Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Purple Martins

Hey Dave.
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Look here for where the Purple Martins are: http://purplemartin.org/scoutreport/

We had fairly frequent activity with 2 - 4 PM's at the gourds up until the cold snap. They were popping in and out, checking out the digs. After the cold front rumbled thru, we saw nothing until 2 days ago when the weather settled down and it warmed up into the low 50's...2 - 4 PM's for a couple of hours in the morning. Then we got blasted with snow, rain, and cold and we haven't seen anything since.
There will notable morality across most of the country from this wide-spread cold and inclement weather. Being this early in the season and up this far north, I expect that we will see more younger PM's moving north to nest. If you are providing housing, you may want to check each unit for dead birds. A dead bird can block in another live one.
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we do have pretty good luck with the tree swallows; better than house sparrows

It's 2008 and we're gonna have another go at it with the gourd rack.
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I never mentioned it last year, but we actually got to watch 4 little tree swallow squirts fledge from the only nest and family started. In fact, I think I was sitting right here at the keyboard (probably scanning the you-know-what forum) when I saw some activity out of the corner of my eye (the PC hutch is right next to the window that looks out into the back yard). Anyway, I jumped up, called out to D-ski, and we ran out into the back yard to watch. It is pretty funny. They lean out and drop, flapping their little wings to-beat-the-band, and bounce across the top of the lawn for about 50 or 100 feet and stop wherever it is that they aimed. One was in the weeds in the field, one was between a bush and the garage, I can't remember the others. They stop, gather their wits and breathe for a minute or two, then take off for a nearby tree limb. After a couple of hours of cruising the neighborhood, they would come back like little flying aces and show off, shooting into and right back out of the gourds. Amazing.
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Anyway, a pair of sub adults tree swallows (my bad) arrived 1-1/2 weeks ago and are very interested in housekeeping. Could be from last year's brood? This morning, they landed on the railing of our deck that looks out towards the gourd rack and seemed very comfortable. It was the first time that I can remember PM's TreS landing that close to the house. I was real careful to not scare them off thru the windows and moved slowly to retrieve the new 8 MP 12x optical zoom point/shoot. I took a couple pics thru the glass and they didn't seem to care. So....I popped the lock on the French glass door and swung it open. They still didn't care at 12 feet away. I took a few shots; then they decided it was time to scram. I blew this pic up a bit. Not bad for a $200 cam with a rank amateur on a coffee buzz.
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Do you like the gourds better than a traditional type of house?

My neighbor was a martin house right by my back property line. I love to watch that as they swoop low along my pond.

Brettski, I think what you have there is a pair of tree swallows! Cool! They will use the gourds too.

And great photo, by the way. I'm headed out this afternoon do clean house (again) of all the sparrows and starlings. I have about 4 pairs (of purple martins) looking for a place to stay right now. I've never had tree swallows but that would be great!!

sweet pic brettski, great job there.

Very nice, Brettski. They sure are pretty birds.

Great pic Brettski.

We have a ton of standing timber in the northern end of our pond. We have at least 30 pairs nesting in the various holes in them. Very pleased to see that.

How is your Wood Duck population doing? I am recalling the winter house cleaning episode!

We have 7 pair that arrived a week or so ago in a much larger flock. These are apparently of the same lineage that return each year. They spend a lot of time cruising on the water. We don't have houses for them, but that apparently isn't a deterrent.

Spring has sprung
the grass ain't ris
no wonder no flowers is

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I think you're right, Claybird...
hmmm...
I think I got's me some researchin' and recollectin' to do.
thanks

I am sure this has been posted before but Purple Martins eat large dragonflies, grasshoppers, and butterflies and make those their principle food. Since dragon flies eat mosquitoes the Purple Martins eating of the dragon fly may act to increase mosquito populations.

To the best of my knowledge no observations of martins actively feeding on mosquitoes where and when mosquitoes were seen to occur have been published.

I think bats eat mosquitoes but of course they are not as cute as Martins...and they may eat the dragon flies too. Bat house anyone ?

I had martin houses when I lived in the city but reached the same conclusion as you when I moved to our house on the pond. We live at the edge of a large forested area, have lots of dragonflies, but almost no mosquitoes. The tree swallows entertain us drinking from the pond so I don't miss the martins so much. Oh, I also see bats feeding over the pond at dusk.