Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to Beaver Island State Park for a bit of photography. My friend Tom Burke drove me there. He is a falconer and a birder, which goes beyond bird watcher in terms of fascination with birds. As we were traveling around the park, we noticed that the purple martin houses that are kept at the park had been taken down. That meant just one thing. The young purple martins were being banded. I took a bunch of pictures of the process, and, today, I asked Tom to tell me about purple martins. Here are some of the things he said. As a disclaimer, I will add that I am far from being an expert on purple martins. I am just an observer to the process.
Purple martins are members of the swallow family of birds. In size, they are the largest swallows. And, although they are called “purple martins,” they’re not actually purple.
Anyway, purple martins live in manmade structures, called purple martin housing. Tom says that he is a “landlord” for families of purple martins. “It’s thought that purple martins have become almost entirely dependent on nesting structures provided by human beings,” Tom said, adding that “it’s rare to see them nesting in natural cavities.”
Purple martins eat insects that they catch while flying. Favorite foods include dragonflies and other species. They do not, however, eat massive quantities of mosquitoes.
When purple martins are very young, they are banded. Tom explained the purpose of banding the birds: “Birds are banded to provide information about migration, survival, causes of mortality etc.” Approximately 320 birds were banded yesterday. These are young birds, who can’t fly yet. This year, the birds started laying eggs by May 14 or 15, according to information I got in an email about the purple martins here in Western New York.
Here’s another interesting factoid about purple martins, according to Tom: “In the fall martins gather in large pre migration roosts.
“Occasionally, that roost occurs off the coast of Buckhorn on Grass Island!!
“Thousands of birds from this area gather and drop in the cattails at dusk!!”
That must be quite a sight!
Tomorrow: who knows? It could be anything.
Interesting information about Purple Martins. I’ve never been into birds, but my Dad loved to watch and identify birds. Thank you for sharing, this post reminded me of my Dad.
I am so happy that my post reminded you of your dad and how he enjoyed birds.
That was really interesting about the purple martins, thank you for sharing!
You’re so welcome, Amanda.