Gourds!

Aren't they cool? I've been chatting with Tim in Alabama, who's hosted purple martins since he was NINE YEARS OLD! He suggested that we try using gourds this spring and nearly guaranteed that we'll get martins with them. So I ordered two from Front Porch Crafts (gourdgrower5 on eBay) in Horse Cave, Kentucky. We'll paint them white and drill entrance holes. Stay tuned!

They're still here

Our martins. They came back. I just knew they'd leave today and never return. But they proved me wrong. Yet again.

This evening, I was going to put in a sparrow trap. Since today was perhaps a hatching day, I took some photos of the martins' nest. No eggs showed up. I took another picture, then another. No eggs. Tentatively, I reached inside the compartment and softly touched around the leaves. No eggs. 

Gone.

Vanished. 

I was stunned. James reached inside, too, and felt around. He couldn't believe it. "Four eggs," he said, "gone."

Sadly, I cleaned out the sparrow nests from two other compartments and threw the material on the ground. I didn't feel like putting in a trap. Then I went back inside the house and shared my sad news on the Purple Martin Conservation Association's page on Facebook. 

"No eggs," I wrote. "Our four eggs are gone. The first would have been hatching around today. And we'd just put up the predator guard this week. And this morning, I just paid my dues to the PMCA and the North Texas Purple Martin group...our brand new colony is done. Finished. I feel so sad for the martins too."

Then I cried.

 "I don't think I can do this any more," I typed on the page. ".....sorry.......I'm really down right now..................."

I really felt like giving up on this business of being a purple martin landlord. Obviously, we'd failed. Because their eggs were gone. Likely eaten by a rat snake. We'd even met up with one in the back yard yesterday. James got pictures of it, too. We didn't think anything about it. We like snakes. But now... It's such a moral dilemma for me. Because of the martins, I trap sparrows (then give them to my Hit Man for execution). I appreciate the role that snakes play in nature, and I've never hated or feared them. But now, what do I do? It's hard. We have decided to get rid of two brush piles on our property. We'd let them pile up as "snags" and places that wildlife could hide. But now we wonder if that was wise after all. Maybe the rat snakes live there.

This evening, I stood in The Meadow, amazed and stunned to see our martin pair flying around the house. I'd just assumed that they would abandon their nest if a snake had indeed eaten their eggs. But there they were, flitting around and landing on their porch. At first, he sat and chortled a bit sadly. I wanted to cry. "I'm sorry," I said. "I'm so sorry you lost your eggs."

But after awhile, he perked up and seemed happier. He'd take off, and she'd follow behind. They'd land on their porch, pop inside their compartment and chatter softly. Then they'd take off again. In and out, in and out.  

So, if you're not going to give up, then I guess I can't either. Then I thought back on everything we've been through together. A first lady mate that didn't stay. A starling attack. Sparrow invasions. The day I thought a hawk had taken the male. And now the loss of four eggs.

Yet there they were, my martin male and female, going back inside the compartment where they'd lost their unhatched. How brave is that?

Truly, how brave IS that? I've decided that I'm going to try to have the courage of a purple martin.

Gone

 Our four purple martin eggs are gone. I don't think I can be a purple martin landlord after all.

And we'd just put up that fancy predator guard, too. What was the point. 

Purple martin update

May 28, 2013--no babies yet. But SOON!

May 25, 2012

Purple martin nest check

 FOUR EGGS!  

She lays one each consecutive morning around sunrise, no more than seven.

Purple martin update

We're gonna have little ones!

Two evenings ago, I happened to look up and see this rainbow. Our martin flew overhead so I ran inside for my camera. This was the only decent shot I could get of him and the rainbow. I doctored it up a lot, and you can barely see him in the left half of the photo. See that black speck in the sky? 

And YES, I checked inside the nest yesterday and counted THREE eggs with my fingertips! Hip hip HOORAY! Stay tuned! I plan to check again today.
 

Purple martin nest cams

Now that we think and hope that we're truly purple martin landlords, we wonder about the process of mating, nesting and laying eggs. So I looked around for some nest cams, and here are a few that I found:

Gazebo Phil

Environmental Institute of Houston

New York Wild (not yet activated)

Purple martin update

I believe I can really, truly, honestly, happily report that we DO INDEED have a pair! They've shared two nights together so far. I think that's pretty darn committed!

Here's what we've observed since my last report, "Just one martin," April 19:

Saturday, April 20
I didn't feel up to sitting in the Meadow, so I watched with my binoculars from our bedroom window. I kept a pretty close eye, but I didn't see even one martin go inside our house. Sniff.

Sunday, April 21
However, the next morning, I looked out our window as soon as I got out of bed (which was...don't tell anyone...after 8) and I SAW A MARTIN on the house! I felt tons better!

During the day, I watched the house and kept the sparrows away as best as I could. I cleaned out their two nests, too. I was THRILLED when our male returned with another gal! At one point, a male sparrow shot between them and went into the middle compartment! MEAN! This was WAR. The rest of the day, all I wanted to do was stay outside and scare off sparrows. Which I nearly did. 

That evening, James and I sat in the Meadow. We clapped and threw rocks to keep the sparrows away. TWO martins flew in! They were in bed by 8 p.m.

Monday, April 22
I've ordered a Universal Sparrow Trap from the Purple Martin Conservation Association. 

I watched off and on during the day. One time, our martins returned with two others. But they didn't stay. In the evening, a third martin showed up and perched on the utility line for awhile. Then it left.

Around 8 p.m., our male went into the second-floor compartment for the night, and she went into the top floor. We could hear him "talking" inside his room.

"Nope, not this time, Hon, you're sleeping down here with ME," he seemed to be chortling. After several minutes of him fussing, she finally relented and moved downstairs with him! She's stayed TWO NIGHTS now!

Tuesday, April 23
We braved 55-degree temps and kept watch from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. First, we did remove the two sparrow nests. I, for one, was VERY happy to see our pair fly in and go right to bed before 8 p.m. 

This time, they slept in the top bunk.

Wednesday, April 24

Just one martin

Alas, only one martin has returned to our house the last two nights. I wish I knew what happened to the other one. I feel sure our lone soul is the male. He entertained a female briefly at the house but returned by himself Wednesday evening. For a long while, he sat on the porch, then at 8:15 he went inside the top-floor compartment for the night.

A female briefly visited....

Last night, I headed outside at 7:30 to keep an eye out for him. I felt sure he'd return. I saw him soaring overhead several times then he'd disappear. Close to 8 p.m., he returned and began flying in closer to the house. Then another pair of martins flew by, and he took out after them, chortling loudly. At first, I thought maybe he wouldn't come back. But yes, he would, I decided! And he DID! Alone, still. At 8:05 or so, he flew straight into his compartment. I headed back to the house. My vigil was done.

OUR FIRST MARTIN COUPLE! updated

IT'S OFFICIAL!
(maybe)

April 16, 2013

WE ARE PURPLE MARTIN LANDLORDS! 

Finally, after five long years of waiting, they've come. My first pair! 

"Remember when you fell in love with me, and you didn't want to eat?" I asked James shyly before supper last night. He was fixing spaghetti, something simple so I could get back outside as fast as possible. "Like what I felt when I fell in love with you?" He nodded. "Well, that's how I feel now," I said. "I don't have any appetite, and I don't have TIME to eat either!"

Right now, all I want to do is watch and be near them…. 

I researched long and hard about what kind of purple martin house I should buy. I figured out the prime location on our property and how far it should be from nearby trees. A successful martin house must have starling-proof, crescent-shaped entrances. Bars across the porches to discourage owls and hawks. A predator guard on the pole to stop snakes and raccoons.

All in all, in honor of my 50th birthday in 2009 (I am telling my age...you're welcome), we spent $400-plus for EVERYTHING. That included a pre-assembled Coates Waters Edge three-level house with six two-room compartments. The house’s "entrance foyer" further protected nestlings from predators, I learned.

I won't even begin to tell you how many bags of cement James used to set the pole. I lost track after 10. Or was it 15? (Then we found the instructions, buried at the bottom of the shipping box.)

Ah, the pole. A telescoping pole, top of the line, of course. We had the house up no less than a month when we were outside working, and the house crashed down a notch! I was devastated. I called Birds Choice, the pole manufacturer, and they shipped a replacement pole. Problem solved. Or so I thought. Several days later, I happened to look outside and saw that the house/pole had completely COLLASPED. I cried. Because if we'd had martins, and that had happened, THEY WOULD HAVE ABANDONED THE HOUSE AND NEVER EVER EVER EVER RETURNED.

EVER.

We contacted the company and reported what had happened. James bought some long screws and nuts, and drilled into the pole's three interconnected pipes. THAT never happened again.

Nor did we get martins that first year.

Or the second. Or third. In 2010, we even replaced the starling-proof entrances with normal "round" entrances, hoping/thinking that would solve our martin-less problem.

We took off the owl guards, too.

Nothing.

Oh, sure, we had a few casual lookers. They flew by. They browsed. But no one stayed.

Year four, we had what we THOUGHT was our first martin to stay overnight. I even blogged about the big event (March 12, 2012). To this day, I'm still not sure of the bird species, but it sure looked and acted like a martin. We were up before daybreak the next morning, and I got one photo of the bird before it shot off into the air, headed south. We never saw it again.

Fast forward to spring 2013. It's April, and I've given up. Again. Another year with no martins. I don't even have enough faith to ask God to send me one. Isn't that a silly thing to pray for? What's more, I feel like I'd be testing Him to ask. If only I'd believe more, then maybe He'd give me martins? No, I can't set conditions. God doesn't. So I don't pray for martins. But I do tell God, "I have faith in YOU, and You know my heart's true desire. Your will, not mine." Then I let the matter go.

Last Saturday morning, James picked me up at the airport from a four-day business trip. Not far from home, we rounded the corner onto Cedar Street so I could admire the prairie verbena that’s still blanketing the Meadow with purple.

"Look!" I exclaimed. "A purple martin! Stop!" James braked the car, and I jumped out. In my blue skirt and cream sweater, I stood at the edge of the Meadow, breathless, elated, just to SEE the bird of my dreams swoop overhead.

This time, though, the martin didn’t leave. Instead, he lingered on a nearby utility line. James later joined me, and we watched him together. Maybe?......

We weren’t around during most of the next morning. I just couldn’t resist a native plant sale at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. That evening, the martin showed up again. But I just couldn’t let myself hope. Not yet.

Then Monday, I watched and saw him! He DID return! When he flew off, James and I decided to do a fast sparrow-nest clean out.

"I think we should take off the predator guard," he said. "That's the only thing that's different. Maybe that's what's keeping them away." I agreed. The upside-down black bucket thing on the pole didn’t seem to be helping in the least.

That afternoon, I saw THREE martins flying around the house! I got photos of two. Before supper, I peeked out our bedroom window and saw movement around the house. It was my lone martin guy, circling the house. Would he stay the night? We sat in our lawn chairs behind the cedar fence in the Meadow and watched. No, he didn’t stay. Instead, he left to sleep somewhere else. 

(This long saga WILL end. Stay with me.)

Yesterday. Tuesday now, 6 a.m. James and I got up so we could martin watch before daybreak. With coffee, lawn chairs and my pink church blanket around my shoulders, we set up headquarters again behind the cedar fence in the Meadow. Seven o'clock came and went. No martins. Oh, well. We tried! But later, from our bedroom window, I do see martins! TWO martins, in fact! He's found a girl! I ran outside to see.

While I stood watching, the pair kissed on the top floor, then scrambled inside the compartment. Oh, it HAD to be serious now! They'd agreed on living arrangements! After five long years, we'd finally gotten our first pair of purple martins! Later, I saw them go in and out of the middle floor compartment. Guess she’d changed her mind.

All day, I went in and out of our house to watch the martins. I was in love.

Before supper, I noticed that a pair of martins was fixated on the bottom floor compartment. Now what was up? Had a second pair shown up? James said he’d seen two more martins show up. But supper was ready. I had to eat first.

“Are you CHEWING?” he asked at the table, eyeing my plate of quickly-vanishing salad and spaghetti.

“Of course!” I replied, smiling sweetly. But I did want to get back outside and see what the martins were up to.

Back in my lawn chair, binoculars aimed at the house, I watched the pair hunched on the bottom porch. The male appeared to be “hissing” (no sound, just a wide open mouth) at the interior of the compartment. He acted somewhat aggressive. But was he sick, I worried? Or was he trying to tell the female to check out the inside? Were they afraid because it was a dual compartment? Was another male martin inside? 

Then they switched sides on the porch, and the female hissed next. There was a scuffle a time or two also, like the pair was either fighting each other or something inside the house. I kept watching. I wasn't going to leave until there was an ENDING! Soon James joined me.

Finally, I could see something moving inside the house. A snake? WHAT WAS IT?! Then all the sudden A MALE SPARROW FLEW OUT! They were intimidating the you-know-what out of that guy so he'd never come back! James and I laughed and applauded at the same time! We high-fived, too! "Way to go!" I called out to the pair. I don’t think that sparrow will ever set foot back on that side of the house!

So as of Tuesday evening, our newly married martin couple had staked out the south side of the house, and the sparrows have the north side. So far, that is. 

FINALLY, I AM A PURPLE MARTIN LANDLORD!

April 15, 2013...My lone subadult male who returned.

April 15, 2013...Two of three martins that visited.

April 15, 2013...My lone subadult male that stuck around.

April 16, 2013...The next day, he found a girl!

April 16, 2013...She's considering the middle floor.

April 16, 2013...Uh, oh, we've got neighbors.

April 16, 2013...You sure want this apartment?

April 16, 2013...Time for bed. Long day that included a well-rigged orchestration against a sparrow intruder. As you can see, she decided on the top floor. Our brave male adult kept vigil outside the apartment until 8:15. He even stuck his head back out the door when he heard us putting away our lawn chairs and leaving for our house.

UPDATE April 18, 2013--I am sad to report that only ONE martin returned to the house last night. He/she (evening light was too dim to be sure) sat on the porch alone for 15 minutes, then jumped inside for the night. Alone.

So maybe I'm not an official purple martin landlord after all. I guess we'll see what the next few days bring.

Wanted: Purple martins!

 

James put our purple martin house up today. Scouts (adult males who fly in first and stake out their housing) have already arrived in Florida (see 2013 Scout Arrival Page). In Texas last year, they arrived as early as January 10 in Pleasanton. So start putting up those houses, landlords!

For more info,read Gary Clark's "Purple martin scouts will soon come calling" in last Saturday's San Antonio Express-News.

This will be our fifth season to try and attract our own martins. Last year, we had ONE martin spend the night in our house (I have the photo to prove it, and I posted it here). I will NOT NOT NOT give up hope!    

 

Spring cleaning at Blanco State Park

This morning, I assisted Mary Alice Partain, an interpretive ranger at Blanco State Park, clean out 12 of the park's 36 purple martin gourds. So far, the state park–alas, like us–hasn't attracted any tenants. And we've both got such fabulous accommodations, too! What's up with that? Our house here has suite-style rooms with an entry hall and a nesting room. Plenty roomy as well, the park's apartments have river views, a HUGE plus if you happen to eat insects. Which martins do. 

For right now, Mary Alice and I agreed that it makes more sense to open just one level and not all three. Otherwise, it's a nightmare trying to keep the English sparrow nests out. We both take down our purple martin housing once a week to clean out sparrow nests. If and when martins start moving into the park complex, then she'll open up more. Since we only have six suites here, James and I opened them all up.


Wish us both luck!


 

Our first martin!

Yesterday after church, we decided it'd be a good time to take down the martin house and clean out the sparrow nests. As James was easing down the pole, a pair of martins showed up! I started dancing! They both lit on the electric lines and waited for us to finish. However, you know how it goes when you're trying to rush. Things don't go well! We hurriedly pulled out the one sparrow nest, then James worked to get the house back up. But it wouldn't cooperate. The martin couple ended up leaving. Sniff. But I decided to weed in the nearby oak motte in hopes that I might hear a martin return. They didn't, though I did hear some off in the distance.

After supper, we loaded up lawn chairs and parked outside to watch the house for any activity. Lo and behold, a few martins breezed over, and one flew up to a porch. But it didn't stay. Sniff. I was ready to give up. In the meantime, our neighbor's son, Harold, ambled over, and we all chatted. A good 10 or 15 minutes later, a martin showed up again! This time, he popped right into a compartment. For a while, we could see his head, sticking out through the entrance. Then he went to bed.

Jubilation at the Pink House! 

James called my mother, and I called some other friends. You'd think we were having our first baby together! (Not ever gonna happen, folks, we're OLD.) 

This morning before sunrise, James and I trooped back outside with our chairs and coffee mugs. Patiently, we waited. I nearly gave up (like I wanted to last night). But around 7:30 or so, he stuck his head out.Then he climbed onto the porch. A minute or so later, he shot off and disappeared into the southern sky. Headed for the Blanco River, probably.


I blew up the image above, and I do believe we had a martin last night. As far as I know, OUR FIRST EVER! After four years of waiting! Stay tuned!

That time again

Oh, yes. Here we go again. Could THIS be the year that we get our very own purple martins? You gotta give us credit for tenacity. This will be our fourth spring to try.

I was such a big help this year. We couldn't find the bolts that secure the telescoping pole. I even checked inside the martin house, the logical place for them to be stored. Right? So James took off and checked the garage and shed again. I went in the house and looked in a closet. No luck. While he strode off to the shed again, I returned to the martin house and proceeded to do a better compartment check.

Well....you guessed it. Just as James reappeared on the horizon, what should I find in a plastic baggy in a bottom compartment? The bolts! I slunk my head in contrite embarrassment. Thank goodness James is a patient guy who LOVES ME TONS. 'Cause he just smiled, shook his head and said, "Glad you found'em!"

Wish us luck!

Purple martin friend

Good morning! I just read on Facebook (thanks Louise Chambers!) about martin enthusiast Gardner Sumner in Austin. During last summer's horrific drought and heat, he spent hours, feeding birds and cooling houses at the Virginia Avenue Purple Martin Sanctuary in Travis County. For his dedication, the Austin American-Statesman recognized him as one of their Volunteers of the Year.

It won't be long before the scouts start returning!

The purple martin house goes UP

Here we go. Time to try a third season to start our martin colony. These time, we're trying decoys. Scouts are arriving daily in Texas, according to the Purple Martin Conservation Association's Scout Arrival Study. Wish us luck!

UPDATE MARCH 11, 2011–Carrol Fuchs called me today and told me that HIS MARTINS HAD JUST ARRIVED! Still keeping our fingers crossed!

They're coming!

Purple martins, that is. A landlord in Pleasanton, TX, has already reported his first scout! The male arrived January 8, according to the Scout Arrival Study page at Purple Martin Conservation Association.

This is THE year! (After two previous years of watching an empty house.) We will have our first martin colony. We will we will we will we will.......

Another martin visited!

YES YES YES! I was in the front yard and heard a martin. So I dashed over to the Meadow, and–sure enough–there was a martin circling our house! James and I watched it, then it flew off. Later, while we sat in the Meadow this evening, I spotted what turned out to be a martin, sitting on the utility line. It sat there for quite some time. The it flew away. No matter! Another martin visited our house! There's always hope!

Martin sighting!

We were unlidding the entrances on our six-room house awhile ago, and TWO PURPLE MARTINS flew over head! Oh, yeah, I did the Happy Dance! Lots of them!

I thought I'd heard one earlier in the day while we were outside. But I didn't see anything. It was so cool to glimpse them when we did. Awesome! Here's hoping we get our first tenants this spring!!

Nearly time for purple martins!

Word has it that purple martin scouts have already been spotted in Texas! (Check out the Scout Arrival-Texas page at the Purple Martin Conservation Association website.) That bit of exciting news prompted James and I to get out our house and get it ready yesterday. First thing we did...actually, James did...was to switch out the entrance doors. Last year, our Coates home had half-moon entrance holes, which deter starlings (but not sparrows, darn it). However, the local purple martins didn't know how to use them so we didn't get any tenants. (We watched some try to get in but they couldn't so they left, frustrated.) This year, we're trying the traditional round holes, which we've got capped until martins arrive.




So our house is officially up! In the meantime, you can read a recent article I wrote on purple martins in the January 2010 issue of Texas Co-op Power magazine: "Purple Martin Landlords."

P.S. On Facebook, I'm a fan on the Purple Martin page. Which is where I found the Purple Martin Research Group. Right now, I'm in the process of joining the forum...