Easy to see how special they are to you Mike. It is a wonderful and blessed thing to have something in your life which makes your heart soar. Congrats! ~~Angie

Thanks Angie. They are a joy to have I know that. Right after I saw this guy another male joined him. I have two males now and usually I will have at least four or five males before I ever see a female. They are usually budies until the first female shows up on the dance floor grin..Then for some reason ai'nt buddies anymore smile...Mike

From your description I can feel the excitement of Spring. Do you think the same colony comes back each year to your gourds? I would love to see some pics of these birds.

Terrene,

I will get some pictures of them from last year and post a couple for you and all to see. I wish I knew how folks get the pictures to show up with the post instead of in a link?? Anyone know how you do that? Purple Martins are simply wonderful Terrene. They reflect all that is good and green in the world and after a long winter without them seeing the first male is a treat beyond words. He is trult forever summertime just as the Bluebird is forever April,Apple Blossoms,and Daffodils smile..

Anyone who has the proper wide open habitat they love,lives in their range,and provides proper housing with Starling Resistent Entrances,and controls the House Sparrows can have a martin colony. It used to be that you could just put up a two inch round hole martin house just about anywhere in their range and get started but not these days. The pressure from their number one enemies(House Sparrows and Starlings) in most places is just too great. For this reason alone they must be dealt with in order to be truly successful attracting and then increasing a martin colony. In the end however once you see the martins and they get into your heart and soul it is all well worth it...Mike

How exciting to have your Martins back. I'm so happy for you.

Must be great to have your beautiful friends "home" again!

Eastern Purple Martins supposedly only nest in artificial houses (Native Americans used to hang gourds for them), but there is a population on Poppy Mnt, perhaps they are using old barn loft crannies for nesting.

7-12-09, Poppy Mnt, Purple Martin pair

Someone has a martin house up by the small Morehead welcome park.

6-6-09, male and female Purple Martins quarreling, 2:31 p.m.

To post full sized photos on this forum, upload your photos to a free photo sharing site like Picasa Web Albums, then right-click to copy the "embed" link next to the photo in whatever size you want (you are offered 5 sizes in the drop-down bar) and paste it to your post. When you click on "preview" the html will appear as a photo

Double-clicking on any of my photos will take you my Picasa Web Album, if you want to see what I'm talking about

Awesome pictures Rachel and thanks for the tip!! Are those your martins on the house and wire?? If they are I highly recommend you getting some clinger entrance plates on the house to protect them from starlings in the future. If you would like I will tell you how to get some Rachel. They are only one dollar each and once in place they lock out starlings for good. Look at how striking the male martin is! In his own unique way he is one of the most beautiful birds in North America. Love that deep steel blue!

Kendra..They are an absolute joy and truly the Ultimate Bird. I mean that by teh way they can fly. Most birds like Cardinals,Sparrows ,etc just flit to get from point A to point B. The martins actually fly smile..! They are "Bad to the Bone" way up in the air where they put on spectacular aerial shows. Love them so much..Mike

Rachel, Is there any chance for you to watch them to see where they go to nest? I find it fascinating that they are nesting without man-made housing being put up for them. How cool for you though to be able to witness them in your area, up on Poppy Mountain. It sounds like such a fabulous place to live. It seems like you get to see just about everything up there.

Wow, nice pics Rachel, and they are gorgeous birds. I've never seen a Purple Martin and don't even recall seeing pictures. Where did they nest before people put up houses for them? They must have nested in the wild somewhere.

The (P.s. Subis) eastern Purple Martins are said to only nest in artificial housing, but the western population (P.s. hesperia-mostly distinguished by nesting habits) nests in natural cavities like woodpecker holes, so surely the original eastern birds used to do so also.

I've never noticed where the Poppy Mountain Purple Martins nest since I assumed they use niches in the big, open barns but I'll try to pay more attention this year. There's a huge European Starling flock hanging around up there also but since people don't live up to supply them with food, the starlings must be nesting in the woods instead of competing with the Purple Martins

Terrene,

The ancient martins of the past once nested in hollow tree snags,old woodpecker holes,etc and some including myself think they mave have used rocky outcroppings,cliffsides,and river banks very similar to how the Rough Winged Swallow,Barn,and the Cliff Swallow nests today. To me this would explain their use of mud in their nests. There would be no need for mud in a deep woodpecker cavity or tree hollow but maybe the ancient martins used mud to seal off a rock crevice or something similar?? All fun questions to think about and wonder.

The native American Indians of the south first started attracting martins by using gourds. Most likely it happened by accident as the Indians hung the gourds to dry. Well maybe the mice(that love to eat gourd seeds)got into them as they hung there in the winter drying. They ate a hole in the gourd and in the spring the martins took them. After the Indians noticed this they liked the martins and then started purposely hanging the gourds for them? Again fun questions to think about.

When the white man settled in this country they began to build wooden houses for martins along with adopting the Indians practice of hanging gourds and then the stage was set for making the Purple Martin so dependant on man for housing as they are today. I think that in ancient days of this country when the great forests once dominated that the martins were not as common as they are today with the increased open area and that is most likely true. However the greatest threat to martins now is their need for man made housing and of course their number one enemies the Starlings and the House Sparrows.

When these two birds came on the scene they slowly began to push out the martins wherever they became common. Gone were the days of simply putting up a martin house with 2 inch round holes in it and forgetting about it. Same with the Bluebirds and if it were not for the 1 and 1\2 inch entrance hole in BB Boxes the Eastern Bluebird would not be near as common as they are now. The 1 and 1\2 hole stopped the starlings and then they only had the House Sparrows to deal with. Fortunately for the Purple Martin there are now SREH(Starling Resistent Entrance Holes)and they have helped martins everywhere now not have to deal with starlings and wherever this is happening the martins are doing great. My site is nearly 100% clinger SREH now and it is such a sitisfying feeling knowing the martins are protected from those nest stealing,murdering starlings. Martins can deal with the sparrows to a point but not starlings and having the SREH is the only way to go these days if you seek a martin colony.

I have been a martin landlord since I was 11 years old Terrene and all. I never tire of watching them and they are such a great part of summertime in this country. They are as American as baseball,apple pie,your Grandma's country biscuits,etc..smile..Thanks to all people who now use the SREH and trap and control the House Sparrows at their martin colonies. It simply helps the martins bigtime and so many other native songbirds continue to exist and live free and un harrassed in their own country. Man has in a way changed the nesting habits of the martins and this one question is always in my mind when I watch them. What would happen if all of a sudden man stopped supplying them housing?? Would their ancient instincts kick back in and send them back to cliffs,riverbanks,hollows,etc??? That is a lot to ponder right there I know that...Mike