Missouri Dept. of Conservation Purple Martin Presentation March 2015

What do you do if you have purple martin fever in the early spring, but your colony has not returned yet?  The cure for the fever, I have found, is to speak with people who are interested in attracting them and share our passion for purple martins!  I was delighted to receive a request from Lesly Holt at our local Missouri Department of Conservation office in early January, asking if I would be available to give a presentation on Purple Martins in the early spring.  With free pizza on the menu and the ability to talk about my favorite topic to a group of 35 people for 2.5 hours, who could say no?
Yesterday evening, I packed up my Troyer vertical and horizontal gourds, all my traps (sans the live English House sparrows), predator guards, decoys, and literature provided to me by the MDC and PMCA, stuffed my car as full as I could and happily made the trek to the YMCA in Mountain Grove, MO.

Brochure supplied by the MDC, co-authored by John Miller, Purple Martin landlord - Forest Park - St. Louis. 
Read the whole brochure here: http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/09/9778_6759.pdf

Another great information booklet, free from the PMCA!

Energized by the sunshine, my favorite tunes on the radio and the prospect of helping numerous people become new purple martin landlords, I arrived at the YMCA 45 minutes before showtime.  I was so impressed with the building and had no idea that the city of Mountain Grove had built such a nice facility!  The beautiful polished floors of the volleyball court made me want to grab my knee pads, tennis shoes and shorts and hit the court again, but then reality returned - I don't play for the Navy Women's volleyball team anymore and probably shouldn't try.  Well, maybe if I were playing with people my own age who were just as cautious about falling down now as I am, and not with the youngsters that were throwing themselves across the shiny floor, sliding so they didn't lose the point.  So, I just contented myself with watching them, knowing that one day, their knees would creak and moan too!  But I digress - it is a beautiful facility for those of you that want to do any special meetings, or just get some exercise.
Lesly, my MDC hostess is a very energetic lady and a bit hard for me to keep up with.  She had everything almost ready and we went to work putting it all together.  With 35 people en route and pizzas to pickup, Lesly was like a little Tasmanian Devil - good thing she was there to help me, or I'd never have been able to pull it off in time!  We had a great time - of the 35 attending, only 5 (including myself) currently have purple martin colonies.  Two of those 5 were also PMCA members and people with whom I have communicated in the recent past - Keith Pelham from nearby Ava and Greta Webb - a longtime PMCA supporter and Purple martin landlord since 1987.

Keith's natural gourds generated a lot of interest from a few folks.  It was nice to finally meet Keith and his wife, Mildred and I was so grateful for his sharing of his expertise with natural gourds - certainly a great option for providing housing for Purple Martins.

Greta (left) - long time PMCA supporter and purple martin lover and Keith's lovely wife, Mildred.  Greta donated the MSS-12 Trio house that you see in the other photos, so I could find it a good home.  I think I've found one already.

Our very animated host, Lesly Holt - Missouri Department of Conservation, ringing the dinner bell.

The attendees are now energized and excited - the timing was excellent - they have the information they need in order to get housing properly located and be ready in time for the 2015 migration.  This was such a great opportunity to reach out to those folks looking to start new colonies and I am so proud to live in a state where the Conservation department is so supportive of our lovely native animals, especially my beloved purple martins.  It's a bonus that I've met even more people who will hopefully become as crazy as I am about "America's Most Wanted Bird".  I'm looking forward to more outreach programs such as this one!

It's helpful to the attendees if you have actual items / props to show them what you are describing.  My display tables were overflowing with all kinds of items.

Break time provided lots of opportunity for one-on-one discussions around the display tables.

I'm a very animated speaker on this topic.  The photographer had a hard time keeping up with me.

Show & Tell!  I had brought 2 verticals and 2 horizontals.  Turns out, I should have brought more!

A large room, filled with prospective new landlords.  I can't wait to hear how their season goes this year!

Special thanks to my photographer, Terry Morrison - it is always wonderful to see you at these events!

Building a Super Colony of Purple Martin Landlords

When I first decided to setup a purple martin colony, I searched the internet and came across the Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA) website.  I read everything I could find on the site, but one article in particular touched my heart;  "Last Testament to the Purple Martin", by John Barrow.  It surprised me.  It made me truly think about my contributions to the purple martin, beyond just setting up housing.  It made me cry to think about my own mortality and how I'd like to be here forever for them.  But the reality is, I won't be here forever, despite my best efforts.

The last question that Mr. Barrow asks in his article is:  "That, friends, is my last testament to the Purple Martin. What is yours???".

My friend and mentor, John Barrow.

During the purple martin season, I would often think of what my response would be to that question.  In 2009, after 3 years experience with my own colony, it suddenly occurred to me what my response would be:  "My last testament to the purple martin and all the thousands of martins that I intend to fledge from my site is to help other landlords in Missouri offer safe housing, free from nest-site competitors and predators, to my returning birds that will disperse around this area to their sites."

I embarked on that project during the winter of 2009-2010.  I was honored when I was asked to talk about my Missouri mentoring project at a PMCA conference in August 2011.  Since that presentation, my list of people that I mentor has now climbed to 63 and I have helped new and existing landlords setup 17 new gourd rack systems, cleaned out numerous starling and house sparrow nests, installed predator guards and SREH plates on older housing, and I've lost track of how many site visits I've done.

Purple Martins & Coffee presentation on a Saturday morning.

As we enter the 2014 Purple Martin season, I wanted to share this presentation with its examples of some easy, simple steps that you can use to help the purple martins in your area.

In our fast-paced, stressed-out, and overworked lives, it seems daunting to take on the tasks of helping someone else with their purple martin site.  But from my own experiences, I can assure you, it is manageable and the long-term, downstream effects are immeasurable.  By making the best use of electronic media, you can manage quite a few new landlords!  Your efforts to help your neighbors with their colonies by reducing their house sparrow populations and increase their martins' productivity would likely benefit your own colony!

The attached presentation is in a video format, but you can click the "Pause" button to review each slide in detail.  I hope you enjoy and consider becoming a mentor yourself this season; even if it's just one site, you too can leave behind a legacy for the Purple Martin.