The Birds & The Bees: banding

It has been getting dark here around 7:40 - 7:50 PM for the last few weeks. Friday evening it was raining and I decided I better do a quick scan of the colony with the binoculars before it got too dark to see. Sure enough, a female martin was stuck in the entrance on her back, beak pointing straight up to the skies, just lying there squirming. It had been raining for almost an hour. I hate lowering the racks late in the evening, as it takes a while for the colony to settle back down and hawks or owls will quickly take advantage of the low light and try to snag dinner. Fortunately, her wings were still inside, so I anticipated a quick, easy release.
As I lowered the rack, I saw a female martin land on the ground in front of me. She was soaking wet and unable to fly. She tried to get airborne, but could not - it was the stuck martin that had gotten free and flopped out. After chasing her around the yard, I capture her and wrapped her in a towel, then raised the rack and everyone re-entered safely for the night.
She stayed in the garage overnight where it was 60 degrees, in a box with some old hand towels.

Saturday morning, after a quick health check, I decided she was good to go, so I gave her a parting gift. She became the new owner of MO Band # E818. With her new jewelry securely attached, I released her. She circled 4 times around the colony and landed on her rack, refreshed from her warm overnight stay and ready to do battle for *her* gourd once again.

My newly-banded female - E818, back on *her* gourd ready to fiercely defend her territory.

I was reminded once again that it is always a good idea to do a quick scan of your housing as your martins come in in the evenings. They are fighting for territory and it's very easy for one of them to get sideways and even upside-down in an entrance-way, with a wing or both stuck and unable to free themselves. This little girl was lucky that I found her that night. At the same time, I'm feeling pretty lucky that she's at my site and has chosen me to look out for her.

As the day warmed up, I kept a close eye on that rack and I discovered that she had paired up with the male that was my first arrival this season. Remember him? First arrival at my colony in Licking.

Now what were the odds of that?