He soared and fed on tiny insects for about another 5 minutes and then down he came. He zoomed by the gourds a couple of times and then he landed on top of one of the racks! There he sat and preened and he had the look of the King that he definitely is! With one mighty swoop through the sky he ended winters grip for good here and just by himself he made me feel like I had 100 martins out there smile..! The Purple Martin of spring is the true harbinger of good news. He is the heart,the soul,and the spirit of eternal summertime. He is brand new each season no matter how many seasons you see him and the Purple Martin of spring truly is a God Among Birds.

Well at about 5:20 P:M he took off and soared some more and then with one awesome tuck of his wings he started his dive! Like a F-16 fighter jet he rocketed through the cool March air and at about 20 feet above the ground he spread out his strong wings and landed in front of a big natural gourd. He sat on the porch for about a minute and then he bolted through the Starling resistent clinger entrance like it was nothing. I am proud of that entrance so much and it is a joy to see the martins get through it so easily while at the same time it stops starlings dead in their tracks. Such a joy to have the martins now coming in and in another 3 weeks there will be 75 plus out there and by early May way over 150 martins will call my colony site home for yet another summer.

They are so special in every way...Mike

I will get some pictures of them from last year and post a couple for you and all to see. I wish I knew how folks get the pictures to show up with the post instead of in a link?? Anyone know how you do that? Purple Martins are simply wonderful Terrene. They reflect all that is good and green in the world and after a long winter without them seeing the first male is a treat beyond words. He is trult forever summertime just as the Bluebird is forever April,Apple Blossoms,and Daffodils smile..

Anyone who has the proper wide open habitat they love,lives in their range,and provides proper housing with Starling Resistent Entrances,and controls the House Sparrows can have a martin colony. It used to be that you could just put up a two inch round hole martin house just about anywhere in their range and get started but not these days. The pressure from their number one enemies(House Sparrows and Starlings) in most places is just too great. For this reason alone they must be dealt with in order to be truly successful attracting and then increasing a martin colony. In the end however once you see the martins and they get into your heart and soul it is all well worth it...Mike

Eastern Purple Martins supposedly only nest in artificial houses (Native Americans used to hang gourds for them), but there is a population on Poppy Mnt, perhaps they are using old barn loft crannies for nesting.

7-12-09, Poppy Mnt, Purple Martin pair

From 7-6-09 Poppy Mnt, farm

Someone has a martin house up by the small Morehead welcome park.

6-6-09, male and female Purple Martins quarreling, 2:31 p.m.

From 6-5-09, birds

To post full sized photos on this forum, upload your photos to a free photo sharing site like Picasa Web Albums, then right-click to copy the "embed" link next to the photo in whatever size you want (you are offered 5 sizes in the drop-down bar) and paste it to your post. When you click on "preview" the html will appear as a photo

Double-clicking on any of my photos will take you my Picasa Web Album, if you want to see what I'm talking about

Kendra..They are an absolute joy and truly the Ultimate Bird. I mean that by teh way they can fly. Most birds like Cardinals,Sparrows ,etc just flit to get from point A to point B. The martins actually fly smile..! They are "Bad to the Bone" way up in the air where they put on spectacular aerial shows. Love them so much..Mike

I've never noticed where the Poppy Mountain Purple Martins nest since I assumed they use niches in the big, open barns but I'll try to pay more attention this year. There's a huge European Starling flock hanging around up there also but since people don't live up to supply them with food, the starlings must be nesting in the woods instead of competing with the Purple Martins

The ancient martins of the past once nested in hollow tree snags,old woodpecker holes,etc and some including myself think they mave have used rocky outcroppings,cliffsides,and river banks very similar to how the Rough Winged Swallow,Barn,and the Cliff Swallow nests today. To me this would explain their use of mud in their nests. There would be no need for mud in a deep woodpecker cavity or tree hollow but maybe the ancient martins used mud to seal off a rock crevice or something similar?? All fun questions to think about and wonder.

The native American Indians of the south first started attracting martins by using gourds. Most likely it happened by accident as the Indians hung the gourds to dry. Well maybe the mice(that love to eat gourd seeds)got into them as they hung there in the winter drying. They ate a hole in the gourd and in the spring the martins took them. After the Indians noticed this they liked the martins and then started purposely hanging the gourds for them? Again fun questions to think about.

When the white man settled in this country they began to build wooden houses for martins along with adopting the Indians practice of hanging gourds and then the stage was set for making the Purple Martin so dependant on man for housing as they are today. I think that in ancient days of this country when the great forests once dominated that the martins were not as common as they are today with the increased open area and that is most likely true. However the greatest threat to martins now is their need for man made housing and of course their number one enemies the Starlings and the House Sparrows.

When these two birds came on the scene they slowly began to push out the martins wherever they became common. Gone were the days of simply putting up a martin house with 2 inch round holes in it and forgetting about it. Same with the Bluebirds and if it were not for the 1 and 1\2 inch entrance hole in BB Boxes the Eastern Bluebird would not be near as common as they are now. The 1 and 1\2 hole stopped the starlings and then they only had the House Sparrows to deal with. Fortunately for the Purple Martin there are now SREH(Starling Resistent Entrance Holes)and they have helped martins everywhere now not have to deal with starlings and wherever this is happening the martins are doing great. My site is nearly 100% clinger SREH now and it is such a sitisfying feeling knowing the martins are protected from those nest stealing,murdering starlings. Martins can deal with the sparrows to a point but not starlings and having the SREH is the only way to go these days if you seek a martin colony.

I have been a martin landlord since I was 11 years old Terrene and all. I never tire of watching them and they are such a great part of summertime in this country. They are as American as baseball,apple pie,your Grandma's country biscuits,etc..smile..Thanks to all people who now use the SREH and trap and control the House Sparrows at their martin colonies. It simply helps the martins bigtime and so many other native songbirds continue to exist and live free and un harrassed in their own country. Man has in a way changed the nesting habits of the martins and this one question is always in my mind when I watch them. What would happen if all of a sudden man stopped supplying them housing?? Would their ancient instincts kick back in and send them back to cliffs,riverbanks,hollows,etc??? That is a lot to ponder right there I know that...Mike