Missouri Purple Martins - A Mid-Season Update

All the native wildflowers are in bloom, creating a fantastic palette of colors and fragrances and drawing in a variety of bugs - aka, "bird food".

Sensitive Briar

While some areas have suffered from drought and a lack of food for their purple martins, the deeper roots of our native wildflowers and grasses have resulted in blooms everywhere, attracting many varieties of bees, butterflies and other insects that I can't even identify.  Our birds are having a field day.  Literally....

Purple Coneflower

Indian Pink

Ohio Horsemint, Bee Balm and Butterfly milkweed

The variety of bugs the purple martins are bringing in are fascinating.  The best ID of the insect in the picture below that I could come up with is "Great Purple Hairstreak".  If anyone has a better ID, please let me know.

We have reached the part of the season where not only are the temperatures starting to soar, but the number of housekeeping chores for my birds as well.  One of the things I've learned about being a purple martin landlord is that if I do the required nest changes at the right times (ie, nestlings 12-16 days old), to rid the martin nests of their bedbugs, then I'll have less "jumpers".  Jumpers as in dehydrated, underfed and mite-stressed nestlings. This is the part of the season that I both love & hate - I HATE the heat, but I LOVE the experience and knowing I'm really doing something that contributes to the future health of mine and my neighbor's colonies.
From the PMCA website:

Tests conducted by the PMCA in the late 1980’s showed that only 44% of martin  nestlings in parasite-infested nests survived to fledging age, compared to 84% in parasite-free nests. The man who conducted those tests, James  R.  Hill,  III, stated, “The  difference might actually have been greater than what was measured, because the young raised in the absence of parasites seemed fat and healthy, and probably had a higher-than-average first-year survival rate, whereas the young subjected to parasites seemed thin and often sickly, making them less likely to survive after fledging.”

Read more here at the PMCA site about Nest Changes: https://www.purplemartin.org/uploads/media/how-why-to-do-nest-r-332.pdf

As of June 19th, I had 57 nests that needed a nest change. Yes, 57 nests.  I currently have 76 pairs (3 new since June 15th!), so a whopping 75% of all my nests need changing.  At first, I was shocked.  Then I was kind of thrilled. Then I was kind of overwhelmed.  In 95+ degree weather.  All due on the same day. This is the first season I've had where the majority of my nestlings are all around the same age at this point in the season.  The nightly return of fledges is going to be thrilling...and will also require some monitoring to deter hawk predation.

Taking an Evening Break - Purple Martins bathing at the pond.

With the heat index around 102 degrees (real temps around 92-93), I started on my first rack on 6/20 (12 nests out of 18 on that rack). When I lowered them, my eyes immediately zeroed in on 3 gourds that were almost grey-colored due to the overwhelming number of mites. I had to wonder how many of those rained down on me when I was lowering my racks.
Here is what a gourd looks like when it's overloaded with mites. You have to wonder, how can they even sleep at night with all those mites??

Troyer Horizontal gourd covered with an explosion of mites.
Special thanks to Betty Farthing Grigg on the PMCA Forum for the use of the photo above.

Special thanks to Courtney Rousseau of the North Carolina Purple Martin Group for providing the video below of a gourd infested with mites!

Nevertheless, I pushed through and with alcohol wipes and a cold-water hose, I managed to survive, even though it took almost 2 hours for my head and my body to cool back down.

Thankfully, the last 3 days have been a lot cooler as I worked through the remaining racks. After the first 2 racks, I was thrilled to find that only 2 nests out of 36 had lost a total of 2 nestlings.  The rest were very fat and healthy.  Even my 2 nests with 7 nestlings in the first two gourd racks were doing exceptionally well. Yesterday, when I finished up the nest changes on my last rack, I concluded that I have "fat baby syndrome" and it's consistent across all my racks. It also indicated to me that while I had initially lost a few martins at the beginning of the season - probably some to the owl and some to the hawks - the majority of my nests have 2 parents that are keeping up with the grocery shopping.  I did find one nest with 4 dead young, so I suspect the owl / hawks got both parents of those. Fortunately, it was only one. I also had mixed feelings over discovering 2 new nests with 4 & 5 eggs respectively. They will be hatching around July 5th or so and probably not fledging until end of July / beginning of August, meaning another extended season for me.
So, total pairs - 76 with currently 360 nestlings!  Hoping to maintain something close to that over the next few weeks.

Nest Change Tips:

1. Dabbing a small amount of vanilla extract around your eyes, nose and mouth will help keep the gnats away from those areas of your face.

2.  Check your tool box before you start your nest changes to ensure you will have the needed equipment within easy reach. The last thing you want to do is go digging around to find something while you're simultaneously swatting at mites & bugs and the sun is overheating your brain!

3. Soak 6-8 paper towels with 91% rubbing alcohol, store in a Ziploc bag and add them to your tool box. These will be handy for wiping down your hands, arms and the gourds when there are just more mites than you can bear.

4. Your son's old white, light-weight, big & baggy karate pants make excellent nest-check pants! They are cool, loose and you can kneel on the ground without all the itchy grass tickling your leg.

5. Always assume that whatever you touch after nest changes are completed will also become contaminated with mites until you thoroughly wash your hands and arms.  Filling a large bucket with water and a having a bar of soap nearby will provide you with some much-needed relief after a round of nest changes.

Check out this post from 2016 for a more detailed list of the tools in my tool kit:  http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2016/05/nest-check-season-begins-and-sub-adults.html

Nest Checks, New Hatchlings and Nets

My last nest check revealed I have 73 pair so far, with a total of 84 gourds offered.  I continue to be amazed at the resiliency of the purple martin, especially since the Great Horned Owl persists with her attacks.  As an added challenge this year, I've also had a problem now with the Barred Owl attacking my tree swallow and bluebird housing.
But for now, back to my GHO update.  On the morning of April 30th, I became quite alarmed to see the GHO has, after 3 years with these cages, now figured out how to get up and inside to perch on the inside arms of the rack.

After 2 days or mourning and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to cowgirl-up and my husband and I designed a "cargo net" style bottom which would balance the need of the purple martins to both exit quickly when a hawk attacked as well as serve to keep the GHO out. With the mandatory requirement of it being "quick release" so that I could continue with nest checks, we purchased some polypropylene rope, zip ties, quick release clips and some garden stakes.  The first 'net' picture you see below has 14x12" holes in it - I can always adjust the size of these holes if the owl gets through, but since the owl's wingspan ranges from 36"-60", I'm hoping I don't have to change these.  The 4 long ropes are crossed by 6 shorter ropes, tied together using zip ties at each crossing.

I've put together the video below to show other landlords how the netting is connected to the cages and how it quick releases for nest checks.  I made a mistake in the video - the rope is called, "polypropylene".  :)

For the round racks, a different approach was used to the the netting.

While the owl has definitely made my nest checks a little more time-consuming, my husband has always helped me come up with ideas to enable me to keep doing them. Given the heat & humidity we experience here in Missouri during the summer, it's imperative that I know the ages of the kids, because inevitably, I will have a few nestlings that will either get knocked off porches or they will jump and I need to know in which nest to put them back.
New "pinkies"!

Photo taken by my friend, Lu Ann Coons at her colony site here in Missouri.

It was very apparent the nest in the video below had just started hatching.  While it's tempting to help remove the shells from the little, adorable nestlings, because their skin is still so delicate and could be still attached to the shell, I never 'help'. I let Nature take its course - the baby will be stronger for it and I avoid damaging him/her.

Purple Martins - Lessons Learned This Year

As I completed my last two nest checks of the year and reflect on the lessons I've learned this past season, I can think of a couple of things I wanted to share:
Lesson #1: Always assume you have an owl problem. If you don't have one right now, you will soon enough.
     a.  Plan accordingly. Protect your housing.  Period.

Lesson #2: I have learned that a combination of nest changes and Sevin dust (added to the new, fresh nest) work best to help reduce the population of mites.  This year, the mites were particularly numerous.  I also learned that they will rain down on you when you are winching down your gourd systems.  Wear a hat or scarf over your hair.

Lesson #3: Always assume that a mite has landed / crawled on you after you have conducted a nest check or lowered your systems to inspect the gourds / housing.
     a. Given that you are now contaminated, know that anything you touch will also be contaminated.  Hence, the lack of pictures for this post.  There was no stopping for a photo op after learning this lesson.
Last month, after doing 20+ nest changes in one session, I grabbed the hose to wash my arms off with high-pressure water.  One week later, I picked up the same power nozzle to wash out a few containers and found the nozzle covered with mites.  It was a good thing Mr. Freeze didn't touch that nozzle first, or he would be on medication and covered with insecticide right now.
Lesson #4: Fill a bucket with water and have a bar of soap and an old rag next to it to use after nest checks. In the interim, put a supply of alcohol-soaked (Isopropyl alcohol, not the drinking kind) in your nest-check kit.  I had thought about putting in an outside shower, but the cost was going to be too steep.  I may still put in one of those camping shower bags, but for now, a bucket of water, a bar of soap and an old rag will have to do.
Lesson #5: DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING after conducting a nest check!  Usually, after completing a nest check, I try to calmly walk back to the house and strip in the garage while  Mr. Freeze opens all the doors, turns on the shower and gets out of my way.  It could only turn out badly if I had to touch any of the aforementioned items on my way to the shower.  But I'm only calm on the outside, so that he doesn't panic - on the inside, I'm screaming, "OH.MY.GOD!!! Get out of my way!!!".  Funny how a hot shower & soap can soothe that all away.  :-)

Handy, Dandy Nest Check Tool Box

I've been conducting nest checks since early May.  But now, with babies hatching, it's time to get serious!  So that my nest checks can go quickly, I prefer to be prepared with everything that I might need.  Especially when there are lots of babies and parents are trying to feed their young, I try to move quickly and that means having everything right there when I need it.
In 2011, I put together a Nest-Check Tool Kit.  It's easy to carry and I don't have to run back & forth for things I may have forgotten. It pays to get organized with 84 nest cavities to check!
I have a Harley Davidson tool belt (stolen from Mr. Freeze- ssshhhhh!) where I put the following for easy access:
- voice recorder (has a strap that gets pinned to my shirt for easy access and clear voice recording, especially when it's windy).  I bought this handy little recorder at Walmart for about $25 and it has a great microphone in it and easy buttons that allow me to record each nest check, then replay it back at a more convenient time to record into my nest check logbook. 
- marker - for refreshing numbers on the gourd lids
- small phillips screw driver - to tighten or move the decoys
- electrical tape - securing decoys after moving
- wire cutters - cutting the zip ties that secure the rods on which the decoys are mounted
- telescoping automotive mirror - helps to see the eggs in the back of the Trendsetter house nests
- zip ties - securing the dowel rods the decoys are mounted on.
- baggie with cards safety-pinned to the tool belt - I record the gourd / house numbers that contain the oldest nestlings before I go out. I can grab the baggie & quickly see which nests I need to plug without fouling the card.

Tool Box:
Serves as a step stool with the lid closed, for checking the higher nests, tool box and a chair.  It contains:
- nest plugs (see upper right of picture) which are basically old socks & pieces of sweat pants with long string wrapped around them (there are more under the tray)
- large flathead screwdriver (don't know what it's for, but I have it if I need it!) LOL
- forceps - yeah, I don't know why I have those in there either
- large ziploc bag with 10 or so folded paper towels soaked in 90% rubbing alcohol in case I encounter large populations of mites! 
- plastic gloves to be used in case of really yucky, nasty stuff in the nest that needs to be removed.  I avoid latex as I'm allergic to it, and figure it can't be good for the birds that I handle either.

When it comes time to start doing nest replacements, I also fill my wheelbarrow with fresh pine needles and take 2 empty 5-gallon buckets with me.  In one I dump the nasty, old nests, and in the other I have fresh pine needles where I temporarily move the babies while doing a nest replacement.