Purple Martins 2021

 

The adults declare territory
and build nests.

This year started slow.   Our purple martin colony at Knox Preserve seemed to take a long time to get occupied and established, but, once it got going, it was amazing!   

It was late April when the first scouts arrived on the site, but it was into May before there were others coming in to make their happy chorus. The songs of happy purple martins are unmistakable.   Chattery and bubbly.      As the month of May progressed, the adults were busily constructing their nests.   Each year when I set them up, I put a nice layer of dry pine needles into each gourd. A little welcome mat. It’s always interesting to notice the difference in the follow up techniques though.  Most martins use moderately thick grass stems, some work up to straw blades, and then others carry in small twigs.   In some years, the birds will actually bring in mud to reinforce the nests. Some have speculated that it may help insulate the nest. So far this year, there was no mud used in our colony.  The nests are pretty neat. If I discover a really messy nest that fills up the entire gourd, I know it is a house sparrow and remove the material to discourage nesting. House sparrows are invasive and will fight and even kill martins (and blue birds and tree swallows) to get access to favored nesting sites.    This year it seemed that the martins got the upper hand and once I evicted a couple of sparrow pairs, the martins were quite effective at defending their territory.    By the first of June, most nest building was complete.  A sure sign that egg laying is imminent is a lovely layer of green cherry leaves that line the cup of the nest.   Some birds bring in just a few, others are quite enthusiastic in their layering. There is some thought that cherry leaves help deter or kill parasitic mites that can harm the young.

A perfect nest lined with green leaves
and filled with five eggs.

Once egg laying begins, the female will lay one egg a day, at sunrise, until her clutch is complete. Average is 5 eggs but this year we had one with 7!    Each week we checked the nests and counted eggs. There is a formula to use to calculate when eggs will hatch based on when they are laid. Most of the clutch hatches in one 24-hour period.   Once in a while a random female will ‘dump’ an egg into an established nest. Sometimes it works out quite fine. Sometimes they hatch much later, and the young bird is quite handicapped by its smaller size in the nest and feeding position and it will not survive.

 

This year promised to be the best in our 9-year history.    At the highest count we had the potential for about 87 young and eggs were still being laid!  As in other years, some of our birds started early nests, while other pairs were late starters.   There would be quite an age span as we started our monitoring over the next phase. 

So wonderful to
share this experience!

  I was able to bring my grandson out to check the nests with me one day. I let him peek first, into a nest I knew would have young birds.  His expression of awe and excitement was priceless!   From that point forward he insisted that he look in first, make the count of eggs and/or young and only then could I look in to confirm. Most of the time he was right!  Occasionally I had to sort out a jumbled pile of little birds in order to get a good count. 

Things were going well until that last few days of June when we had the terrible heat wave.  That was followed by the sudden drop in temperatures, into upper 50’s with rain for several days.   It is impossible to know what was worst: the heat, the cold or the rain.  In cold rain there are no insects flying and the parents couldn’t support their rapidly growing young ones. 

Today, July 5^th, I was able to get out and check the colony. I was fearful of what I might find.    The first set of gourds seemed to be ok. A few birds seem weak or thin but were alive.   In the second set of gourds, I found such sadness.  Two full nests were lifeless, including the one with 7.   Those poor parents couldn’t keep up with the demand.  There were individual birds dead in other nests.  We lost a total of 13 young.  There were others that looked weak but hopefully will survive in the coming days of better weather.   We fared much better than some of the inland colonies where the temperature soared higher and mortalities were far higher as well. 

The gourds were set up at the end of April.

We can never really predict how a colony will do in a given year. The purple martins rely on human help for their housing, but only nature can truly provide the right conditions and food sources.  Erratic and extreme weather, combined with declining insect populations  is not a good scenario for survival for this and other species.

We still have the potential for a good year and good numbers in 2021, but we never know what conditions are in our near future.  And we certainly do not know what is in store in the next decades.

Hatching Day!

About 11 days old.

Some things don't change

By Beth Sullivan

Having been the grandmother to the Purple Martins at Knox preserve for about seven years, I really look forward to every season and have come to know the stages of development that take place inside the secrecy of the nests. The miracle is just too wonderful not to share.

The scouts stayed with their parents, properly distanced and masked. Photograph by Rick Newton.

A little different this year

This year, with all the Covid concerns, just two of us have been monitoring the nests, and we haven’t been able to share the experience with anyone else. But last Sunday, everything aligned just perfectly, and I was able to introduce a new generation of Cub Scouts to the newest generation of Purple Martins on the Knox Preserve. Pack 37 of Stonington, under the leadership of Matt Ferrier, has helped out Avalonia on several occasions. With extra muscle from parents, they planted seedling trees on the Woodlot Sanctuary and have helped restore walls, make brush piles and clean up in Hoffman Preserve. It was time for their reward. With only a short notice to determine the weather would be ok, and several families would be available, we set a time to meet.

Five Scouts, each with a parent or two, and even a grandmother, arrived right on time. They spread out , properly distanced, and I was able to give them the first guidelines: listen, stay distanced, and always keep your mask on as there would be times when I would be close to them. We walked out the path to the colony site, and the martins could be seen soaring against the perfectly blue sky. We could watch them capture butterflies and dragonflies and return to their nests to feed their young. I had monitored them closely enough to know the age and stage of development of the nestlings in each gourd, so after watching me crank the winch to lower the set up, the boys could barely contain their curiosity. One by one, with their own parent, they carefully climbed the step ladder to be at the perfect height to peek into the first nest. Last time I checked, there were still eggs; this time there were three eggs, and one tiny pink nestling, just hatched. One of the scouts actually found the eggshell on the ground. Everyone, parents included, took a turn. Just amazing.

The first peek inside a nest. Photograph by Sandy Alexander

The first nest was amazing. They got to see a brand new hatchling.

Behind the mask they were grinning ear to ear.  Photograph by Rick Newton.

By comparing the live bird with the chart we could determine its age.

A hands-on experience

Then we moved to the next nest. Here the birds were about 9 days old. Using the growth chart provided by the Purple Martin Conservation Association, we were able to compare the live bird with the photos and look at feather development on its wings and tail to determine its age. Then, several of the scouts got to hold this bird. Ever so gently they cupped the creature inside their hands. They could feel the warmth, touch the stiff pin feathers and even see the holes in the head that are the ears. Over their masks, their eyes just popped with wonder. During the next half hour or so, others had a chance to hold different birds, use the chart to compare, ask questions and beg for more turns. They were hooked. As Scouts, they were ready and willing to help, so as we finished the first set of gourds, they stepped up to help me crank up the winch to raise the set high on the pole.

There were even more birds of various stages in the second set. More opportunities to peek inside. And when we found a wonderful nest of 4 newborns on the upper level, their parents helped lift them up to look. When the nest was jostled, the birds would raise their heads and open their really huge mouths, hoping for a morsel. Even with such large mouths, we were all wondering how a parent could deliver the biggest dragonfly we had ever seen, into one comparatively small mouth.

After they helped me crank up the last set, we all sanitized our hands, and they had a Scout mini-meeting in the field, still well distanced from each other. Before they left the field, each turned to witness that the parent birds returned very quickly, not at all disturbed by our activities, to feed their hungry young ones.

With a few adjustments, this event went on as it might have at any other time. The sun was shining, it wasn't  too hot, and the sky was a beautiful blue. The birds and insects carried on as normal. It is so reassuring to know that some things do not change.

The Scouts listened well to instructions and held the birds very gently. Photograph by Rick Newton.

We wondered how the little birds could eat a dragonfly this size, even without its head. Photograph by Sandy Alexander.

The parent birds waited patiently with their beaks full. Photograph by Rick Newton.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan unless otherwise indicated.

Purple Martins 2019

By Beth Sullivan

This is our sixth year monitoring and stewarding the purple martin colony at Knox Preserve. I always start off the year with so much optimism and high hopes. The season started out great, with reports of scouts in the area as early as April 11^th. We took the hint and got the first set of gourds up on April 14^th. There were birds on the pole as soon as we pulled up the gourds. The second set went up soon after. The first days and weeks are all about scouting, with mature birds returning first, to territories they are familiar with and often taking first choices on their nest sites. We were enthusiastic and guardedly hopeful.

The adult males are usually the first scouts and arrive early to stake out their favorite spots.

Nests are complete with a cup of green leaves ready for the beautiful eggs.

A wet Spring

Those last weeks in April and early May were really wet. It was cloudy, cooler than average with frequent rain, and often even when it wasn’t raining, it was foggy and damp. That was not good. The insects that are the staple of the martins’ diets were not flying. Martins tend to feed at higher altitudes than other birds so maybe those closer to the ground and tree tops were doing ok, but the high flying dragonflies and butterflies were just not there. This had at least two bad effects. Many martins simply kept moving north. If it was too cool and damp at the shore, apparently inland sites were more acceptable, so they settled there. Lack of food weakened the birds, and their attempts to find mates, make nests, and establish themselves were less than successful in many cases.

In mid-May I like to try and check the gourds, to see if there is sign of nest building. This is simply extra material added to the pine needles I supplied. I was happy to find several enhanced nests and see birds in the area. However, we also found a pair, dead, inside one of the gourds. The female was actually banded and identified as one who had been born there at Knox several years earlier. When I reported to DEEP, they confirmed that it was likely due to the cold and wet. They likely had taken shelter together in the gourd and just starved. I was devastated.

Over the next weeks we watched and waited. The weather improved. A number of the gourds were filled with nesting material, but not nearly as many as in previous years. One sign I always look for is the addition of green cherry leaves to the central part of the nest. There are several thoughts about why the birds do this. Some believe they are insecticidal and deter mites. Out of our 24 gourds, we had 11 nests completed with green leaves, less than half occupancy. Meanwhile, reports from friends with inland colonies in Ledyard and Norwich, seemed to have an overflowing abundance-full houses.

Our first eggs were laid around the very end of May. The female will lay one egg a day until her clutch is completed. The average number of eggs is five, but occasionally six or seven can be found. There are instances of a second female sneaking an egg into an established nest. This will result in one hatchling being of a noticeable difference in size. Hatching begins about 15 days after the last egg is laid. Our nests were created over quite a wide span of time, and thus the eggs were laid over quite a long period within the colony.

We also had a few mysterious and sad occurrences. On two separate occasions, a nest was discovered completely empty of eggs. After being full on one check, a week later all were gone. We have predator guards against snakes and raccoons, so this predator may have been another bird. We have had problems with house sparrows ousting martins. This may have been the case.

In the other gourds, hatching began mid-June and has continued. We even had one new nest full of eggs at my last check July 8. I wonder if it was from a pair who lost their eggs early on.

They go from pink and helpless at hatching to feathered and alert in just a couple of weeks.

One of these birds is several days younger than the rest. It may have been an egg from another female.

Between two and three weeks of age, when the shiny blue-purple begins to appear on their feathers, they become more active and I stop monitoring them.

Egg to flying in 21 days

We are nearing the end of the time for checking nests. As the young ones go from pink and helpless, they grow rapidly with noticeable changes on a daily basis. The feathers emerge in predictable patterns so we can estimate age more accurately. Once they get to about 21 days old, they can become quite jumpy and could leave the nest before they are ready, so we do not peek as often. Usually though they are tolerant of disturbance and have gotten used to the intrusion and behave quite calmly. The parent birds always stay near, often waiting with an insect meal in its mouth.

At last count we had nine successful nests with a potential of 35 young. While I am a bit disappointed, I know that some of the inland colonies did very well this year. CT Audubon and DEEP report that due to caring stewardship of purple martin colonies, the birds are faring far better than they have for decades.

There are numerous online resources about purple martins, including one on the CT DEEP website. Check them out. You might get hooked.

This was just an off year, but I am happy with my small success. There will be next year, and hopefully these little ones will return and give me some full houses.

The Martins fly high to catch dragonfiles and butterflies to feed their young.

When the nest is jostled a bit, the young respond by opening their beaks, expecting a meal.

Photographs by Mariano Librojo and Beth Sullivan.

Fledging

by Beth Sullivan

It happens to all species. Kids: you give birth, take care of them, feed them, clean up after them, teach them whatever you can, wish them well and then they are out the door. Sometimes they hang around a while. Sometimes they need more instruction, or just can’t find a place of their own, so return to roost.

Lest I get too far with this and you think I am talking about my own offspring…no, it is my Purple Martins again. This is the sixth year we have hosted Purple Martins at Knox preserve. Each of the first two years we were the recipients of an Audubon CT grant that funded the two lovely set ups of 12 gourds each, made especially for the Martins. Each year our colony has grown and each year has been very unique in one way or another. Each year I learn more about them, and each year there are surprises.

This year the birds arrived on time but actually began nesting earlier and in those first nests, eggs were laid a full week earlier than previous years. However, there were still stragglers. The youngsters from the previous year, or from other colonies, that arrive later and take what is left for space, get started later. That made for a colony that had a very wide span of ages of young once they began hatching.

A wide range of ages existed in the colony. These were about 11 days old on the same day the next door nest was just hatching.

Our Tree Swallow nest has three young in their feathery nest.

These four seem fully feathered and should be able to fly, but stayed put when the door was opened. Photograph by Mariano Librojo. 

Different nest building this year

Some of the nests were very unusual this year too. Most Martin nests are quite light and loose. They are created on a base of pine needles that I supply and are supplemented with other grasses, sometimes small twigs, and always lined with green cherry leaves which indicates egg laying is imminent. This year I discovered several nests were created with a lot of mud. Mud itself is not uncommon, but the volume used in these nests was surprising. Nearly half of each gourd was filled with it and straw embedded into the mud, before the green leaves were added. This didn’t seem to cause any problem for the birds, but for me as the care taker it was a challenge. Usually, when the young are about 10 -15 days old, it is advised to check them for mites, since these can be so numerous as to kill young birds with their blood sucking habits. I would do complete nest changes, removing old infested material and replacing it with new clean needles and green cherry leaves. But it was absolutely impossible to remove the jam packed mud. These nests did have insects living in them and as the heat of the season built up, these mud nests seemed to hold the heat and moisture making what I would think was a very uncomfortable environment. These nests, by the end of the season, were filled with excrement and insect parts. I’d want to fledge or flee from that home too!

This year the DEEP did not have the staff or funding to band our colony. In previous years they came and processed all our birds, checking age, condition, and outfitting them with aluminum federal bands as well as green/orange color bands. This provides a visual identification that birds with the green/orange come from our colony. This year I noted only one returning adult with our color bands. I did, however, notice three adult males who made their home here, who had only silver colored federal bands and no colored ones to help identify their colony or origin.

If you look closely you can see silver bands on on the legs of several of the dark males on the left.

Sometimes first flights are not successful, and a young one lands in the grass. 

This was our late nest but watching them hatch was a small miracle.

Most have fledged

We did do nest checks through the season and photographed the stages that are so amazing to witness. On the last day I checked them, August 4, most of the nests were empty. The young had gone. But in two nests, a few full-sized young birds huddled together as I opened the door, they didn’t move. I could touch their sleek feathers, and I wished them well. I wondered whether they had not taken their first flight yet, or if, like some youngsters, just returned to the comfort of home after experiencing the real world.

If you hike at Knox over the next weeks, you can still see the Martins soaring over the fields, catching insects and in some cases still feeding young perched in the trees. Their chatter is unmistakable. All too soon, they will be gone for good. Off to South America for the winter season. Then I will have to figure out how to clean out those huge, smelly mud nests.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan, unless otherwise indicated.

Purple Martin Season 2018

by Beth Sullivan

It has begun! Those of you who have followed this blog for several years, know of my commitment to (some say obsession with) my Purple Martins on Knox Preserve. You can catch up on recent history in earlier posts, here and here.

There are dedicated websites to document the Martins’ movement north, and it is always amazing the consistency that governs these migrations. For all of us, spring seemed to have gotten off to a very slow start, but by mid-April we were getting reports that the Martin scouts had been spotted in the area. We got up the first gourd system at Knox on April 21 and were immediately rewarded with several birds all checking out the best real estate. Established pairs tend to return to the same colonies each year, and the young, from previous years, get second dibs or move on to expanded colonies. The second set of gourds went up the following week. It was encouraging because at that point in time, it appeared that spring might actually stick around: there were flies, butterflies and other insects present in the air over the fields.

After being washed, marked, and stored for the winter the gourds were ready to hang in mid-April.

Adult males get first choice for nests

Purple Martins move in

I have been keeping watch for the last couple of weeks, and while the weather recently has not been optimal for flying insects or for anything flying, the birds are returning and are beginning to put their claims on various gourds. If you sit on the bench on the hill at Knox, and have a good pair of binoculars, you can actually follow their antics and aerial acrobatics. You will also see that there are House Sparrows also trying to get established in the gourds as well. Part of my job as landlord is to do periodic housekeeping when I will lower the gourds and remove the nests of the Sparrows. It is very easy to tell them apart: Martin nests are lovely and neat and lined with green leaves, prior to egg laying. House Sparrows fill up the entire gourd with a tangled mess of straw and debris which needs to be pulled out. In persistent cases we will close the hole up to keep them out, but we always fear they will be so aggressive they will fight and even kill a Martin, to displace it. Please: Do NOT encourage the proliferation of House Sparrows in your bird houses. As they are invasive and non-native; they are not protected and we are all encouraged to remove them.

House Sparrows tend to jam tons of straw into a cavity and their eggs are speckled.

Purple Martin nests less crowded and neater with pure white eggs.

New apartment house for Purple Martins

We do have a wonderful new addition this year. Through a couple of fortuitous connections between Purple Martin landlords, we were offered a complete Martin house set up from Menunkatuck Audubon. This Audubon group supports a number of great projects farther down the CT coast. Most notably, they support and monitor the Martin houses at Hammonasset State Park. They also monitor several Osprey nests, including one with a camera. You can find it here. We connected with landlords Lorrie and Terry Shaw and met them at Hammonasset one cold day in early April. They were in the process of updating their Martin housing so all would be the same style and function, making it easier for their volunteers to monitor. They had not one, but two, beautiful complete set ups for us to bring back to Avalonia territory. These are the more well-known style of apartment house nests but with all the high quality updates of easy winch and pulley system and easy to clean nest trays. We put up one at the Wequetequock Cove Preserve on Palmer Neck Road on the way to Barn Island. It is an ideal site, open fields yet near people and water, but because there are no other colonies in the area, it will be more of a challenge to attract the birds right away. We added a couple of decoy birds to attract attention.

It is arrival time right now. The younger birds will be a bit later and will be looking for new colonies. Our Knox preserve colony is active but we have not yet seen Martins at our new site, just House Sparrows. They will not be allowed to occupy this new abode. If you drive by, look for the house in the south field. There is room to pull over and spend a few minutes looking. The fields have been home to Bobolinks in the past. The wet areas have had Glossy Ibis and shorebirds recently and many Red Winged Blackbirds call from the grasses where they will nest. This is a known hot spot for birds in all seasons. Let’s hope the Martins will find the new home inviting and we can add to the species list.

We haven’t yet decided on the best place for house number two. We’ll see how this one does. Many thanks to the Menunkatuck Audubon Society for their amazing gift to us and the Purple Martins.

The new house is up on Wequetequock Cove Preserve.

Two sets of gourdes are up at Knox Preserve and already have residents.

Hopefully ours will full up soon like this one at Hammonassett Beach State Park. Photograph by Terry Shaw.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan unless otherwise indicated.

Another Great Year for Purple Martins at Knox Preserve

By Beth Sullivan

Those of you who have read this blog for a while have come to expect a Martin update around this time of year. I have shared my journey and passion ( maybe obsession) with these birds for several years now, since our first grant award in 2013 from Audubon Connecticut, to start our colony.

Purple Martins are the only species of bird that is completely reliant on humans for their survival. We provide adequate nesting sites which are hollows, in a colonial setting. We just don’t have enough empty tree holes in close enough proximity to satisfy the needs of dozens of pairs of these birds. Since pre-colonial days, Native Americans provided natural gourds for Purple Martins. Now there is an entire industry built around attracting and providing for colonies of these birds, and the effort has brought the species back from the brink of being extirpated from many areas.

Perfect habitat for Purple Martins can be found at Knox Preserve.

The Knox Preserve colony

At Knox Preserve we provide two set ups, totaling 24 gourds. A close neighbor has a classic Martin House also hosting 12 pairs. Since the end of April, when we set up the housing, we monitor it. Early scouts come to check out the area. Mature birds come first, usually males, to stake out their spots from previous years. If they have a successful breeding experience in a location, they will be very loyal to their site. Females join them, and then younger birds, the hatchlings from the previous year, return later. They often find no room at the inn, so they are likely to fly farther looking for new colonies and vacancies.

As Martin landlords, we have teamed up with the DEEP to band these birds each year for the last four, in order to be able to identify and study them as they move between nesting grounds and wintering grounds in South America. By fitting them with an aluminum band with a unique number, much like our Social Security number, these birds are identifiable as specific individuals. That number is often difficult to discern, however, color banding is a way to visually mark these birds so they can be easily traced to a particular colony. Each colony in CT has a unique color combination: Ours at Knox is Orange/Green. Nearby Pequot Golf Course is Orange/Blue. It has been very easy to see when our populations intermingle, which is great.

The banding team weighs, ages, and assesses health, as well as placing the bands.

Showing off its new bands, this little one goes back into the nest.

On a blazing hot, humid day last week, the DEEP team arrived at Knox Preserve, efficiently set up their work station under a tent, and got to work. It was our job as landlords to get the birds out of their nests and delivered to the table for processing. It is a very precise practice using Coolwhip containers with little handmade liners for transport. Each individual was weighed and observed carefully for development in order to assess age and overall health. Our Colony had birds that were as old as 19 days, yet we had one nest that was only hatching that day - way too little to band.

A beautiful, typical nest.

These are day-old hatchlings.

The birds were fitted with bands and all data recorded accurately to be later added to a full database for all colonies. Each little one needed to remain with its nest-mates and returned to its exact nests in an appropriately marked Coolwhip container. The parents waited patiently, often with an insect in their mouths, ready to fill a hungry mouth on return.

These are about a week old.

Several of us had done this process a number of times, yet it never ceases to be amazing. This year we had several new observers, including a two year old who was able to peek inside the nest and see the babies and even touch one. Other volunteers were able to participate in the banding process. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or how often we do this, it is always so awe-inspiring.

It takes a lot of work, to prepare nests and monitor them frequently, to collect data even before the banding day. Cleaning out the gourds at the end of the season is really an awful job. But getting to see my babies fledge and fly off to the nearby trees makes it worthwhile.

They get little feathers before they are two weeks old.

It is even better to spot one with Orange/Green color bands , coming back to the colony it where it was born, and calling it home again.

Photographs by Kent Fuller, Beth Chapin, Jim Sullivan, and Beth Sullivan.

Purple Martin update from Knox Preserve 2016

By Beth Sullivan

On this beautiful summer evening, I took my binoculars over to the colony at Knox Preserve to enjoy Martins at sunset. I was rewarded with lots of song and chatter as I realized I was witnessing a special event: Fledging! It was a perfect time for the “godmother “ of this colony to reflect on the season.

Rough start

We had our first scouts at Knox earlier than past years, so the gourd housing went up mid- April rather than a week or two later. We had at least eight birds inspecting the site right away, off to a great start. Then came the wicked spell of cold weather in very early May. Insects did not fly and the martins, unable to eat seeds or berries or man -made offerings, had to huddle for warmth and survival. All across the area Martins died. We found one, a bird banded in a Clinton colony, dead on the preserve. We all worried. But a second wave of migrants arrived, the weather warmed, insects hatched and took to the air, and the Martins were happy.

A perfect nest, lined with leaves and seven eggs.

Nest making followed quickly and we could tell egg laying was imminent when we watched them bring their green cherry leaves in to add the final lining to their nests. Then came the eggs, sweet, pure white. The average clutch was about five eggs, but one nest had seven.

Hatching day. A parent will remove the egg shells.

The birds are very tolerant of human disturbance, and each week I lowered the gourds to peek in and count eggs. The first were laid on June 1, but the action continued through June 24^th. We had quite a wide span which meant that hatching would be spread out as well. Several times over the first weeks we lowered the gourds, checked on the young, cleaned nests if they were infested with mites (only a couple were infested this year) and recorded our numbers. We ended up with a grand total of 68 eggs. Of course, not all would hatch, but it was a great starting point.

Nestlings are transferred to containers to wait their turns.

The DEEP Martin banding team schedules their efforts when the young are big enough to band (about a week old) but before disturbance might cause them to “jump” or fledge prematurely, around 23 days.

On July 5^th, on a sweltering hot afternoon, the team came to Stonington. Volunteers from Avalonia helped out at Pequot Golf Course where the colony is very well established and very productive. At least 80 young were banded there.

The young are aged against a photo chart.

At Knox a tent was set up out near the field where neighbors and friends joined the effort as each gourd was checked. The young were removed safely to hi-tech, cloth- lined “cool whip containers “ for transport to the banding table. Each was labeled accurately so we were assured that each nestling returned to the proper nest. The young were aged against very detailed charts, they were weighed, and had bands affixed: a metal federal band with a long identification number, unique to each bird. Then two plastic color bands were placed on the other leg. The colors are easy to see and enable an observer to record and then determine which colony the bird came from. Ours at Knox have Orange/green bands.

Successful afternoon

At the end of the afternoon we had banded 47 of our youngsters, with one nest full still too young to band and another nest of eggs still not hatched. We also banded 28 from our neighbors , technically considered all a part of the same colony.

Fledgelings still need to be fed. Photograph by Rick Newton.

Over the last weeks since banding, I have not lowered or opened the gourds. It is a sensitive time, and the birds close to fledging can be startled into jumping too soon. So all I can do is watch with binoculars.

Tonight was a treat. There were at least two families of Martins in trees close to the houses. Parent birds still bringing food to their newly fledged young. But what was also fun was observing all the little faces and beaks, peeking out of the entry holes, maybe not quite ready to make the leap, maybe waiting for one more cozy night, but maybe tomorrow could be their big day.

An almost-fledgeling trying to decide if the time is right to make the big leap. Photograph by Rick Newton.

Like a true “godmother” I wished them safety, soft landings and strong wings as they make that leap of faith.

With luck, you can spot the color bands on one of our birds. Photograph by Rick Newton. 

Photographs by Beth Sullivan, unless otherwise indicated.

Another Purple Martin season has begun

By Beth Sullivan

It is that time of year again-when a naturalist wishes she had a clone to be able to be everywhere at once to observe and enjoy all the changes occurring. There is so much to do: stewardship on preserves, hikes, flowers, gardens, bird watching, horseshoe crab tagging, butterfly counting-the wonderful list goes on and on.

A perfect nest with a layer of green cherry leaves.

This week, the priority is the Purple Martin colony on Knox Preserve.

The first “scout” was reported on April 17. These are usually the fully dark adult males who make the trip up from the south, ahead of the rest to scout out the best locations and sometimes reclaim a good spot from the year before. That was my clue that is was time to get the gourds up.

High rise nests

There are 12 plastic gourds with crescent shaped entrances, designed to encourage the Martins but deter invasive Starlings. The have porches on the outside, and one set has an indoor porch as well. The systems are set up close to each other and close to buildings, as these birds actually prefer to live close to people. Centuries of dependence on humans for their housing has created an interesting bond between people and these birds, and the Purple Martins are truly tolerant of all activity around them.

The Knox Preserve fields are lush and attract insects.

The very cold, wet spell we all endured earlier this spring took a terrible toll on Purple Martins across the state. There were no insects to be found over field or water, and these birds depend solely on flying insects for their food. Many died. One bird, an adult that had been banded at another colony, was found dead at Knox, but I think most of our early birds did okay.

Little by little, activity resumed. Another wave of migrants arrived at the site. The weather warmed, insects hatched and took wing. Dragonflies and butterflies make up a large part of the Purple Martin's diet, as well as insects that get caught up high in the wind columns. The birds all look healthy and strong.

The Knox wetland supplies mud for the nests.

When I lowered the gourds the first time, I was happy to see nests in progress. This week revealed more nests and eggs. Each active nest was strengthened by enhanced by straw, sticks and mud, and all were lined heavily with green cherry leaves. Nine nests had a total of 38 eggs. Several had five eggs-a couple had one, which probably signals that there will be a new egg laid every day until clutch of five to six is complete. Incubation begins when the last egg is laid. The date of first egg laying was between May 30 and June 2 for the first nests, which puts estimated date of first hatchings around June 19 to 21.

From under the gourds, it is interesting to watch the activity as parents build nests.

As I approached the nests, the birds chattered. Yes, I chattered back. None seemed alarmed. They flew off and circled when I lowered the gourds and immediately flew back to them as soon as I raised them back up again. No stress, no dive-bombing.

Mom and dad stay nearby and wait for the nest cleaning to finish. 

More nest visits planned

I will check the nests again within a few days to get a sense of increasing numbers of eggs and to get a greater accuracy of hatching dates. My duties will continue as a nest cleaning occurs when the young are between 10-15 days old to get rid of parasitic mites. Our hope is that the DEEP biologists will return this year to band the young.

We have a few great photographers in our midst, and I hope they will be able to get some better shots that I can share with you as the season progresses.

As soon as the gourds were raised, the parents return.

We suggest viewing the Purple Martins from the trails with binoculars, so as not to disturb other birds nesting in the fields. The ticks are terrible in the tall grass as well. But even from the distance, you can enjoy the Purple Martins' movement and song. I hope you get out and enjoy all that this season has to offer, including the song of the Martins.

This nest had thick straw added to a deep base of mud.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan.