New arrivals in CENTRAL LOUISIANA. !

[PMDavid]

Since and after the ice storm the female I fed in the house and saved from the freeze has remained here. Going out in the mornings and returning in the evening. So it’s been the one here all by herself. Then this afternoon eight more ASY males and females showed up and have all been in and out o f gourds and flyin around . So we went from one to nine in the blink of an eye! Probably returns from last year and possibly returnees as ASY that were SY birds last year. At any rate after all we’ve been through here in the south I’m tickled to have em and I’m sure there are more to arrive. Last season my first few were at the end of February and the rest arrived after that. The little female I saved is holding tight to her horizontal gourd she’s been in since day one. There has been a male or two go in with her several times and I’m confident one will settle in with her. What a treat to come home here on Friday afternoon and have all these new arrivals after work 14 days straight due to the ice and snow and the recovery there after. Good wishes to all.
David.

[PMDavid]

And oh yeah........ Thanks whippey for that east wind !

[dsonyay]

That’s great to hear. Good job on saving the female too.

[brent]

PMDavid, that is great news. I'm seeing new arrivals, too. I expect to have the houses full by the end of next week. What strange weather! To go from spring like to freezing winter and now back to spring is something else. But here we are. God is good. Keep us informed about that special female. She has a following.
Brent

[PMDavid]

It’s 6am and I’m chomping at the bit for daylight to come. All those birds came in and went to bed at dark and I’m sure they are here to stay. Gonna be out back this morning giving the a little tlc this morning as we have a HOG meeting this morning at 10am at the dealership. I can’t wait to watch all the morning antics outa everyone as they come out and stir around. I would image that by the end of day a male will be with that spew owl female. With all the new birds having arrived and two more days of good south winds it would be surprising for several many more to show up today and tomorrow,I will keep a close eye when I get home from my motorcycle meeting. Also have to install a new dishwasher for the wife today or tomorrow. Basically a change out from old to new,piece of cake! Any new news later today. Haven’t been able to ride bike in about three weeks,gonna enjoy the ride.

[Whippy]

And oh yeah........ Thanks whippey for that east wind !

Well, you know. I aims to please.

As I said before, I predict you will experience colony growth this year.


Windywhips

[Conrad Baker]

Yesterday afternoon's surprise was three males and a female landing on the housing, checking the compartments out. I hope they see something they like and decide to stay.

[deancamp]

Looks like the South is in full swing with new birds coming in daily. I enjoy the updates as I wait for returns in 3 to 4 weeks.

[Conrad Baker]

Yesterday afternoon's surprise was three males and a female landing on the housing, checking the compartments out. I hope they see something they like and decide to stay.

After checking this morning, they were just teasing me. They are gone, and did not spend the night.

[PMDavid]

Conrad they’re comin man. All the new ones in Texas and here.....they’re coming. The next couple of weeks should see a bunch of birds.
Dean, glad you enjoy the updates.....AND GUESS WHO IS IN THE MIX........H O T R O D ..!!!! Yes I think it’s him. I had some more time to watch individuals this morning and it’s got to be. Same smaller size and flys like hell,with attitude. I’m sure it is,what a trip this makes his third year!
Whipper.......I’m gonna hold ur feet to the fire on the growth thing,I sure hope ur right. Looks like the weather is gonna cool down just a couple degrees for the next week but still good for feeding and nighttime temps.
Good wishes all ,and reports as it happens.....

[Whippy]

Whipper.......I’m gonna hold ur feet to the fire on the growth thing,I sure hope ur right.

Bring it on.

[PMDavid]

Well y’all whoever is wondering about the lucky female,she seems to know have a male keepin house with her. Been seein em go in together a few evenings now so I say they are paired up. Such a treat after all she’s been through and the efforts I made to save her. And something else yesterday the weather was dark cold and rainy at roost time so I didn’t have a lot of chance to see em come in for the night. Day before there is still nine birds. Yesterday right at dark there were two males tryin to get in here there and just all over the place. They even looked as though they weren’t familiar with hittin the hole on a gourd on the fly. They were being blocked out of any entrances by a guarding bird they just seemed to not know where to go so I’m kinda wondering if by chance it may have been two new males ,idk. Today it has turned sunny,still cool but sunny so this evening I’m gonna watch to see if I see more than the previous nine birds. They even ended up going in two of the lesser gourds in odd places whereas they have all been coming right in and having no confusion . Gonna have a close look . Maybe report after dark.

[Whippy]

That's great David.

Just curious. If your females new man finds out that she was shacked up with you for a week do the two of you have your story straight? After all, it would be good to keep the peace. Chances are he won't find out but I sure would hate going to bed every night worrying about it. Perhaps it would be best to just come clean and get it over with.



Coolwhips.

[PMDavid]

Whippy ,one of the first rules of thumb is...”never admit to s..t !!” I ain’t sayin nothin,plaiyin dumb ,and my lips are sealed. I hope she explained she’s one of an elite group of females that has looked into the eyes of a human at a proximity of six inches and he should be honored to sleep in her gourd! I tried to look to see if I had seen two new ones yesterday ,but some were in early cause it’s cold and some came later so I don’t know. Maybe on an up coming more normal weather day I can tell. I just hope plenty more come. There’s still quite a long time for arrivals to show up. Hope y’all are all doin well. David

[C.C.Martins]

david,
That is fantastic news. Must have been quite a tough time going to work before dawn, getting home after and not knowing what the heck is going on in the colony. Sounds like your efforts paid off, as if there isn't enough to sweat during a normal season!

As far as your new lady friend, Im sure if given enough time she will learn to let the past be the past and move on. BUT beware of scorned females, no matter the species. Like whippy said best to just come clean about the whole shack up thing.

[deancamp]

LMAO, the troubled webs we weave.

[PMDavid]

CC I’m layin Low on it. Not gonna rock the boat,some things are better left un said. I think she is stayin tight lipped about the whole thing.

[PMDavid]

So I reported the other day that I thought I might have seen two new strange birds due to their concision as to where they belonged for the night. Today is a nice sunny evening so I thought I would watch close today and see. About dark everyday we let the dog out of his yard to come in and eat and be in for the night and usually all the martins bale out make a fuss and go back in. So here comes the dog...well not only were there two new ones ,I had a total best I could count of 14 birds and I ain’t sure I counted em all! Outstanding !! I had been peeking around all evening and had no idea that many were already sittin and chillin in the gourds hid out. So I’ve gone from nine to at least fourteen I counted. May be one or two more than that. So ain’t that great! Movin right along.

[DBH]

It’s embarrassing to admit it but today I got very jealous. Went to my parents house, which is about 3 miles away with a well established colony, and they had 2 martins on the house. Left there and on the way out of their neighborhood I saw at least 6 more martins on 2 different colony’s. Came home and just waited lol they’re in the area up hear in northwest Louisiana but still nothing here. Hoping they show up soon!

-Austin

[mwren]

You guys in Louisiana are really doing well! To overcome the terrible weather that took the lives of who knows how many martins is really something. Way to hang in there!
Hold some of those birds down south so they don't get up here in Ohio while it is cold and wet!! Just delay them some until the end of March!
From Athens, Ohio, proud home of Joey Burreaux! Geaux Joe! By the way, he is working like crazy on his re-hab to recover from his surgery and return to the Bengals late summer/fall.

Bird