PMCA Colony Update 2022: Our Purple Martins have returned!

The Purple Martins officially returned to the PMCA colony sites on April 12th. We spotted two adult males and one female at our West Pier site, two adult males at our Rotary Pavilion site, and one adult male at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center location. Their cheerful chatter is a sure sign that spring is […]

Landlord Spotlight: March 2022

The PMCA continues to celebrate our 35th Anniversary. For the 3rd installment of the Landlord Spotlight, we would like to introduce Mark Anderson who lives in Tontitown, AR. How long have you been a landlord? Since 2013 How did you get started? I had a mentor who had three 24 apartment Trio houses for over 20 […]

Landlord Spotlight: February 2022

In continuing to celebrate our 35th Anniversary, the PMCA is excited to share the 2nd installment of the Landlord Spotlight. For this month’s installment, Terry Nitsch shares their landlord tale. We moved to central Ohio 20 years ago from the city to the country. We have 9 acres and a large back yard. A good […]

Landlord Spotlight: January 2022

To celebrate our 35th Anniversary, the PMCA is so excited to kick off our Landlord Spotlight. For this monthly installment, the Ray Family reached out to us with their incredible story. This was the fifth year that we have hosted Purple Martins and successfully fledged 114.  In the preceding 4 years we had doubled the […]

PMCA Holiday Gift Picks

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and the PMCA is here to help! Each employee has picked their favorite item to help you shop for everyone on your list! In the PMCA Shop, you can find everything you need and more for a successful season next year. We also have an Amazon Shop, where you […]

The Purple Martin Family Tree from the Fall 2020 Issue of The Purple Martin Update

Taxonomy is the method of naming and classifying the natural world into groups based on shared characteristics. While you may be familiar with Purple Martins—and other members of the swallow family that nest in North America—there are many branches of the Purple Martin family tree. To organize and understand the relationships of all of living organisms to each other, biologists developed a hierarchy of classification with birds grouped in […]

Martin 101: Purple Martin Roost

What is a Martin Roost?  In late Summer, after leaving the nesting colony, Purple Martins gather in large flocks to feed, socialize and rest before migrating.  This activity, known as pre-migratory roosting can attract thousands of birds to one small area.  Martins also form winter roosts on their South American wintering grounds were they will often […]

Martin 101: Winterizing Martin Housing

Click on the image to view larger To truly make your martin housing last, there are a few end of season chores you will want to complete. The main being winterizing your martin housing. Follow these easy steps in the fall: Remove nests and scrub housing with a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach to […]

Martin 101: Prevent Premature Fledging During Nest Checks

All Purple Martin landlords, whether they are aspiring or established, have a common goal—to help increase the population of Purple Martins each season. We protect ‘our’ birds as best we can, with guards against both ground and aerial predators, starling-resistant entrances, and weekly nest checks. Even with these safeguards, during the course of a martin […]

PMCA Colony Update 2021: Banding and Continued Research

The busiest part of our Purple Martin season is now wrapping up. There is  a two week window where it seems all the young reach the age that are ready to band and its also the perfect opportunity to deploy the GPS data loggers to a few adult birds. Each summer, the PMCA bands every […]