May 29, 2010

I did the daily nest check this morning and the martins continue to keep the sparrows out of the pods!!! After a couple of minutes 3, then 4, then 5 martins came and circled above us as we checked for nests. Pod #5 continues to have the 4 eggs with the projected hatch date of June 7th. No other pods had nests. In the big white house, I found a LARGE sparrow nest with an egg. We removed the nest and the egg.

May 27-28 Nest Checks

We are happy to report that the martins are thriving in our colony! I am so very proud of our landlords for taking such good care of them! On Thursday we invited the 4th grade "original" landlords to see the martin nest. They LOVED it and so did the purple martins!! They were extremly social and showed off a bunch!The nest check revealed sparrow nests in the white house, but NOT the pods!!! This is major progress and shows us that the sparrows are getting the message. We have also observed the purple martins defending their territory and running off the sparrows. Due to the MWE talent show, our nest check was later today at 11:00. It was interesting to find NO martins out there, but TONS of dragonflies. However, it didn't take long for them to hear us and they came soaring through the air. They once again have defended the pods and kept out the sparrows. This is GREAT news as we head into the holiday weekend. Our 4 little eggs are doing well and their parents seem to be adding leaves to make it nice and comfortable! Check in this weekend for an update!

Flying in! by Elise

Here is a slide show of the adult male martin that was VERY social today with his 7 other friends. What a beautiful and wonderful sight! Click on the green link below called "Flying in by Elise" and turn up the volume a little. Enjoy!

Flying in! by Elise

May 26, 2010 Is a Colony Beginning?

What an amazing sight this morning as we went for our nest check! We saw 8 MARTINS!!! Look closely at the photo and you will see them all! They were very social and showed interest in our pods! Pod #5 has 4 eggs and the projected hatching date is June 7th. Based on the observations today, we may have more nest building. Our Purple Martin book says males will start to sing to females and there may be fights to claim ownership over nest holes. Our observations were consistent with this as the male martin kept hovering around the pods. At times it seemes as if he was peeking inside to see which might be the best! The 2nd graders decided to remove all clothespins that were blocking sparrows from entering the pods because of this new interest showed by the martins. Needless to say....we are VERY EXCITED TODAY! Be sure to look at the photo slideshow to see firsthand what we experienced!

May 25 Afternoon Nest Check

After finding the same 4 eggs this morning in our purple martin nest, we decided to check this afternoon just to make sure our female was finished. When we went out, the momma bird flew out of pod #5 and started to fly around and sing! We quickly checked the nest and the 4 eggs were still there. so, it looks like the previous prediction was correct. Our martins are inexperienced and this is probably their first nest. This gives us even more reason to keep an eye on them and help them have a successful nesting season! Check back in the morning for our next update!

May 25, 2010

This morning we had some third grade guests join us for our daily nest check! They were landlords last year, but since no martins stayed, we wanted them to have a chance to see a REAL martin nest. After all, they have helped in this process too! While we were out there, the purple martins were VERY SOCIAL! They flew and dove all around us. We could see 2 of them with leaves in their mouths. The female even went in her pod #5. However, when we checked the nest, there were still 4 eggs. We think she may be an inexperienced martin. If so, then she might not lay any more! Check back to see what we find this afternoon.

May 24, 2010

When the second graders went out this morning at 8:30 am, there was quite a surprise waiting for them during the nest check! Yes, we had additional sparrow nests, but when we looked in the purple martin nest...the female momma martin was sitting with her eggs! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT! We captured a picture and then raised the house. She stayed in there for quite awhile and even had a visit from the male martin who brought her a leaf to cover the eggs. We are not sure if there are 4 eggs, but we plan on checking later to see!

May 23, 2010

At 8:50 am this morning, we went up to do a nest check. Once again we found a sparrow nest with an egg. This time it was in pod number 4, so we put a clothespin over it to keep out the sparrows. When we checked the purple martin nest...we had 3 EGGS!!!! I wonder how many eggs our female purple martin will lay?

May 22, 2010

When I went up to school today to do a nest check, I was excited to find another egg in pod#5. The purple martins have now laid 2 eggs, 1 a day. I also removed a large sparrow nest with an egg inside. I am excited to go up tomorrow morning to see if we have egg number 3!