Seeing Purple: Purple Martins in Larimore!

11 years ago

My season of joy has begun.

The Purple Martins arrived here at 4:47 p.m. on 29 April 2013.

I was busy in the kitchen when I heard the long-awaited burbling, chortling chatter. I ran outside and saw about 25 martins high overhead. I lowered the rack, removed plugs from the gourds, and raised it back up.

Before I could get back to the front door several of the martins had already nose-dived into the gourds. I know they are my vets; they didn't even slow down when going into the gourds.

When the front door is open, I can see the gourds from the kitchen. As I was moving around the room preparing supper, I noticed the female in Gourd 8 watching me. Her head moved to follow what I was doing in the house. I went out on the front deck to talk to her and let her get a better look. Indulge my moment of anthropomorphism; I know she remembered me!

Of course it was cloudy and cooler all afternoon and there was a nasty, drizzly rain. It makes me happy to know the gourds are clean, dry, and cozily packed with cedar shavings. I imagine they're tired when they arrive; tired, cold, and glad to be "home." They will be dry and warm and safe tonight.

The photo is of last year's birds.

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Comments (19)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
How utterly wonderful! YOU are the best example of how to foster birds. They are much more intelligent than most give them credit for, more observant....I have no doubt that they can remember "their people " from one year to the next.

I have some great experiences, too....the most memorable with hummingbirds. I've never put up a martin house. It's got to be fascinating to watch them.
phyllis__mn
11 years ago
I was wondering if they had made it to their summer home yet.
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My Controller\Purple Martin Guardian
Q
Comments (2)
Sounds and looks like a neat place. I have never been birding outside the United States but that looks neat. Thanks for the tip. I wonder if there are starlings there?? Probably darn it grin..suckers have spread all over the globe now it seems except like maybe Antarctica or the far north. I wish they would all go there from the United States anyway and maybe freeze solid before they realized they went too far south. My trap had another one in it this very morning and it was great to see him behind bars as I sipped my morning coffee while watching my now 20 martins all over the gourds smile...Mike
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And more Purple Martins nests and eggs!
Q
Comments (5)
Glenda...it's my therapy! I love all the native birds, and the cavity nesters (Purple Martins, Tree Swallows, Woodpeckers, Bluebirds, Chickadees, Nuthatches, etc.) most especially. The PMs eat only flying insects. They have beautiful songs and calls. They are always on the wing. They are so sweet and gentle and nest only near humans. They have "imprinted" on humans since before the time of Columbus. He discovered native American villages up and down the eastern coast with long poles hung with gourds around the areas. Insect control, beautiful birds and beautiful song. Socks...Yes, I'm registered with the Purple Martin Conservation Association. They track "landlords" submitted information on arrivals, dates, eggs, fledges, departures, etc., and the migration back to Brazil. They actually use doppler radar to check the early and late migrations, too. For a native bird that was brought almost to the point of extinction to now have a migration mass large enough to track is wonderful. I also belong to three other private Purple Martin forums that collect data and share information. OakleyOK...I've never had a problem with wasps in my gourds. Of course, my gourds are kept taken down, cleaned, and stored in the basement as soon as the chicks leave, usually around Aug. 1. I set the colony up again around April 15. I keep duct tape over the gourds' entry holes until the PMs actually arrive. That keeps the non-native vermin, such as starlings and English House Sparrows out.
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What's in your gourd? 1 pic (Purple Martin)
Q
Comments (9)
Isn't it, Lisa! Don't you just want to kiss those yellow lips? I know I do! LOL (But I don't.) No, I don't over-handle them, but Purple Martins, unlike many other native birds, have imprinted on humans from before the time of Columbus, and are not put off by human "assistance" when done in a calm and safe manor. I lower the gourd rack nearly daily and check the nests...well "nest" this year. When the chicks are between 10-12 days old I remove them from the nest and put them in a basket lined with a towel. I loosely cover them. Then I quickly remove all the old nesting material, check it for parasites, and refill the gourd with clean wood shavings or pine needles. I add about 1/2 teaspoon of Sevin dust under the shavings, form a new nest cup toward the back of the gourd, and replace the chicks. I have the materials all ready and can change out a nest in less than three minutes if it's not heavily invested with mites or blow fly larvae. Thankfully I've never experienced the latter and have had only minor out breaks of mites that were cured with a nest change and tiny sprinkle of Sevin. I've had adult birds dash into the gourd before I was finished and wait for me to return their chicks. They swoop around and fuss at me, but they are not distressed at all. By carefully monitoring their PMs, landlords will have higher fledge rates (The number of hatchlings that live to fly off on their own at 28 days of age.) It's all a numbers game with them; "every martin counts." By offering larger, safer, dryer nest sites (such as gourds or large 7x7x12 wooden cavities) ...by offering pre-built nests to conserve the returning adults strength... ...by daily (or as often as possible) monitoring to head off any potential parasite or predator problems There will be stronger adult birds to produce more eggs, and more viable eggs, with hatch and grow quickly into more strong and healthy martins. The same holds true for our native blue birds, chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers, and other cavity nesters that have been killed off at alarming rates, some (such as the blue bird to the point of near extinction) by the imported non-native European starling and English house sparrow. Some birds will abandon their nests and young if they are interfered with. It's best to study the species, talk to experts, consulst the Audabon society and your local bird clubs, and do your best. I'm happy to say that for the past four years I've had 100% fledge of all the PM eggs laid at my colony. Even if you just offer a large plant saucer of fresh water daily, you're helping our native birds. They're a gift from Heaven, enjoy them. I'll jump down from my "save the Purple Martin" (and all cavity nesters!) soap box now. LOL Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Martin Conservation Association
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It's Purple Martin time.
Q
Comments (5)
Yay! Welcome home, little ones! I'm waiting for the subbies to arrive. My first adults arrived 2/29, right on schedule. I haven't been counting but I think we're up to about 40 pairs. They're starting to build nests and I expect green leaves to be pulled off the pear tree (their favorite) soon.
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pam_25f
11 years ago
great story.
lindaohnowga
11 years ago
What a thrill to hear and see "your" birds returning home. I've always enjoyed your posts about your purple martins.
kathyg_in_mi
11 years ago
Beautiful!
dees_1
11 years ago
caroline, my scouts first arrived 2/28 and I'm almost at full capacity (72 gourds). Things change for the better when the martins are around! Glad to hear there's another landlord here at the KT!
dedtired
11 years ago
Makes me want to run out and buy a birdhouse!
caroline94535
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the kind comments.

DedTired...Call me if you're thinking about land lording. I can point you in some directions that will save you a lot of tears and heartbreak and lost chicks --- the way I had to learn back in 2004,

Send me an email through KT and I'll give you my number.

I'm off today to help another martineer, and class tonight, but I'll be home tomorrow.
redcurls
11 years ago
Oh yay!!! I love knowing we're gonna be seeing and hearing all about them soon. I love, love, love your posts and pictures each year. It's all been very educational along the way, too. It is quite interesting.
kacram
11 years ago
awesome! I love seeing your photos every year. Are they really PURPLE?
caroline94535
Original Author
11 years ago
Depending on the age and sex, they are black or black with greyish undersides, with a purple iridescence when the light hits them.

This photo is an ASY (After Second Year = Fully mature) male with the sun making his feathers show purple.
caroline94535
Original Author
11 years ago
Here's a SY (Second Year, he hatched the previous summer) male. SY males will have at least one or two black feathers with some iridescence on the neck and chest areas.

Unless you get a good look, it's sometimes hard to tell a SY male from an ASY female - until he tries to sing.
kacram
11 years ago
Thank you! Awesome pictures! And I can see that iridescence!
caroline94535
Original Author
11 years ago
Here's an ASY female.
redcurls
11 years ago
Can an SY male NOT sing? Do they have a mate? Can you tell the difference between the song of the different age/sex of the mature birds?
jemdandy
11 years ago
What a beautiful batch of misquito catchers!
Lily316
11 years ago
I love them and remember my grandmother having them. I think they like a wide expanse of ground near water and I don't have that , so I don't have Martins. I have Martin houses though where the squirrels live.

I do have catbirds who arrive every year around May 1st and yesterday, there they were. They whistle to me like I call the dogs, so I know it's the same ones.
chisue
11 years ago
What a treat! Thanks for sharing.

I read such a discouraging article in the Chicago Tribune last week. It was about a bird tagging location near the Illinois/Wisconsin border that has been functioning for forty years. At first I thought the article said the number of birds had declined by ten to twenty percent, then...no, the number has declined TO ten to twenty percent of the migrating birds. They blame pollution and the declining habitat along migration routes. One of the tiny birds photographed had been recorded on migration from Northern Canada to South America.

Our bird population has never come back more than a few percent from the die-off during avian flu a few years ago. I almost never see a crow or blue jay -- who thought I'd miss *them*?
sjerin
11 years ago
We've got your crows, chisue!

Thanks for the wonderful pictures and explanations, Caroline. So interesting!

Seeing Purple: Purple Martins in Larimore!

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

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Seeing Purple: Purple Martins in Larimore!

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