My colony is 13 years old this year. This is the first season, since my 3rd or 4th year, where over half my pairs are sub-adults. It's as if there has been a 'changing of the guard' this year. While my number of pairs is up from last year, the number of young that have hatched and survived is lower and I attribute that to the much 'younger/ more inexperienced" sub-adults that I have this year. Along with that change, has come the inevitable passing down of the message, "hey, did you know there's also a Great Horned Owl that lives here?" Yes, she's still here....and she has caught at least 10 adult martins this year and now, with so many new fledges returning at night, we're moving to DEFCON 1 and many sleepless nights until our season ends.
This is a mid-day video of my colony with approximately half the adults still feeding their young during the day.
[After clicking on the video, you can then click on the YouTube link and go to full screen for the HD version].
Below is a video of 300+ purple martins coming home in the waning sunlight. The chaos caused by over 150 new fledges not knowing to which gourd they should return is pretty hilarious. The ruckus heals my heart and makes all the pain, sweat & tears of the season just melt away. Maybe that's the way nature intended it? Ending the year with this kind of party always gives me a sense of accomplishment and renewed hope. Pretty fantastic and fun!
The purple martins are not the only ones who have benefited from all the rain this year. Our native wildflower field has been bustin' loose too! We have had way more coneflowers this year. And while the 'Queen Anne's Lace' is a native, it is really annoying because it too has benefited from the excessive rain and is blocking the view of some of the other natives. Nevertheless, we are thrilled with the amount of flowers and abundance of insects they're currently attracting.
This is a video from 3 different viewpoints of our most-mature native wildflower field. I love the variety and how there is always something in bloom here. I didn't realize until after I had already processed the video, that I still had 'image-stabilization' turned on for my camera, so some of the video will blur a little bit, but as I pause in various places it does clear up. I have had this video camera for several years and I still can't figure out how half the crap that I really don't need, gets turned on!! Bummer - definitely need to practice more with that!
Lastly, a quick tour of our savanna area - scattered oak trees with broken sunlight. We planted this area in December 2014 with the Native wildflower mix from Hamilton Native Outpost called, "Shadows & Sunbeams". This is its 5th season and it is absolutely beautiful. The birds are now scattering the grey-headed coneflower seeds and the plants are coming up all around the property.
Come with me and take a tour of my favorite spot.
Enjoyed all of your videos, my wife is a Master Gardener and I'm a Martin landlord in waiting. I read your excellent article in the PMCA about your owl issues. Nest checks must be an event but maybe you have enough of the quick release clips to make it easier. I have a super system I installed this year so gives me some ideas. It's very helpful to know the 12 to 13 inches space from gourd to the wire.
ReplyDeleteActually had TS nest here this year but they don't like Martins. Never had seen a TS in Georgia before last year. Thanks again for the great videos and article.
Thank you so much for your feedback on the article! Yes, I've had to spread out my nest checks over a couple of days, especially with the heat here in Missouri in the summer! But, the quick release clips have been a real life-saver - I've found that everything doesn't have to be super-tight....in fact, it works better if everything is a little loose and doesn't allow the owl to feel like she has a secure foot-hold. Interesting that TS are now nesting in GA. They can be a pain, but really help with hawks here. I host 14 pair every year. If you need help with them, let me know...I love having them here.
DeleteI certainly understand about the heat it was 98 here one day this week. I used to have about 35 pair of Martins where I used to live. I've been trying about 16 years here but the flyway isn't nearly as good as at my other house. As far as I know there are no large colonies in my for me to pull from even though I do have SY visiting birds.The bluebirds bullied the TS off her nest with 4 eggs even though there were several other BB/TS houses available. I had opened up the Martin gourds since she had 4 eggs but then she went into a Martin gourd she'd had such bad luck I didn't have the heart to throw her out.
DeleteI have a Chimney Swift tower and a couple of 4 inch PVC tubes that normally have nesting Northern Rough Winged Swallows. Have a small field that I plant for quail which I could hear on one of your videos.
My wife has 8 hummingbird feeders on the back and front porch and I would say we have at least 35 hummers. Have a good evening. Tim
I have hawks and likely owls preying on my purple martins and am planning a fence-type guard similar to yours. I've seen recommendations for both 2x4 inch and 4x4 inch mesh. Fo you believe 4x4 inch will work or would recommend something else?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Bill
Yelm, WA
Hi Bill, thanks for your comment. I use 2x4 inch light-weight fencing. I think they label it #9 gauge. I cut 4x4 inch openings in front of the gourds and put the undersill trim over the bottom of the opening. If you have small owls and even small Sharp-Shinned hawks, - they may be able to get through a 4x4 inch opening.
DeleteSo, I would recommend the 2x4, cut random openings if you would like to make some bigger. The most important part from my experiences, has been to make sure the wire is at least 11" or more from the housing / gourd opening. Otherwise the owl can reach through to grab the martins.
Here's more information on my wire cage construction:
http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-fob-part-3.html