Caroline94535

For the past 12 years I have been a "landlord," hosted a thriving colony of Purple Martins, first while we lived on the base, and then here at the Ends of the Earth, Larimore. The first thing we did once we closed on this house late in a cold September was to dig a hole, 12" wide and 42" deep, poured concrete and set the pole in order to get the gourd rack hung. The following Spring the martins found us again.

The native Purple Martin, Progne subis, is America's larges swallow. They eat only flying insects, and thousands of them, and nest in human-provided cavities, either multi-unit houses or gourds.They migrate to Brazil each fall and return to breeding areas in the Eastern half of the U.S. and even to the north of Winnipeg, Canada. Oddly enough, a couple of the Canadian landlords see their birds' arrivals before mine get here.

Anyway...my birds have returned as early as April 14, and as late as May 10. They "normally" arrive around April 23. I make it a rule to have the gourds filled with "pre-nests" and hung on the rack by April 15, just in case they show up early.

I got the gourds prepped and hung on the 14th this month. Now I am on pins and needles waiting to see them zoom in or hear the familiar watery chortling. Every time I see a large bird shadow cross the driveway I have to dash to the front window hoping to see my guy' return.


This photo shows many of the young (32 days old) martins right after they fledged (flew from the nest on their own for the first time.) I offer 15 gourds on my rack. 15 pair of adults can raise from 4 to 8 young each. Fledging time can be very busy and full of excited chatter.

The last photo shows what it's all about! A new generation of Purple Martins. See the little dude just hatching! He's smaller than the last joint of my index finger.

juneayerza

I love watching wildlife too.

Kathy T.

How excellent that you are contributing to the well-being of these fascinating creatures. Best bug control ever!

Tartan

I love purple martins and I do see them in flight. Unfortunately we have to many obstacles in our yard to get a pair to nest.

Elise1

Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures and providing homes to our feathered friends.

ekuw

That is so awesome! I love birds of all kinds. We have a dove with a nest in our front tree and my DH is constantly keeping an eye out for them and scares off potential predators too. To have as many birds as you do would be really neat-Enjoy!

lynnie

Never heard of them, they look like little crows to me but have a white chest.
I love birds. so pretty.

Caroline94535

Thanks everyone; I love all my birds, but I live for the nearly four months that the Purple Martins are here.

We have a scraggly, misshaped white spruce tree in the front yard - on the opposite side from the gourd rack - where I have all the bird feeders. I would cut it down, but the birds love it. We have the sweet little mourning doves and the super-sized Eurasian collared doves, too. All the usual feeder birds visit and any day now I will have the northern orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks, Cape May warblers, hummingbirds, and joy beyond belief.

Hi Lynnie, the ones with the lighter chests are the newly fledged juveniles. The ones with darker-to-very-dark grey chests are the adult females, and the males are solid black. They will all have flashes of purple and blue iridescence. They are rather large, but have short, stubby swallow type tails.

I have a "blue bird type" nest box 35 feet away from the gourd rack; it is for the Tree Swallows. TSs will run off the martins if I let the TSs try to nest in the gourds; one pair would claim and defend all 15 gourds. If there is a nest box, or a hanging gourd, 35' from the martins the TSs will claim it, leave the martins alone. The TSs will also keep all other tree swallows from hassling the martins since the first TS pair won't tolerate any other TSs around.

The same holds true if I were lucky enough to get a pair of blue birds checking out the martins' gourds. I would set up a second blue bird box, 25' from the gourd rack on the opposite side from the TSs. BBs move in; keep other BBs at least 150' away, ignore the martins and the tree swallows. Peace and harmony and lots of chicks.

This is called the "Tree Swallow Protocol." I learned about it from a PM forum (PMCA) after I had a problem with TSs bothering my martins one year.

Right now I have robins checking out a nesting shelf near the eaves of the garage; chickadee-dee-dees peaking in a box at the west-end of the veggie garden, and house finches singing love songs in all the trees. The gold finches magically turned brigt yellow this week after being drab olive all winter, and the grass is beginning to turn green.

Happy, Happy, Happy!

Here's a close up of one of my breeding pairs. The male is in the front.

ManiacQuilter2

I never have seen one before. What a neat set up you have in your yard. Looks like they appreciate the favor you have provided them with very safe housing.

OneDoxieMom

Why do some of the gourds have a "porch" and others do not? Are these real gourds or man made for the martins? They all look exactly the same. Also, what do you use for nesting material? Beautiful birds!