Purple Martin Breeding Time

For the second day in a row, I have had to rescue a female purple martin who had been forced down in the wet grass by several, hormone-driven male martins.  It's mating season here on Gobbler's Knob and across several states.  With the rains and dew making the grass and grounds very wet, it's important to keep an eye out for females whose feathers have become so wet that they can't take off.  They are extremely susceptible to hawk attacks and racoons if left on the ground overnight.  You can often determine that one is down by just observing your colony - watch for multiple males landing on one spot on the ground or flying over that same spot many times.
If you find a downed female in your yard, use a towel to toss over her when trying to catch her - this will help calm the colony as you retrieve her as well as stopping her from trying to flop across the grass to get away from you.  Put some pine needles in a 5-gallon bucket, per her in and cover the bucket with a towel and a board across the towel (to keep her from flying out inside your warm room).  Place her in a warm environment and as my friend Louise Chambers (PMCA) reminded me this morning, you can turn a heating pad on low setting and place it under the bucket - that's key - do not place it in the bucket.

If you'd like to read more about multiple forced-pair copulations, Steve Kroenke has written an extensive post about it on the PMCA forum here:  http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=339&highlight=copulation

Romance and Sub-Adult Arrivals on Gobbler's Knob

It looks like the majority of my adult martins are now paired up.  They were working feverishly on their nest-building tasks during the past couple of weeks, however, since this past Monday, they've had to spend a lot of time guarding their cavities and fighting off the new arrivals.
But who says that they can't squeeze in some nuzzle time while guarding their cavities?

I watched this couple for close to 20 minutes. They're so close that it made me wonder if they were old friends from previous years too.

Sometimes, you just need a few quiet moments and a shoulder to lean on.

And everyone has started their annual trek to tear the leaves from Mr. Freeze's poplar trees.  He wonders why his trees won't grow.  I don't show him any of the incriminating evidence such as that in the below pictures.

Many leaves were being shredded yesterday and today.  The bright, warm sunshine is so conducive to nest preparation.  The martins are taking full advantage.

On Monday, April 27th I filed my report for the first Purple Martin Sub-Adult arrival in 2015.  It was late evening and I couldn't get a good picture of him because he kept falling off the porches and perches.  Not on purpose.  The adult male martins were hard on his tail, pulling the little gangster off their cavities and out of their gourds.  I love the fearless and recklessly brave sub-adults.  They are so much like human teenagers - they come home from college, eat all the food in the refrigerator, play their music as loud as it will go, stomp around the house and drag their friends in at all hours while you're trying to sleep, challenge the parents' authority, kick the doors in to find their girlfriends sleeping with another male and in general, just make a mess of things.  These guys are no different.
If this sub-adult in the picture below, manages to hold onto and move into this cavity on the Trendsetter, it will be the first time in 7 years that I've had a sub-adult in that house.  Since it's my oldest housing, I've had nothing but adults in the house for a long time.  So, either some of the older adults moved to the gourds, or they have passed on.

Notice the small, purple feathers on his chest and under the chin of this sub-adult male.  I've learned to spot them just by watching for the martins that are causing the most trouble.  Note his "I'm going to kick someone's butt" posture too.

Sometimes it can be very difficult to spot a sub-adult male in your colony, but other times, it can be quite easy.  The most obvious identifying factor is the classic male clicking that they do to attract mates.  If you see a martin that looks like a female but it's doing the clicking, you can be 100% sure it's a male.  The other identifying factor is to look for purple feathers under the chin or on the chest.  Sometimes, there will even be one on the lower part of his abdomen or under his tail.  They can be very subtle, sometimes only a single feather or two as with this guy.  Other times, it can be quite obvious and the subbie will have a whole head & chest full of purple feathers.
Other identifying traits - watch for the classic 'I'm a troublemaker' posture and usually the one getting his butt whipped by the other males is the youngster that thinks he can swoop in and steal the others'  mates for which they've worked for weeks to attract.

An adult female paired with a sub-adult male.  Once the sub-adults have paired up, they usually settle down and focus on nest-building.  Note the purple feathers on this male's chest and under his chin.

My racks have been filling up for the last 4 days with more martin arrivals.

I can always tell who the newbies are as they try their best to navigate the fencing while still looking cool.

 

Stay on the lookout for the sub-adults at your site in Missouri.  We're halfway through migration at this point.  And if you have a new site, now is the best time to establish a new colony.

Purple Martin Halftime in Missouri

This blog entry was written by my good friend in Corpus Christi, Mr. John Barrow - purple martin landlord expert and all-around, good guy extraordinaire.  His wife, Louise, is pretty cool too.
Thanks for sharing, John!

A lot of birds are migrating into South Texas right now. For several weeks we have watched kettles of hawks and kites flying overhead. Those raptors do not cross the Gulf, but rely on heat thermals to carry them from South America to places farther North, utilizing as little wing movement as possible.
Late yesterday afternoon I did a nest check on my martin systems.  Looking overhead, I saw several large kettles of Mississippi Kites migrating northward-several hundred for sure in 3-4 kettles.

Later, as darkness approached, I saw some of my older birds leave the housing and fly up to intercept groups of incoming migrant purple martins.  Most likely the newcomers are SY (sub-adult) birds. From my small slice of earth along the Texas coast, I estimate that the number of SY arrivals was between 150-200. They literally filled my view of the sky, and returning ASY birds were typically followed to our systems by 10-12 new arrivals.
Tonight with the arrival of strong north winds, the late evening show repeated itself.  Several hundred new arrivals filled the sky--most targeting our systems as a stopping point. With nesting in progress local birds will try to lead most of these arrivals to a nearby tree to roost or a vacant housing system to settle down near (looks like about 20 chose the oak tree adjoining my property).
I mentor at least a dozen landlords in this area--all are capable of attracting to their sites what I have witnessed tonight.  The same is true for contacts I know up the Texas coast and in to LA. What I have observed signifies a large General Arrival, with a high percentage of the SY population entering the USA in advance of, and with the occurrence of the passing frontal system.
This is the heaviest arrival of SY birds I have witnessed to date, indicating that general migration is still running about two weeks behind, and with the opportunity to extend huge arrivals into the USA for the next two weeks, before migration begins to taper off.
Still lots of time left for those seeking martins. I would say when these birds arrive mid continent in 3-5 days, *Halftime* will have been reached in Missouri.

John Barrow - his signature reads, "TEAMED WITH A MARTIN GODDESS".  Methinks Mrs. Barrow is a very fortunate lady.

Mr. Barrow's colony in Texas

Purple martins on the Texas coast.  One of these could start your colony.

Via Mrs. Barrow on the PMCA forum:
Neat video taken today on the Texas coast - these birds were in the road due to cold temps which left the asphalt the warmest place to be. The martins look so huge next to the smaller Cliff or Cave Swallows! Hopefully any traffic took it slow. Here in Corpus Christi some of our martins were in the street this AM, overnight temp was in high 50s, and daytime temps got into 70s, providing some good feeding weather for our friends. It was doubtless cooler up the coast at location of video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ1EGgZhFSs&feature=share


Do I have the coolest friends, or what?
 

Springin' to Life

It is April 12th and I estimate that my Purple Martin Colony is now almost 1/2 full.  Last year at this same time, I had around 120 - 140 birds, but right now I have about 35 pairs (60+ birds).  But, it's not even half-time in Missouri yet!  The adults are still arriving and I have not spotted a sub-adult thus far.  In fact, if you're a new landlord in Missouri waiting for your first arrival this year, you still have plenty of time.  From my records, I can tell you that I've seen sub-adults arriving through the first week of June, so don't give up.  They seemed to arrive a little slower this year and I've actually been happy with that.

It is quite fun to watch the males fall all over themselves when they finally get a beautiful female to land and investigate the perfect home he has chosen for her.  It is truly giggle-inducing.  In his giddiness, his feet barely touch the porch  as he tumbles into the gourd, screeching to her from inside about his own wicked awesomeness in finding *THE* one.   It is quite hilarious when she takes off and he's still inside squawking away about where to setup her perfect nest and the couch.  Moments later, he will realize she has left and will poke his head out.  Lord knows what he's thinking when he finds her gone...after all that effort!
The females, on the other hand, seem to be quite in control and play the 'hard-to-get' part very well, sometimes acting completely uninterested.

Pick me, pick me, PUHLEESE PICK ME!

In the end, she lets him think he's in charge.  But we know who really is controlling their future here. :)

So far, my Great Horned Owl has not made an appearance and we are very happy about that.  I'll keep monitoring throughout the year, but we're pretty well protected now.  And when I say "we", I mean my martins and me.  I'm including Me - for my sanity and my love for my sleep.  The last 4 days have been very loud with the new arrivals.  Their raucous greetings, "Hey, how are ya?", and "HEY, I missed ya!" reverberate off the surrounding hills and my back porch and energize me every morning.
The landscape seemed so gloomy up until about a week ago.  But it has warmed up considerably and the martins are taking advantage by storming the racks and setting up territory.


Everywhere I look things are bloomin'.  It's amazing how much life springs forth with just a few days of warm weather.

Wild plum - one of the first native plants to bloom here in the spring.

I am so happy I decided to put out my mason bees last weekend.  While I haven't found one in the plum groves yet, I have been finding their empty cocoons.  And while my sinuses are not enjoying it, the honey bees are really digging all the pollen too!

Plum blooms and honey bees

Now we know where the idiom, "busy as a bee" comes from.

I don't have any idea what this flower is, but it's blooming too!

The Speckled Kingsnakes are on the move too.  This beauty decided that she wanted to take a shortcut across my driveway, through my lavender flower beds and across the yard to get to her old hunting grounds under my Butterfly bushes.

My Speckled Kingsnake decided she wanted to take advantage of the warm sun and move back to her old hunting grounds, under my Butterfly bushes, across the yard.  I let her pass unmolested - she will eat many mice, moles and other rodents which I don't want around.  Just keep movin' Missy - I should paint, "You SHALL NOT pass" on all my predator guards on my martin poles, just as a friendly reminder.  I've never seen her attempt it, but I'm sure a hungry one would.  Isn't she beautiful?

Dandelions

Even the Dandelions are beneficial to the bees this time of year.  I used to fight the war with them every year, until I realized their many benefits.  Now, we have an easy truce and I see their very fine flower petals everywhere and enjoy their lemony yellow, happy color scattered throughout the landscape.  How could I have ever believed these were bad plants??

Tree swallow pairing is in full swing. 

Tree swallows (TRES) are pairing up and in full battle mode, determined to take not only the boxes I dedicated to them (with the TRES slots), but also the blue bird boxes that I left with the 1.5" holes.  It is all-out war here between the two - may the best men / women win, because there's not much I can do to intervene.  The TRES are ferocious, but then again, they haven't met a truly agitated pair of Missouri bluebirds either.
These 2 pairs usually face off with Nikki and me as we walk past on our daily walks.  I think they would really like to pluck some of Nikki's fur for their nests.  It would probably help with her grooming.

Oh, how I love the sights and sounds of spring moving into summer!  It's energizing and fun to watch everyone get so busy.
I'll be hosting "Purple Martins and Coffee" again this year - 3rd Saturday of each month from 9 AM to 12 PM.  I hope to see some fellow Missourians then - and maybe we can do a 'walkabout', if you like!

The Final Roll Out

During the warmer weather this past week, I awoke to the sounds of many more martin arrivals.  I could tell they were new arrivals by the way the excited resident males were circling the racks and landing on the upper perching rods, flicking their tails and bouncing their screeching calls off the back of the house.  Summer time with my martins is the ONLY time I am willing to get up early!
After work this past Wednesday afternoon, I decided to make the final roll out of the rest of my gourds.
I had been holding back 1/2 of them for awhile mainly to keep the number of gourds that would need hand warmers to a minimum, just in case the weather turned frigid.  Another reason was to try to force more martins under the new owl cage on the big rack, until I could get out and put up the owl guards on my other 2 racks.  Lastly, I was hoping that some of the arrivals would disperse to some other new colonies and potentially help some of the landlords that I mentor start their new colonies.

I love this little squeaky, noisy trailer.  I bought it 4 years ago for $75.  Bob hates it because it's so noisy, but I love to run around with it bouncing along behind me.  He can hear me coming from anywhere on the property.  I can handle anything with my little trailer - just give me a shovel and some plants and I'm off and digging and planting.  I can also cram over 24 gourds in it.

But I knew I was forgetting something.  Oh yes, my mounting arms!  So, I walked back to fetch them from the garage and decided to do some bicep curls on the way back to the racks with them.  After all, this will save me having to spend 30 minutes on the Elliptical later!

I found a good use for that Parmesan container that has been sitting in the garage for the last year - one of those things I just couldn't throw away because it 'might be handy for something someday'.  Well, it has a new purpose in life!  Why spend money on those little screw containers at Lowe's when you can just re-purpose these?

The martins were very curious about the added gourds.

And for some reason, my camera switched right back to black & white pictures while I was shooting. .  That's okay, I like them as well as color pictures anyway.

Today was so warm and several things are bloomed or getting ready to bloom, so I decided to put out a few mason bee cocoons.

Mason bee cocoons

I placed them on top of some of the tubes that I rolled this winter.  I turned this old file box on its side and removed the top.  It should protect them from getting wet.  I put the cocoons on top of the tubes, so that when they chew their way through and crawl out, they will know where to come back to.  I also put some chicken wire over the open part of the box so that birds can't make a meal out of the cocoons.

Friend Lumber told me I could have all the old pallets out of their scrap yard that I wanted.  I've tucked in some bamboo shoots, elderberry canes, the box of tubes, some bricks I found in the scrap pile, and some 3" PVC with rolled tubes inside also.  I still have some stuff to put in, but it's really starting to shape up!

The number of poles in the yard that Mr. Freeze has to mow around has now been reduced by 2.  He came up with this plan and I agreed.  I love it too!  These 3 cameras are the same distance from each rack they're monitoring and even closer than they were last year.

This year, I'm continuing to use the heavy duty garden stakes from Lowe's for my 2 Deluxe systems, but today I added the fencing on top, to keep the owl from landing directly on the top row.  He left these racks alone last year - for now, I'll monitor, and if he goes after these, I have the frame created and only need to add more fencing.

It felt therapeutic to get out in the sun today and put the final touches on a lot of my projects.  I was rewarded this evening with many more martins coming in to the housing.  I estimate that I'm not quite 1/2 full right now.  Looks like migration is still a bit slower this year, at least, that's what I'm seeing at my site.  It will be interesting to see how things progress this year.

You Have Bunny Mail

"I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."
--Missouri's U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver - 1899

Missouri's unofficial state slogan is "Show Me" and regardless of how it originated, it is now used to indicate the stalwart, noncredulous character of Missourians.  Since 2010, I have been sending out a newsletter and publishing newspaper articles on purple martins in order to meet Missouri landlords.  I have participated in multiple purple martin forums and seen many of those come and go along the way.  I've seen all types of people on this journey; there are the "keyboard warriors" who are really only interested in sitting behind a keyboard and offering their sage advice to anyone they can get to listen, but they never really "show me" anything.  Others are only interested in sharing their pictures and talking about themselves, never really showing me anything either.  Then there are those who do, much to my delight, really "show me".
One of the first landlords with whom I first made contact in late 2011 when he subscribed to my newsletter was Jerry, located in Troy, MO, approximately 150 miles north east of my location.
How Jerry found out about me, I don't even recall - we've never even met; but he has been in regular contact since that time, letting me know how his colony is growing, issues he's dealing with and his nest check and fledge results. 
In 2011, he had 26 pair and after losing ~20 birds to a Great Horned Owl, he added the red flashing NiteGuard lights to the top of his rack to try to deter it, along with individual owl guards for his gourds.

Jerry's gourd racks.  The GHO just laughed at his red blinky lights.

The lights didn't help with his issues but the wire owl guards did, losing only one to an owl in 2012.  Even with the continued owl problems, his colony continued to grow and he reported 38 nesting pair in 2012, with 116 fledged.
In July 2013, I received an email from Jerry with the subject line, "You Have Mail - Bunny".  My curiosity piqued, I opened it and spewed my coffee on my monitor.  Jerry's owl had paid his site another visit and left him a present (and maybe a message?) on his starling trap.  Who knew that an owl could be so vindictive?

Jerry said, "This is exactly how it was found.  HONEST."

Jerry offered 48 gourds and hosted 36 pair with 153 fledged in 2013 and last year, in 2014, with his colony hitting its stride at 8 years old, Jerry decided to do something unselfish and extraordinary.  He decided to help his neighbor, who lives 1/4 mile away, attract purple martins.  Jerry had sold Bruce his smaller gourd rack, but Bruce was not having any luck with attracting his own martins.  Jerry decided it was time to take some drastic measures to help Bruce start a purple martin colony. 
Jerry started out the 2014 season by only opening 16 gourds at his colony.  As the number of martins grew, so did the fighting.  This was prime real estate and the older adults knew it!  After 2 weeks Jerry was ready to throw in the towel, but he was willing to go one more week.  Finally, before Jerry had to resort to anxiety medication, Bruce reported by 4/22 that he had 7 martins staying at his site.
Jerry happily threw open the doors, offering 48 gourds total.  He finished the year with 40 pair, 174 fledged and lost 4 fledges to his GHO.
And his neighbor?  Bruce ended the year with 8 pair.  How cool is that?
Both Bruce and Jerry are gearing up for a purple martin palooza this year.  They have have each now installed a Super System 24 in their backyards, with Jerry offering 72 gourds and Bruce offering 36 gourds in 2015.
These type of people - these fellow Missourians truly step up to the plate and show me.  I am so proud to live in a state where they don't just talk the talk - they walk the walk.
Fellow Missourians - showing and leading the way for the future of purple martins - you make me proud to be a part of it.  Thank you, Jerry and Bruce - best of luck to you both this year!  Jerry, I look forward to more "Bunny" mail from you.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.

--Orison Swett Marden

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!