Why dont visiting martins stay at my colony at the beginning of the season?
There is no real answer for this. Martins may stop at a site to rest during migration, and even spend the night before continuing their migration. Martins from an established neighboring site might just be curious about the “new” site and want to check it out. Remember, these are wild birds, and the motives behind their various behaviors are not well understood, if at all. If you have a lot of visiting martins over a long period of time, but none stay to nest, check out the “Top 10 Reasons People Fail to Attract Purple Martins” at http://www.purplemartin.org/main/topten.
