Purple Martins--The Excitement of Fledging

If I needed any reminder of why watching birds is so compelling for me, my visits to the purple martin colony gave me exactly that.  Tons of fun, new information, and surprises!

For example, haven't you always heard that purple martins are loved by landowners because they are insectivores and eat lots of mosquitoes?  This notion turns out to be a compelling myth.  They do eat lots of insects including dragonflies, damselflies, June bugs, beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, and many others, but they rarely encounter mosquitoes.  In an intensive 7-year study conducted by the Purple Martin Conservation Association, no mosquitoes were found among the 500 different food items purple martins brought to their young.  The simple reason, purple martins hunt for food in flight, high up in the sky during the day and mosquitoes hang out in low, damp places during the same hours.  And in actually, purple martin landlords love purple martins because they love purple martins!

Female purple martin study

Even though, I had seen images, I also was in disbelief about the huge size of the dragonflies that martins capture while on the wing.  I thought, surely we don't have dragonflies that large in Tennessee, maybe west or north of us.  But that doubt was quickly abated as I witnessed martins bringing enormous dragonflies to their young.  

And as the nesting season progressed into late July, I had the pleasure of seeing curious nestlings poking their heads out of gourd cavities as they watched all the activity going on around them.  If you've ever visited a martin colony, you know there is plenty of activity, especially when fledging is in progress.  

I spotted one nestling that was so curious she was stretching far out of the gourd opening, moving farther and farther out until she was precariously perched on the deck. I felt certain she was going to fall off.  But with all that curiosity and the instinct to fly, she suddenly spread her wings and off she flew on her first flight with Mom following and vocalizing in close pursuit!  Breathtaking.  I was so excited.  I had just watched a purple martin nestling fledge!

And what happens once all those nestlings fledge?  Martins remain at the nesting colony site for a while during the fledging period while the young strengthen their flying skills, but soon after, members of the colony move on to communal roosts as they begin migration to South America.   For early nesters this migration begins in June, for others it is occurring now.  A given roost may have birds from many different areas, and the members of the roost will change daily.   The roost shown in the video below is in Nashville, TN and was photographed in August of 2010.  In June of this year it was reported to have more than 10,000 martins gathering.  An incredible sight and sound.  (There is no sound on this video).


Links and Resources:
To listen to purple martins vocalize visit Cornell's page on purple martins.
Visit the Purple Martin Conservation Association's page on the purple martin roost.
To see all my posts on my observations of this colony visit:  purple martins.  The most recent post will be first.

You may also want to visit my Purple Martin with Prey painting and watch it take shape at Vickie's Sketchbook.

Purple Martins--Contenders for Bird-World Personality Award

Typically, its my observation of a species that inspires interest and the desire to create art, but it can also happen the other way around.  I recently received a request for a painting of a purple martin, a bird that I was familiar with, but that I had never had opportunity to observe.  I said, yes, of course.  I love a challenge, especially when it comes with the opportunity to get better acquainted with a bird species.  But then, I immediately wondered, how am I going to accomplish this?  I don't even know anyone with a purple martin colony.

Not an obstacle.  Purple martin landlords love their birds and many belong to a local and/or national purple martin organization.  In this case, the Purple Martin Conservation Association located a colony landlord for me, who graciously allowed me free access to the colony, gave me the opportunity to participate in a nest check, even loaned me a ladder for a better view, all in a perfect location for uninterrupted observation.

Female purple martin above and below.

Observation time with these birds was totally fun.  As martins return to the breeding colony in the spring, what you initially see looks like chaos.  But there is the making of social order from all that activity.  The birds are selecting mates, nest sites and compatible neighbors, and what appears to be confusion, is simply a highly social species sorting out relationships, and progressing toward the order that will see them through the breeding season in a colony of closely positioned nests.

So if you haven't had a chance to spend time with martins, you are in for a treat.  The only thing lacking is the vocals.  A very chatty species!  Below you will see a series of images of a female trying to add a twig to her nest.  Her determination was astounding.  I didn't count how many times she tried before she actually succeeded, nor do I know whether her success was a learning process or just accidental trial and error, but she was no slacker in persistence.  And whether her mate, or a neighbor, her efforts caught interest and comment from the male perched beside her.  Also notice the beautiful blue sheen of sunlight on his feathers.  (click on images to enlarge)

  

She was one of many birds going about this challenging activity.  Both males and females were flying in with mouths full of nesting materials, all sizes and description.  I'll show you more about this in my next post.

To see more of my sketches and the painting's progression visit:  Purple Martins at Vickie's Sketchbook.

To learn more about purple martins, visit:  The Purple Martin Conservation Association

For a visual comparison between the plumage of males and females and younger birds visit;  Chuck's Purple Martin Page