Return of the GHO

the martin season is well into the nesting phase and as of Saturday May 26 fifty-nine nests were with eggs. Hatching will begin any day then the fun and busy phase of feeding hungry mouths begins. I will check nests again the first of second of June and expect a few more nests to become active with eggs.

  With that being the good news the bad news visited last night with a big series of hoots.  Around 11 pm the call of the great horned owl seemed to be just outside the bedroom door.  A second owl could be heard further off and the two seemed to be having a conversation in the night. After going out to have a look my suspicion was correct. The GHO was perched atop the T-14 house where I had seen subtle signs of bending of the perch rods the last few days.  Always a concern, this year signs of visits by the owl had been non existent until now.   

plucked feathers of (? Mockingbird?) found under housing may 29 morning.  Pretty sure these are not martins this time.

mornings will now be time for through examination under the poles. The effectiveness of the owl guards and the ChirpyNest design will be tested once again and time will tell the tale. 

    In an effort to more easily monitor activity I opened up a visual path through the maple tree outside the bedroom and only have to open the door and look with binoculars.  

Window through maple tree looking out to the t-14 and colony.  

   future nest check numbers and close observations will determine if the owl is hurting my colony or just using the poles as hunting and feeding perches. 

May 20 /21 nest check

the martins have kicked things into high gear after last weeks check. 

On May 20, my Home colony increased from 12 active nests ( nest with at least one egg laid) and 19 eggs, to 50 active nests and 178 eggs laid.   

first eggs should hatch around June 4.  

The colony at Virginia Highlands Community College has two poles, a cedar T-14 house and a 26 cavity ChirpyNest system. 

The nest check today May 21 had counts as follows;  

the T-14 has 4 active nests with 20 eggs. Up from 2 active and 3 eggs last week. For the second week in a row I had to remove a starling nest with eggs. This pair is breaching the crescent starling resistant entry holes. Usually by end of May these pests will give it up after removing nests repeatedly. 

The ChirpyNest setup increased from 5 active nests and 8 eggs last week to 17 active nests and 67 eggs laid.  

    Next check should reveal exactly where the season is compared to last year but so far it looks as if it will be a fantastic year as far as number of pairs at both sites.  The second phase of the season, raising and fledging young will tell the tale of success for the season.  

 #17 at VHCC with one egg

clutch of 6 eggs in a ChirpyNest cavity at VHCC. Fresh leaves are brought in each day during incubation. 

Clutch of four eggs in cavity #4 of the ChirpyNest Four-compartment House.  

Nest check may 8 Peaceful Valley colony

Today’s nest check at my home colony revealed 55 nests but none active. An active nest is one with at least one egg laid.  

My Home colony consists of eight poles with a total of 151 cavities.   

Nest building began about five days ago. Material is being gathered from the garden below the trendsetter house, several landscape beds and a cornfield to the southeast about 400 yards away.  Pine needles are also being taken from the platform above the solitary gourd seen in the photo.   

   Second year birds have begun arriving but most nesting activity is from older after second year (ASY) birds. Another nest check will be done in Five to seven days. I suspect there will be several with eggs at that time.  

eggs will be laid one per day until all are laid.  Typically Four to five eggs are laid but as few as two and as many as seven is not unusual.  

  Once all eggs are laid it is 16 days to hatch then 26-32 days before young leave the nest.  

VHCC

conducted the first nest Check May 8, 2018

a nest check involves lowering each housing setup and then inspecting each cavity for nesting activity,eggs and young.  As the season progresses a check is done every 5 to 7 days and the findings are logged into a notebook. At the end of the season the results are compiled and sent to the Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA) as part of Project Martinwatch. Project Martinwatch is a national study of purple Martins nesting data sent in by participating landlords.  

Todays nest check at the Virginia Highlands Community College revealed:

7 nests started in the cedar T-14 house. One starling nest with two eggs was removed from compartment #10.  

16 nests started in the ChirpyNest setup of housing cavities.  

None of the nests are active ( with eggs).  

The development of the nests in all compartments varied from a formation of a bowl to a bowl with fresh leaves. While these numbers represent nesting activity, I do not count them as a nesting pair until at least one egg is laid.  Nest gathering began just a few days ago and I did not expect eggs today.