Hi All,
Excited to have an SY pair nesting at my site after an up and down couple of years. They are tending to 4 eggs scheduled to hatch this weekend. Hoping they can get this thing established.
Question - does the male bring the female food while she is incubating eggs? I see him coming and going quite a bit, going into the house, then heading back out. It's a watersedge 4 room house with double compartments. Is he just checking things out or being a dutiful husband?
Male feeding female?
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MNguy
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2017 2:58 pm
- Location: Dakota Cty, MN
- Martin Colony History: 2014 - first year, zero activity
2015 - Nothing
2016 - SY male visited and stayed a few weeks, unable to attract a mate
2017 - SY pair arrived June 6 - 3 eggs laid, 2 hatched, 1 fledged.
2018 - ASY male, SY female - 5 eggs, 5 hatched, lost all 5 prematurely
2019 - SY male hungout for a month, no mate, several visitors
2020 - Hopeful....
I have my first pair too. 4 eggs hatched on July 4 and 5. She is constantly in and out. He checks in every now and then and always escorts her back to gourd everytime she goes out. Chases away any visitors that get too close to his gourd.and brings in food occasionally. Seems to be very good parents. Perfect for the matriarches of my new colony. If these babies survive will they return here or nearby?
I believe studies show around 10% of fledglings return to their nest site and the rest seek out new sites. I guess this is nature’s way of preventing inbreeding and expanding the natural range. Their biggest hurdle is simply surviving the migrations.