Al Denton

Jim Beatson~SC · Tue Apr 02, 2013 1:56 pm

Al,

Glad to see you finally struck oil in Cherry Groove.

Jim

Al Denton · Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:51 am

Who said Al Denton threw in the towel and quit

I brought a little beach house last spring in Cherry Grove. Got a small setup down in time for subs. Just as I was starting to get some interest I had to leave for heavy renovations. Subs probably too shy to withstand all the noise and commotion right under their nose.

Getting some visits already by several ASY males this year. Martin numbers are good in the area. We"ll see how it goes.

I still have my midtown Raleigh site, but it is increasingly difficult to attract martins to that location.

Tallsilver · Thu Apr 04, 2013 7:54 am

Hang in! They were much later getting to our site in Conway this year as well as another site about 4 miles from me. Got about 16 birds now and hopefully this front moving thru will bring some more on Fri or Sat!

Greg · Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:10 am

I saw that you said you have a site in Raleigh. Where is it located, and what do you suppose is causing the difficulties in attracting martins? Is it tree encroachment, or just not an ideal spot? I'm south of Raleigh in Holly Springs. I'm in a subdivision with a relatively small backyard (.25 acre lot), with a tree line that will definitely continue to grow in height, directly behind my property. I don't know how many years I'll have attracting them here, but there is nothing I can do about those trees. The martins sure seem to love it here for now. I started with two pairs two years ago, and jumped to 13 pairs in my second year last year. What is your site like in Raleigh?

Al Denton · Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:10 pm

Tallsilver wrote:Hang in! They were much later getting to our site in Conway this year as well as another site about 4 miles from me. Got about 16 birds now and hopefully this front moving thru will bring some more on Fri or Sat!

Hanging in there is what I have gotten so good at Aaron...Thanks.

Al Denton · Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:21 pm

Greg wrote:I saw that you said you have a site in Raleigh. Where is it located, and what do you suppose is causing the difficulties in attracting martins? Is it tree encroachment, or just not an ideal spot?

My Raleigh site is in North Hills, and surprisingly a good open spot. I had one successful pair in 05 and 06 but didn't return the following year. I think the biggest problem is so few numbers in my area. The three colonies that used to be within a few miles are now gone.

Al Denton · Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:51 am

Update from the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach: My ASY male nested with a SY female and fledged 4 birds sometime this past Monday afternoon. Over the last two weeks I've had oodles of martins from neighboring sites over for short visits. Looking forward already to next season!

Matt F. · Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:08 am

Great update Al!
Congrats on your first successful season at your Cherry Grove site!

Tallsilver · Fri Jun 28, 2013 1:08 pm

Al,

My mini roost has been building up every evening. Might be getting some of your young ones. Last night there were tons of birds in the big cypress tree and both gourd trees were loaded. Right at dark about half of them left and the rest stayed tucked in near the pole on the gourd arms. Fun to watch. You're more than welcome to come by one evening..........don't know how long it will last. Best time is 8:15 to about 9 PM.

Al Denton · Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:53 pm

Thanks Matt...I appreciate it.

Aaron, my birds just could be staying over at your place since they don't seem to be here overnight anymore. I need to return to NC early in the morning, but I'll be back the middle of next week. If your little roost is still there, I'd sure enjoy checking it out...thanks.