Purple Martin Colony Success

I was going through my Project Martinwatch nest records and in the 11 years that my colony has been in existence I have had a total of 957 eggs laid, of those 803 hatched and 726 fledged. Here are the percentages:

Hatch Rate 83.9 %
Young That Fledged Rate 90.4 %
Overall Success Rate 75.9 %

This success has not come without a price. Having a successful colony requires work, diligence, and responsibility. I've listed below several informative articles on the PMCA website that explain what is required to have a successful colony. Remember, it's a lot more than just sticking a birdhouse in the air.

Click on to go to article:

Helpful Hints for Martin Landlords
PMCA's Best Martin Management Tips
Attracting and Managing Purple Martins
Top 10 Reasons Why People Fail to Attract Martins
12 Reasons Why People Lose Their Martins
Standards for Purple Martin Housing

Environmental Activism

If there are any environmental activists out there (like myself) there are several environmental websites that offer you an easy way of contacting your congressperson to tell them how you feel about certain pieces of legislation that affect the environment. After signing up you'll get occasional email updates and alerts from them about pending legislation, that's directed towards the environment and other important information. You can then take action by going to the website and send your own letter or use the prewritten letter provided by the site to your congressperson to let them know how you feel about a particular piece of legislation. The more voices that are heard the better chances that the environment will be safe for all of us and the children of the future.

NRDC (National Resource Defence Council)

Sierra Club

Approaching Purple Martin Season

The new purple martin season is upon us. Here in Southeast Texas (at least at my colony) they begin showing up around the first few weeks of February. If you have not done scheduled maintanence, repairs, etc. on your housing you best get busy they'll be here before you know it!
If you are not a member of the PMCA (Purple Martin Conservation Association), I would highly advise joining. They publish a great quarterly magazine, The Purple Martin Update, that has great articles and photographs, and will help further your knowledge of this beautiful swallow and how to maintain your colony. I built and maintain an index to this magazine that is located on their website for an easy search of articles.

If you have a colony or are interested in beginning one and have questions, you can email me and/or check out the PMCA's website which contains tons of info on purple martins.