Lake Erie Islands Conservancy reports on the Purple Martin conservation program:
The 2018 nesting season is behind us…. and our birds, adults & this year’s young, are making their way to their winter homes in the Amazon Basin of Brazil & other South American locations.
For those of you who are interested in the migration of these birds, the PMCA quarterly magazine (“The Purple Martin Update“) provided a wonderful account of PMCA’s “Amazon Expedition”–a research trip to the Amazon Basin to find our birds on their wintering grounds–in the Spring 2017 & Summer 2017 issues!
Lisa Brohl encourages all interested to subscribe to PMCA. The magazine alone is worth the membership ($26- Senior/$33- Regular) for its informative articles & research-based advice, but also to support this national Purple Martin organization & its mission of Purple Martin conservation.
You can find more on their website: www.purplemartin.org
Lisa Brohl will coordinate another BULK purchase of gourds (Troyer Vertical gourds w/ starling-resistant entrances (see page 6 of the Troyer 2018 catalogue).
These gourds are 13″ deep from entrance to back of the gourd, and each has a good volume which enables the young birds to exercise their wings before they make their first flight. This is an extra plus when it comes to a higher rate of successful fledgling.
These gourds can also be set up to trap house sparrows, an absolute must for managing your colony successfully! Traps can be ordered at a rate of 3/$19.99.
Purple Martin Landlords
LEIC has commitments for 44 gourds, so we are well on our way to a substantial discount. A single gourd costs $19.99 + 13% S&H
An order of 48 or more reduces the INDIVIDUAL price to $14.49 + 13 % S+H; this is a savings of $5.50 per gourd.
This is a good time to evaluate the quality of your Purple Martin housing….size, entrances, ease of monitoring & cleaning out, and ease of TRAPPING house sparrows!
A colony with fewer GOOD housing units will be more successful and easier to manage than a colony with many poor units. The goal is nesting success and Martins clearly prefer large gourds when made available! Orders can be placed by sending email to Lake Erie Islands Conservancy [leiconservancy “at” gmail.com].