The first egg of the season at the PMCA was laid on May 26th at our Sommerheim Colony. Since then, more and more nests have filled with eggs and with the subadult arrivals we are reaching full capacity.
The PMCA has four Purple Martin colony sites around Presque Isle State Park in which we offer a total of 132 nesting cavities. All of our housing are on winch cable systems for easy lowering and are fitted with the appropriate predator guards. We perform nest checks twice a week and keep diligent records of the nest contents (nests, number of eggs or nestlings) and everything else going on at the colonies. These records help us estimate the hatch dates for each nest and then keep track of the age of the nestlings which is important for banding and around fledging time.
Our NestCam has gone live for Season 7! We have a new pair of Purple Martins in the nest this year. The female, Skylar, has laid 6 eggs which are due to hatch on June 23rd. The male, Joffrey, is very attentive and has been watching over the eggs when Skylar needs a break. Visit our YouTube channel to watch this martin couple raise their young live 24/7.
Mercedes Leofsky
PMCA Biologist