the Star or Cluster type.

True to his word he did keep installing more gourd's as the Bird's would fill them up. He was a used car wholesale Dealer and his lot was right there not far from his Site. I can't remember his Bird's ever crapping on his cars or trucks. I guess it was like showing their appreciation.

He was so proud and happy with his Martins. Especially on the weekends when people would come by. It was like a Merry Go Round sometimes with some circling over and over again. Sometimes folks would stop and I think that's when he liked it best. So he could talk about his Bird's - He Loved It.!! He had this Martin tape that he would play with loud speakers and the Bird's would get so excited flying around.! Like something out of a Movie .!

In 1969 I joined the US Marine Corps and did the VietNam Thing. He and my Mom would send me what we called back then a "Care Package". It would have Cookies and Pop Tarts and I would share them with my Marine buddies. I remember I got 2 photos of him where he had caught a 250lb. 7 1/2ft Grouper on a rod & reel off the Capt. Alex out of Muriel's Inlet, SC
The other picture was a State sign placed by the town of Albemarle, NC in front of his Martin Site Colony. It was a state certified {Bird Sanctuary} sign. He was so proud grinning from ear to rar. Man, He Loved those Bird's.!

He never did Nest Checks, or counted his birds. He never kept records of any kind be it eggs, hatchlings, or fledged. I don't know if he knew the difference between a ASY and a SY Bird.

So for Dad there wasn't much of what folks today call hands on management. But he was super successful and died peaceful and happy. After all isn't that what life's all about. Life is short enough as it is. I'm glad my parents raised in me a free spirt to go and do what a lot of people wouldn't think of doing. That's the way they lived their lives and I'm grateful that they in turn passed their DNA and Genes on to me. To live life to the fullest doesn't necessarily mean to live life to the Biggest.!!

Rodger

[taxidermy lady]

Everyone's boat floats in different waters! It would be a dull life if we we all the same!

Nice story Rodger!

[Ed Svetich-WI]

Rodger,

Thank you for your service. Your father sounds like an early Purple Martin pioneer. The equipment he had available to him was the best available at the time and he took advantage of it to attract and produce martins. With the research and marketing by J.L. Wade with his aluminum martin houses, purple martin husbandry really took off and attracted many advocates. With the creation of the PMCA by Jamie Hill, purple martin advocacy entered a new age.Different types of housing was developed, tested and eventually discarded as it was found wanting. Yet more designs were tried over the years. I remember pictures of a mountain of wooden houses destined for the burn pile at the PMCA.

Who even 20 years ago, much less 50 years ago would have envisioned large plastic gourds with clean out ports, porches and owl guards, much enlarged cavities in martin houses, attraction tapes, decoys, prebuilt nests and the virtual absence of the round hole in all martin housing? Your father may have been one of the first early adopters of plastic gourds.

We are fortunate to have learned from those who went before us. Every change has been challenged. Remember those who rejected SREH? In many cases, these challenges were justified and led to even more advancements. What we now have available to us to attract and raise martins is truly mind boggling. Yet we still find that challenges still face those who desire martins.Even with the amazing tools available to us, years can go by before martins are eventually enticed to accept our offerings. After over 20 years of failure, often due to my resistance to change, I finally attracted martins by following the advice of those who studied martins. What a relief!

I began with one Trio house with round holes. Soon two houses on a multipurpose pole and still no martins. More adjustments and the addition of gourds. You know the story. I finally got a pair of martins. I watched them in awe. When they left in the Fall, I lowered the house and found three dead nestlings. I know that there had been at least one that fledged. Why not all? They returned the following year. I made up my mind to take better care of them. Although fearful, I did nest changes. Soon starlings arrived. They left the martins alone but built nests. The next year I changed the entrances to those "new" crescents. One problem solved. Eventually, I switched to gourds and the population boomed. Exit metal houses.

I made a choice to actively manage a growing martin population. I added more and more housing. It became a job. It was not as much fun as I had anticipated. I reduced housing to what I could reasonably handle. I found that only by actively managing could I stay ahead of problems. I even found several capped eggs and was able to allow those eggs to hatch. Wow! Now I was hooked on "knowing" what was going on in each gourd. I owed it to the martins to protect them. I could have a larger colony. I am full each year. I still resist the temptation to add just one more gourd rack. I prefer to provide the overflow to those who are currently hosting an empty site. It has worked. I know this because we band my birds and they are present at newly established colonies. Even with my mentoring, these new landlords make the same mistakes that I made. Eventually, they come around by themselves. Maybe we need to make our own mistakes.

I made that choice after trial and error. Everyone makes a choice eventually. If adding additional housing floats your boat, go for it. At some point, decisions will have to be made. for some it may be many hundreds of cavities. I offer what has worked for me.

Thanks to people like your father, we have martins today.

Ed

[John Miller]

Hi Ed

I have learned a great deal from you.

My approach to note taking and tabulating differs a little...as Sharon says...we all float differently. huh?

Try my best to do nest checks and keep detailed notes, but I detest adding it all up and stating how many eggs, how many babies. I don't have the patience to count eggs carefully and maybe just don't trust my numbers. And I always think if you want to hear mother nature laugh, tell her how many...

My primary reason to take notes as best I can is so that from week to week I know when I peer in a nest cavity what was there the week before. That way, I know if all is well or if something is going wrong.

I will try to pick out a house or two with good notes, add numbers do a PMCA Project Martin Watch form.

[Ed Svetich-WI]

John,
I am impressed with your far reaching impact. I discovered my limits early. This year, 19 of 24 nests fledged within a 3 day period. That was chaotic. At times, I am barely able to take care of what I have here and cannot imagine adding more. I have fun and thoroughly enjoy the process and results. I think I chose wisely, as the old crusader once said.

Thanks for the compliment. I have always read your advice with interest and admiration. That is what makes this interesting. We can learn from others.

Ed

[Rodger Drye]

Ed, Sharon, and John,
Thanks for all your comments and replys. I appreciate each and everyone of you and read your posts with interest and enthusiasim. I've learned many things about Martin's from you and others like you on this and other Forums. To say that my Dad would be one shocked fellow if he were alive today would be an understatement. Truly there has been many leaps and bounds in Martin husbandry as a whole since he put up his Martin Poles and Racks.
I attribute my success if that's what you want to call it to this little machine they reference an I-Pad Air. I believe I would still be constructing my Poles, Racks, and Gourd's in the same manner in which my Dad did some 50 years ago.
Isn't innovation and technology a Great thing when used constructively.!

Having starting out with welding some Poles and Racks together from some steel my Dad gave me back in 1990. Thinking, Expecting, wholeheartedly that my site would naturally fill up with Bird's just like my Dads'. In no time at all I'd have to find out were he got that little cassette tape he played for his Bird's. So I could entertain my Dad and my friends with the same music he played for his Bird's. And my Birds would fly around like Bees around a Bee Hive, and people would come by just to see all my beautiful Birds too.!

Unfortunately Not So. It didn't happen. Or at least not to the extent that I expected. I got a piece of plywood out like my Dad suggested and started writing down the Dates of when I first seen a Martin for that year. Eager to get on board I made my 1st entry of April 12, 1990 when I saw my 1st Martin that year. Scout Bird's as my Dad had told me were checking out my site and would leave to guide the rest of the flock to their new home. As we all know now there's really not any Scout Birds to guide the whole flock back. Education what a difference it makes.

I did get a few Bird's and was as excited I guess as a person could be. Thinking all the time this was just the beginning and in no time (a few years) at all I'd have just as many if not more Bird's than my Daddy. Again, unfortunately it did not happen that way. After the years went by and after installing another Pole and Gourd's with intrigue and enthusiasm to my dismay I found that I could indeed attract Martin's but they never returned in the numbers that I wished for or expected. Even my Dad was puzzled by this un-happening. He said you've got an excellent place, plenty of both food and water, just can't figure out why you don't have more Bird's. It was bewildering for me. I wanted to succeed so badly so I could say see Dad this is what you helped me get started. Oh I'd have 2 or 3 Pair and one year I think I had a dozen Pair. I was indeed grateful don't get me wrong, but each year I'd wait with anticipation - hoping, praying, that next year I'd have that long awaited Blow Out of
Purple Martin's that I so longed for. Naturally I wanted just as many as my Dad.

I was doing everything just like my Dad why did the Bird's not want to visit or stay at my location like they did at my Dad's.?
I watched my Bird's with glee. However if I really wanted to get a Bird fix you guessed it I had to go to my Dad's to see all he
had. I can't say that it didn't cross my mind to up and quit everything. I guess I figured a few Bird's were better than none at all.

Then about 3 or 4 years ago I got this I-Pad for Christmas. What was I gonna do with an I-Pad.? We had a computer but I didn't even know how to turn the thang on. Duh?!? My wife knew right smart but the real learning came from my daughter, my sons, and son-in-law. I even went to the Library and took a quicky course on how to turn on a Computer Lol Ha Ha.!! I was literally like a Fish out of water.!!!!!! I meant that I was going to educate myself on everything humanly possible about these Bird's. And like a sponge I soaked it up.! I was on this thing all the time, morning, night - all the time.! I used to get onto momma {that's what all the kids call her so I started too} from being on that dad blame computer all the time. I had to Shut Up - I was on it as much if not more than she was.!!


I can't remember exactly which was first the PMCA or Chuck's Purple Martin Page. But I leaped in - Took it Hook, Line, and Sinker and swallowed that whole Baby.! Was I doing or not doing everything wrong - You Pick. Wow did I have a lot to learn and a lot to change. I think the thing that hurt me most was the cutting and removing of some large Beautiful trees some of which I had planted 35 years ago. It was heart breaking as I watched them fall. But I kept telling myself I'm doing it for my Babies (thats what I call my Bird's). I even went so far as to get rid of a wonderful ole Cat we had. I did Not want anything to come between an established relationship between my Bird's and I. I was laying it on the Line - Going all Out - Putin everything into it that I knew.

I did do what the experts told me to do and from what I had read. Everything. I left No Stone un -turned.! From Predator Guards, Housing and Entrances, S&S Control, Playing the "Dawn Song", even and especially the little things.!!!
My endeavors and hard work Paid Off in Martin dividends.! The Bird's Came, and the Bird's Stayed, and most importantly The Bird's Came Back and kept coming Back.!! Wow Wee! Was I a Happy Camper...! This year I had 377 Bird's and that's just what I counted. Could have even been a few more - Not sure about all the nests.

Now too Ed, I'm being faced with the management issue. Where does a Hobby like this stop being Fun and starts to be more like Work. I could do like my Dad and just hang the gourds up and leave them alone, not checking to see what was going on. That I feel would be doing a grave injustice to the Bird's. I'm not going to do that. Like a friend Tim Mangam says the worse thing you can do is put up a Martin Pole and Rack and just leave it alone. I will Not do that.

I read a Post on PMCA Colony Chatter Blog and agree with Kathy Freeze, and the late John Barrow. Instead of growing a larger Colony of Bird's. I will start to grow a large Colony of Landlords. You got to face it youth is were the future is for our Beloved Martin's. We'll have to move aside and make way for the next generation of Landlord's. We're all getting older and some day we will all meet our demise. The ole human body isn't so resilient as it used to be.
I myself will be facing Knee Surgery in October of this year. I knew it was coming. I guess I can be happy that it's occurring over the winter. Hopefully, by next Spring I'll be up and moving around when my Babies start coming back home.

I'm retired but taking care of 377 Bird's in the way I want to - Equals yes a lot of work.! I used to run about 25 head of Beef Cattle, but when I got to were my health became an issue I had to sell them off. I just couldn't take care of them anymore, the way I wanted to. You know my Mom always told me from when I was a small boy, "Things in Life - Never stay the Same, They will either get Better or they will get Worse". Those words are very True.!!
Hope I didn't bore anyone with all this. I suppose I just had something to say.

And yes Ed you are very wise and correct in your decision Not to add more Cavities. I need to cull my flock down dramatically. Plan on devoting a lot more attention to giving seminars and lectures. And I've only told a very few people that I am in the process of designing a New innovative Gourd Rack. Prototypes like this take a lot of time and energy so it will be a considerable amount of time before it is tested and finished. I think we've already changed it about 15 times.
All Good Things come in Time.!!

Sincerely,
Rodger

[pmartinlover2]

Fantastic and sincere heartfelt stories from all of you dedicated landlords. Our martins are in good hands,,,thank you!
______
Jody

[Rodger Drye]

Jody,
Thank you so much. It really means a lot to me.
Rodger

[Louise Chambers]

I read a Post on PMCA Colony Chatter Blog and agree with Kathy Freeze, and the late John Barrow.

the late John Barrow? that's news to me (his wife), who saw him out the door this morning.

[Rodger Drye]

Louise,
Sorry, My mistake. I read that wrong in the Blog. It was the will he was suppose to leave behind to the Purple Martins.
Please forgive me.!
Rodger

[DornCounty]

I read a Post on PMCA Colony Chatter Blog and agree with Kathy Freeze, and the late John Barrow.

the late John Barrow? that's news to me (his wife), who saw him out the door this morning.

Cracking me up.