Young and Old Alike

One of the best parts of managing a Purple Martin colony is sharing the experience with others. My Grandmother and my Niece, both enjoy helping with nest checks!

9th and 10th Nest Check

Most Purple Martin pairs are now busily carrying in large insects, especially dragonflies!

The nesting season is continuing nicely. Several of the young are now near fledgling stage. At the Memory Lake Colony, three nests contained one dead young each, while two of the nests have fledged a total of 8 young. Several of the young should fledge by the next nest check! Several of the nests at the Snake River Colony needed to have their nests replaced due to blowfly infestations. There are currently 14 nests with young, some of which should begin fledging anyday! There is a nest in one of the Excluder Gourds that contains only one young; the little nestings seems to have suffered repeated attacks, as it contains several scars and markings on his head. The Pokegama Lake Colony consists of three active nests with young. One of the nests in the T-14 had a severe infestation from blowlfies, the young were skinny, sluggish, and obviously anemic. I quickly changed their nest and removed MANY blowfly larvae. The other three nests with young appeared very healthy. One of the nests have started fledging at the ECE Colony, remarkably, out of the same gourd that was the first to fledge young last year! The ECE Colony has 21 nests with young, and one nest still contains eggs! The Rush Lake Colony currently has eight nests with young, two of the nests contain newly hatched young.

Waiting for the Nest Check

The Memory Lake Colony Purple Martins patiently waiting for me to finish conducting my nest check!

Nest Replacements

At this stage of the nesting season (most nests containing quickly growing young), it is very important to conduct nest replacements to remove harmful nest parasites. The main parasite that needs to be removed is blowfly larvae, which suck the blood of the nestlings causing some to become anemic. Reducing the number of blowfly larvae greatly increases the nesting success of the Purple Martins. Nests changes involve removing the nestings (at around 8 and 18 days of age) from the nest and placing them in a 5 gal. plastic bucket that containes dried White Pine needles. After the young have been removed, the entire nest and the parasites contained within, can be dumped into a waste container. A handful of dried While Pine needles should be placed back into the nesting compartment and a bowl should be formed at the back of the cavitiy. The nestlings can then be placed back into their parasite free nest!

7th and 8th Nest Check

The Purple Martin season is in full swing! Many of the nests have hatched out, while some of them still contain eggs. The Memory Lake Colony has 16 nests with young and two nests with eggs. The Snake River Colony has 13 nests with young and two nests that have eggs are that are expected to hatch soon. The Pokegama Lake Colony has one nest that hatched on the 6th of June, the other nests are just now beginning to hatch. Unfortunately, there were two nests that didn't hatch-out any of their eggs. One nest containted five eggs and the other nest contained four eggs. I cracked each of the eggs to see if they contained embryos. The eggs in the nest with four eggs only contained yolk; the female was likely infertile as these eggs were being incubated for nearly two weeks. Three of the five eggs in the second nest contained half developed embroys while the other two contained only yolk; perhaps the female was predated by a hawk? The ECE Colony now has 13 nests with young and nine nests with eggs. This colony is also having its share of bad luck in addition to the House Sparrow attack that occured early in the season. Five nests that contained eggs failed to hatch. Two nests contained only two eggs, it is likely that these nests contained more eggs but were destroyed be the House Sparrow before they could recorded; the remaining eggs may have simply been abandoned. Three of the nests that didn't hatch contained five eggs each! All 15 eggs contained only yolk! These nests were also incubated for nearly two weeks. Perhaps these females were also infertile, or were never fertilized by a male... one will never know!?!? The ECE Colony does have some good news - a new clutch of eggs was laid on June 24th! The earliest possible fledge date for these young is August 8th! The Rush Lake Colony is doing farily well. Four of the nests now contain young and five of the nests contain eggs. In total, ECMPMR colonies consist of 77 nests, with a total of 346 eggs laid!

6th Nest Check - Hatching Continues

The 6th nest check of the ECMPMR colonies proved to be a rewarding one, as many of the eggs have hatched! The Memory Lake Colony now has 13 nests with young! The oldest nestings, found in the T-14, are 8 days old, and are expected to fledge on June 7th. Five other nests contain eggs. The Snake River Colony is much younger than the Memory Lake Colony; thus, the nests are a bit behind. Four of the nests contain young, while the other 11 still contain eggs. The earliest fledges from this colony are expected on July 13th. The Pokegama Lake Colony's six nests currently only contain eggs. The rather large ECE Colony has several large broods with six nestlings. There are currenty nine nests with young, four of which have six nestings! The other 16 nests contain eggs. The first fledges at the ECE Colony are expected on July 8th. The ECE Colony also has a few later nests, which are expected to fledge on August 8th! The Rush Lake Colony has one nest with six young, the other eight nests contain eggs.

Aging Nestlings

One of the components to be comming a successful landlord is keeping written records so you can learn as much about the very bird we are trying to help. One valuable piece of information you can obtain by checking nests is the actual age of a nestling, and the actual hatching date of that particular nestling. The age of a nestling can be determined by comparing the nesting with laminated nestling photos (available from the PMCA http://www.purplemartin.org/). This way, you can determine the actual hatching day and the earliest possible fledge date using the Purple Martini Prognosticator (also available from the PMCA) of that particular nest. If nestlings are missing from a nest before the earliest possible fledge date, those young have been unsuccessful. However, if young are missing from the nests AFTER the earliest fledge date, they likley fledged successfully.

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Unsuccessful Hatch

This nestling was found beneath the T-14 at the Memory Lake Colony. It looks as though it hatch prematurely, died during the hatching process, and was removed from the nest by its parents.

Fifth Nest Check

Memory Lake Colony



Rush Lake Colony



Pokegama Lake Colony


The fifth nest check of ECMPMR colonies turned out to be a great one! The Memory Lake Colony now has 18 nests with eggs or young, this is up from 16 nesting attempts during the 2007 season. The Snake River has experienced substantial growth this year. There are currently 14 nests with eggs at the Snake River Colony, this is up from 3 nesting attempts last year. The Pokegama Lake Colony is doing wondefully for its first year, with six nests with eggs. The ECE Colony is currently the largest of the ECMPMR colonies, with 25 nests with eggs or young! The Rush Lake Colony is also doing wonderfully during its first year, with 7 nests with eggs. In total there are currently 70 nests with eggs or young!

Eggs Starting to Hatch

Purple Martin eggs in East Central Minnesota are starting to hatch! Five nests have begun hatching at the Memory Lake Colony and two of the nests at the ECE Colony have started hatching. At each of the colonies there are still pairs that have just started egg laying and some are still nest building!

ECMPMR Presentations

I have recently given several presentations about the ECMPMR project as well as how individuals can help the Purple Martin in their own backyard.

I spoke at the Audubon Center of the Northwood's 3rd Annual Birding Festival on June 7th. There were around 10 in attendance at my presentation. I also spoke at the Audubon Center to a group of Elderhostel participants. On June 14th I gave a presentation at Wild River State Park. There were several very interested individuals. Many of them will make great landlords! I hope to continue giving presentations to help educate the public about the great benefit of Purple Martins!

Fourth Nest Check - June 10, 2008

The fourth nest check started with some bad news. I was a bit devastated during my most recent nest check of the ECE and Rush Lake colonies. As I approached the housing at the ECE colony, I noticed SEVERAL cracked eggs below the housing! In total, out of the 19 nests containing eggs, 9 eggs were missing! However, there are still 19 nests with eggs and 5 nests with green leaves. The productivity of the colony will be down a bit because of the House Sparrows, but hopefully the hatch rate will be high. At the Rush Lake Colony, one of the firsts nest's eggs were all pecked! However, there are still 2 nests with eggs and 9 other nests with green leaves. I've already trapped two pairs of House Sparrows and there was no House Sparrow nests found in any of the compartments. In total, 12 eggs have been pecked by House Sparrows.

The Memory Lake Colony (Grantsburg, WI) has 22 nests, 17 of which have eggs. The Snake River Colony (Pine City, MN) has 14 nests, 9 of which have eggs. The Pokegama Lake Colony (Pine City, MN) has 11 nests, 2 of which have eggs. The ECE Colony (Braham, MN) has 24 nests, 19 of which have eggs. Finally, the Rush Lake Colony (Rush City, MN) has 9 nests, 2 of which have eggs. There are about 3 weeks left for nest building and egg laying. Some subbies (Second Year birds) are still busy building nests and bringing in green leaves (the picture shows a nest that is ready for its first eggs!), while others are already incubating their eggs.

Purple Martin Interpretive Signs - June 9, 2008

I have my first interpretive sign just about finished! The sign was printed at the Virigina State Parks Sign Shop. The PMCA's Purple Martin poster was enlarged and printed onto an aluminum sign. I made the display case.Plexi-glass covers the sign - hopefully this will help extend the life of the sign. I will have signs placed at four of the ECMPMR colonies: Snake River, Rush Lake, Memory Lake, and Plastech Corp.

Wave of SY Birds - June 1, 2008

Many new SY (second year - hatched last year) Purple Martins have recently returned to east central Minnesota. This handsome fella was attempting to lure a female to his chosen gourd at the Rush Lake Colony.
I just completed my third nest check of ECMPMR colonies - things are looking great! The Memory Lake Colony, now in its fifth year has 22 nests, 15 of which have eggs. The Snake River Colony activated last year with three pair, two of which were successful. This year, the colony has 11 nests, 3 with eggs. The Pokegama Lake Colony is in its first year and currently has 4 nests! The ECE Colony was established many years ago. This is the second year I have managed the colony. Last year it had 18 nests. This year it has 25 nests, 15 with eggs. The Rush Lake Colony is new this year. I'm very excited to report 10 nests, 2 with eggs. Unfortunately, the Plastech Corp. Site still has no martin activity. This housing may be moved to a more appropriate location for next year. In total, there are 72 nests started! Of course, not all of these will result in eggs. However, I expect some SY pairs still need to begin building nests. So, all-in-all, things are looking good in East Central MN!
House Sparrows continue to be a problem. One egg was pecked at the ECE Colony (presumed by a House Sparrow). I have also been actively trapping them (using insert traps in the Excluder Gourds) at the Memory Lake and ECE Colonies, where the House Sparrows are especially prevalent. I have seen little House Sparrow activity at the other colonies.

Egg Laying Begins - May 28, 2008

Nest building continues... Several of the ASY pairs are now bringing in green leaves and a few have started egg laying. The SY (second year) birds are continuing to arrive and pair up. The SY birds should begin nest building soon. The Memory Lake Colony has 20 nests started, 4 of which have eggs. The Snake River Colony has 7 nests started. The Pokegama Lake Colony has 3 nests started. The ECE Colony has 21 nests started, 4 of which have eggs. The Rush Lake Colony has 3 nests started. There still hasn't been any activity at the Plastech Corp. Site in Rush City. After this season, the housing may be relocated to different location if it doesn't host nesting pairs this season. In total, the ECMPMR colonies have 54 nests started! Some of these nests will likely not result in eggs as some Purple Martin pairs will build nests in multiple cavities. However, the 2008 season is off to a great start!

Nest Building Begins - May 18, 2008

ASY Purple Martins have begin nest building! A few SY Purple Martins have also started to arrive. The first official nest check was conducted today. The Memory Lake Colony (Grantbsurg, WI) has 19 nests started. All of the compartments in the T-14 and gourd below has nests; may have a full house! The Snake River Colony (Pine City, MN) has 2 nests started. The first SY male was spotted. The new Pokegama Lake Site (Pine City, MN): has one ASY pair bringing in nesting material! The well established ECE Colony (Braham, MN) has 18 nests started, 6 of the nests were in the new SS24 gourd rack! The new Rush Lake Site (Rush City, MN) has 3 nests started. Unfortunately, the Plastech Corp. Site (Rush City, MN) still hasn't had any martin activity. Looks like the beginning of a great season!

First Martins at Pokegama Lake Site - May 11, 2008

I decided to check on the Pokegama Lake site this evening. I just had a hunch... sure enough - there was an ASY male trying to lure down a female! The male zipped right into a compartment and called for the female. She landed several times, peered into the compartment. She nearly entered several times but never went all the way in. She took off and the male continued to sit on the porch. He is perched on the lower porch of the right side of the T-14! Several Tree Swallows harassed the female a bit, she didn't seem the least worried about them. It sure would be nice to have this site activated its first year!

Looking Good for Rush Lake - May 11, 2008

There are now 3 adult males and 1 adult female Purple Martins at the new Rush Lake site! All four of the birds were interested in the T-14; they didn't pay much attention to the gourds. They were easily able to enter and exit the WDC entrances with ease. It appears there is a pair of tree swallows interested in the gourd rack. One of the male martins dive bombed the tree swallows.

First Martins at Rush Lake Site - May 9, 2008

This evening I decided to check out the Rush Lake Site - a new site for 2008. I couldn't believe my eyes - an ASY male was sticking his head out of one of the compartments (top compartment facing the picture) and an ASY female popped out of the lower compartment as I pulled up. It was getting dark and I only saw the two birds. They both took off when I approached and circled over head. Hopefully this new site will have its first committed ASY pair!!!!!

New Sites Ready to Go - May 4, 2008

I visited all of the sites today. The Memory Lake, ECE, and Snake River colonies are doing great; the males are busy defending cavities and attracting females. The three new sites, Rush Lake, Plastech Corp. and Pokegama Lake, remain without martins, but are all ready to go. These sites will most likely attract SY pairs, which should begin to return within a few weeks. I checked each site today to ensure all compartments had dried White Pine needles. I also trapped a bull House Sparrow from the Pokegama Lake site using a nest insert trap. The three new sites are now free from European Starings and House Sparrows, which is of utmost importance when starting new colonies!

ECE Martins Approve - May 4, 2008

Several ASY martin pairs seem to have claimed their gourd on the new gourd rack at the ECE Colony in Braham, MN.

Many Memory Lake Martins - May 4, 2008

This is the second year for the Snake River Colony - last year it had three pair (two successful). There are now two ASY pairs back! One of the males seems committed to the very same compartment that fledged young last year!

Two ASY Pairs at Snake River Colony - May 4, 2008

This is the second year for the Snake River Colony - last year it had three pair (two successful). There are now two ASY pairs back! One of the males seems committed to the very same compartment that fledged young last year!

Female Martin Stuck in Entrance - May 4, 2008

While checking on the Memory Lake Colony in Grantsburg, WI today, I noticed a female stuck in one of the entrances. At this time of the season martins fight, sometimes very seriously, for compartments. During the early spring, martins have been reported stuck in many different types of entrances. This poor bird ended up stuck in the entrance hole with another female martin on the inside. Thankfully, I was able to free this bird and the bird stuck in the compartment. The bird trapped in the compartment pecked at the back of this martin, causing some minor damage (missing feathers, red skin). Hopefully she will make it. The female stuck in the compartment was freed unharmed. This incident demonstrates the importance of carefully monitoring your colony.

Martins Return to Snake River Colony - May 3, 2008

The martins have returned to the Snake River Colony in Pine City, MN! Last year was the first year for this site; it hosted three SY (second-year; hatched the previous year) pairs. Two of the pairs successfully fledged four young each. The third pair's nest was infested with Blowflies and all of the nestlings died. An ASY (after second-year; an adult) male and female have returned. This year, I hope to have at least five pair at this second year colony.

Feeding Crickets - April 29, 2008

Flinging crickets, adding them to nesting compartments, or placing them on a raised platform are great ways to help martins during cool, rainy weather when they can't feed. Crickets can be purchased from pet stores or they can be ordered online at a much more reasonable price at http://www.reptilefood.com/

We Will Survive! - April 29, 2008

Today the temps were above 50 with plenty of sun and calm winds. The martins were able to feed successfully. Their wings are still a bit droopy, but they are looking much better. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be even warmer - they should regain a lot of their strength tomorrow. I filled the compartments at the ECE and Memory Lake colonies with crickets just in case they needle additional food. I haven't found any dead martins at the ECE or Memory Lake colonies! There at least a dozen martins back at both of the colonies.

Droopy Wings - April 28, 2008

Droopy wings are a sure sign the martins are stressed from the lack of food during cool, wet weather. When the temperature drops below about 48 degrees the martins are unable to feed. Strong winds and rain make conditions even worse. Several consecutive days of this type of weather can lead to wide spread die offs of Purple Martins. Hopefully warm, sunny days will return soon!

Cold and Hungry Martins - April 27, 2008

The last 3-4 days have been cold, rainy, and windy. In such conditions Purple Martins are unable to feed on the flying insects which they are completely dependent upon. I offered scrambled eggs at the ECE colony in hopes that some will recognize it as food. Someone generously donated money for the purchase of crickets, which the martins usually readily accept. I will be offering crickets on tuesday if the weather doesn't improve. A Super System 24 gourd rack (www.CUENT.com) was added to the ECE colony. Even with the cold weather, the martins began to inspect the new gourds as soon as the rack was raised! All six ECMPMR colonies now consist of a T-14 and Super System 24 gourd rack! Hopefully warm weather will return soon...

Male Purple Martin - April 22, 2008

One of the early returning male martins at the ECE Colony.

Over 12 Martins at ECE Colony - April 22, 2008

At least 12 martins have returned to the ECE Colony in Braham, MN. I expect this colony to have many pairs this year. We will soon be adding a Super System 24 gourd rack to the site. Last year all 18 compartments had nests, this year we will be offering 42 compartments!

Getting the Nests Ready - April 20th, 2008

Dried White Pine needles make great bedding to add to each cavity. Today I went to the ECE, Pokegama, and Memory Lake Colonies and cleaned out the old nests from last year and replaced them with fresh, dried, pine needles. It is especially important to add bedding to plastic gourds; I suggest adding bedding until it reaches the bottom of the entrance hole.

Memory Lake Martins Have Returned - April 20th, 2008

Five Purple Martins have returned to the Memory Lake Colony in Grantsburg, WI. I expect many more to return with the next southerly winds.

ECE Scouts Return - April 7th, 2008

The Plastech Corp. site is ready to go!!! This site is not located on a body of water, but is placed in the complete open, without any dense, wooded areas. However, there is a small pond about 1/4 mile away.I'm very curious as to how the martins will react to housing placed next to a manufacturing plant.Plastech Corp. is in Rush City, MN. I have seen martins flying over this city on sevearl occasions - so they are nesting somewhere nearby.With some luck, I hope to have some nesting pairs here this year!