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 Bird Of The Month

A BIRD WORTH WAITING FOR

                                                                    by Neil Stalter

 

Come January every year in Grand Harbor, active birders go on their annual all-in search for Purple Martins. Unlike other winter migrants, these gregarious swallows will be coming from the south. They have been lingering through the mild autumn in the sunny tropics. Mainly, they are coming from the Caribbean ring of countries including Mexico and Venezuela.

 

Hardly soon enough, the Martins will fill the 26 or so gourds that Grand Harbor Audubon has set out for their use. Another 36 condos await them at the Palace on Victoria's lake. But the process is less than certain. No telling whether these birds will arrive in early, middle or late January – and some even wait longer. Much depends on weather; cold snaps will delay their coming. Not enough bugs in the air.

 

Martin “scouts”will land first. These hardy males assess the clime, check out the boxes, and begin preparing for the females and yearlings. All gourds and condos will have been cleaned and re-hung by the golf maintenance staff under the direction of Brad Allin. Our Martins must be cared for because they have vital tasks to perform.

 

These are champion “insectivores” – hunting and catching their prey on the fly. As they swoop high then dive, they capture an array of insects with such favorites as dragon-flies and flying ants. Mosquitoes, contrary to a stubborn urban myth, make up only a tiny fraction of the Martins' diet. Whatever they take from the skies helps fulfill their role in the ecosystem.

 

As the largest of the world's swallows, Purple Martins measure about nine inches. Males are the only swallow with a dark underside – their glistening blue-black head and upperside cast a glow in sunlight. Females have the same dark top-side but their chest and belly are a light gray. The birds often chirp a throaty chew-wew, chew-wew with a repetitive chortle.

 

When their nests are threatened, even by predators as large as Ospreys, Purple Martins in tandems and small groups will give determined chase. I have seen many Crows, Starlings and Kestrels driven away from Martin sites, hassled by these quicker and better flyers over our lakes. Their sites are best placed near water, both for better hunting and a supply of drinking water. In days of yore, Martins, like their swallow cousins, nested in tree cavities left by Woodpeckers and in river-bank holes used earlier by Kingfishers. Today, almost exclusively in the eastern US, they adapt perfectly to man-made boxes. Early Native Americans started the practice of hollowing out gourds for swallows.

 

Purple Martins suffered losses in population as suburban sprawl overtook much of their habitat in the late 20th century. However, thanks to more interest from birders, their ranks are refilling. Despite this rebound, vast swaths of North America still find this sleek swallow among the missing.

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