It has been a busy month for our field research team here at the PMCA. Our twice weekly nest checks now included banding and nest changes on most days. All of the nestlings at our colony sites are banded when they reach at least eleven days old. By the end of the season we will…
The first nest of our season hatched on June 17th and with that begins a busy couple weeks of eggs hatching every day. When a nest first hatches, we use our laminated martin photos to age the young. Using their age we can determine the actual hatch date, the date that they can be banded…
The first egg of the 2019 season at the PMCA was laid on May 29th. We now have multiple eggs in almost every cavity at each of our colony sites. We are also excited to announce that Season 4 of Martin TV is now live on YouTube. We have a live camera that gives you…
It's been over a month since the arrival of the first scouts to our colonies. Over that time, more and more martins have arrived including the subadult martins on May 23rd. During the last week the martins have been busy gathering nesting material and we now have several well built nests at each of our…
The spring is an exciting time here at the PMCA. We share the anticipation with our fellow Purple Martin landlords for the arrival of our Purple Martins to our colonies. We follow along with the Scout-Arrival map and look to the skies when the arrival time approaches. That day arrived for us this year on…
After a long winter, the news of the return of Purple Martins in the southern US is a welcoming sign that spring is on the way. As the Purple Martins continue to venture further north in their migration, it is important to stay updated and know when they will return to your area so you…
Twelve GPS data loggers were deployed on the backs of adult Purple Martins this month to collect data on their journey to the amazon rainforest and back. These GPS data loggers will collect data five times throughout the day (every day) and can pinpoint the bird's location as accurate as a few meters. In order to…
Over the last few days our first nests of the season have fledged and with each nest check we are finding more cavities empty. It's bittersweet to see the young successfully leave the nest, knowing it's a sign that our summer with the Purple Martins is coming to an end. [caption id="attachment_214" align="alignnone" width="472"] Plugged…
It was a busy week here at the PMCA as we banded nearly 300 nestlings for our long-term banding research. Every Purple Martin nestling at the PMCA is banded after they reach eleven days old. They are fitted with 2 bands; a silver federal band on the left leg and a purple auxiliary band on…
Over the weekend, our first eggs of the season hatched. We had three nests at Sommerheim with little pink babies and expect nests at our other locations to begin hatching by the end of the week. We are almost at full capacity, with active nests in nearly every compartment. What an exciting time of year!…
