Martins  March 27, 2019 Wednesday

Today the temperatures are going toward 60 degrees for the first time in a while.  After my first arrival on the 15th and his departure a couple days later, hopefully going back to a more suitable area, My Martin returned on Sunday the 24th.  Joining him were another male and a female on Monday and today I count three male and one female at my Peaceful Valley Purple Martin Site. 

Other colonies I monitor have a few martins back now too.  Yesterday I counted three at the VHCC site, and another landlord called to report as many as five martins at her site on Monday March 25.  It is becoming a pattern I noticed over the years that The first few Martins of the year will usually arrive and be greeted by poor weather and be forced to retreat. They  then return a week or so later when the weather improves.   Of course there is the chance that the first bird (s) perishes  in the poor weather before being replaced by later arrivals.

I look forward to more arrivals in the next few weeks as we finish this first week of spring. Reports of martins down south,   nest building are coming in on the Purple Martin Facebook pages as well was the first reports of martins arriving in  the more northern states.