Expecting an early departure this year

[PMDavid]

Well guys and gals it’s been quite a while since I made an entry here. It’s called life can be busy! At present best I can tell,I have 26 nesting pairs. That’s up 8-10 pr from last season. No sparrows,no starlings. Popped off a couple early on and that was that. The ever popular hot rod has a mate this year and they are feeding babies. Also the female i saved in the ice storm is still in the same gourd,has a mate and is also feeding babies. All the pairs i have are feverishly feeding babies and they are all starting to crowd the entrances of the gourds. I don’t do hardly any nest checks but the couple I did do revealed 4-5 chicks in all the nest ,one had six eggs. As far along as the young are at this point rather than mid July for departure of most all the birds I’m saying it looks like they may be gone by the third week in June. I’m also moving to a new house 10 miles away and not sure what I’ll do with all my current set up. I hate to remove it all and take it with me ,but I also have a substantial investment in it also. All the neighbors birds left his house and took up at mine over the last season or two and I’m wondering if I remove all my set up will they re find his and move back over there? I’m kinda at a crossroad here of what to do. I see a few Martin houses scattered around the area where I am moving to but haven’t really seen any birds around. I do know some of the neighbors have in the past had martins. The housing I see around is mostly the 12 hole trio houses. I will have some good open space where I’m moving and the neighbor has a 1 acre pond about 500-600 yds away,not sure about any other water nearby.

[brent]

PM
Good luck with the move. I assume you'll move after the Martins have gone. Do you know who will be moving into your current home and if they are interested in Martins? If not take the houses with you. My opinion.
Brent

[PMDavid]

Hi there Brent . No I don’t know who will be moving here. One lady that looked asked if I would be leaving some Martin stuff and I told her I would leave her 2 houses and nine gourds,however she is a widow lady and 71 and I don’t think she can go up a ladder to clean out houses as they don’t lower. I am definately bringing my satellite gourd rack though. I will have to strike a deal with any buyer if the birds are still here when I sell that I’ll be back to get my stuff. I’ve had a really great year for the birds with a good increase in birds. I hate to leave here but my sister and I have inherited our dads house and I’m gonna buy her out and move as it’s a really nice house and I live in a mobile home now. I’m gonna scope out the bird situation around the area at the new place and maybe knock on a few doors that have houses. I’ve seen houses around but haven’t seen but two birds once.I guess we will see what goes.

[deancamp]

David, good to here from you again. I'm glad to hear you are taking your satellite rack with you as it is quite unique and your brain child. Hope you have just as much success at your new house but will miss hearing about the one and only Hot Rod.

[PMDavid]

Thanks Dean, the hot rod has gotten a little harder to spot at times.with 25-26 pairs of birds now feeding young there is an awful lot of coming and going. Although if you sit long enough his antics tell him and he can be picked out of all those birds! He’s still flies with full vigor and love of his sport. The female I fed for almost two weeks in the house due to the ice and cold has babies also. Speacial story that one. I was able to spot 4 martins less 1/8 of a mile from my new place today so maybe I can be successful there. It seems the few I’ve seen around are just 1-2,maybe three pairs here and there. I think the area in general is very thinly populated with martins. There’s not a lot of water bodies close by. Maybe the gourds with appease them more than the wooden houses and trios I see around idk. I did today spot four or five houses out in the open way across a field behind a real nice lookin house and I’m gonna go up the drive and sit and watch to see if there is some comin and going’s. The birds in this region when given a choice of gourds or trios seem to always choose the gourds. I’ll be in touch,thanks for speaking up.