We have been waiting for the weather to warm up for multiple days in a row, and waiting for the martins to have a chance to settle in at the colonies. We have driven by and done minimal checks on the birds, but today we went in earnest. We opened every compartment scraping out any of the previous nest material we had put in and replacing it with dry pine needles. While we were there the martins were happily chasing the flying insects and landed on the houses as soon as they were returned to their upright position.
Although we don't anticipate eggs in the nest until early June, they will start pairing up shortly. The National Purple Martin Conservation Society also reported the migration wave last night, and they say that there are more martins still coming up north, that is good news for all the colonies in the Northeast. Although we don't expect full recovery, our numbers maybe higher than we were thinking they'd be.
FYI It takes about 2 hours to do a complete nest check at both colonies at Hammo, plus the time to collect the pine needles, and that's with no chicks!
Although we don't anticipate eggs in the nest until early June, they will start pairing up shortly. The National Purple Martin Conservation Society also reported the migration wave last night, and they say that there are more martins still coming up north, that is good news for all the colonies in the Northeast. Although we don't expect full recovery, our numbers maybe higher than we were thinking they'd be.
FYI It takes about 2 hours to do a complete nest check at both colonies at Hammo, plus the time to collect the pine needles, and that's with no chicks!