Each year as the Purple Martin colony grows, so does their impact on the students and school community. We’ve seen the 2019 count of 38 fledglings more than double with this year’s count, and the pole system is now at capacity with 24 gourds.
What a pleasure to have students wonder at seeing the newly hatched babies so close, or marvel at seeing pin feathers on a fledgling! What a joy to see the faces of my 5 th graders displaying amazement at the diminutive size of the Purple Martin eggs, and to compare their white color to the larger, pale blue eggs of the Starling, and the smaller, grey and speckled-brown eggs of the House Sparrow. The following Spring, in 2019, we began lowering the gourds for inspection, and incorporated the study of Purple Martins into our 5 th grade Natural History curriculum.
Spring 2019: 5 th Graders checking on the Purple Martins (these students graduated from Western this year and are now heading off to high school!)īecause it was the Purple Martins’ first time using the gourds, we were afraid to lower the gourds too often that first year, so we don’t have an accurate count for the number of hatchlings that were raised that year. The Purple Martins loved their new set-up! Old-style gourd with crescent entrance Upgraded Conley II entrance with porch, tunnel, and vented cap Spring 2018: Martin habitat upgraded to a new 3” square pole and 11 gourds Taking all this to heart, in 2018 we purchased a complete Purple Martin pole system with a 3-inch pole and winch for raising and lowering the gourds.
Purple martin migration 2018 upgrade#
A further suggestion was to upgrade the regular inspection caps with new heavy-duty caps that included venting, allowing for a cooler interior to the gourds. He also suggested we use gourds with Troyer tunnels the long horizontal tunnel neck prevents predators like raccoons and great horned owls from reaching into the nest cavity, and seem to be preferred by Martins. Matt suggested switching to gourds with Conley II starling-resistant entrances, which are easier for the Martins to learn to use and accept. The crescent-shaped entrance wasn’t ideal because Martins sometimes got trapped and stuck in the entrance hole (this primarily happens when Martins are fighting over a gourd). Although these entrances were designed to be starling proof, we had seen at least one starling easily pass through. Matthew was extremely knowledgeable and helpful, explaining that the gourds we had put up (and that were now occupied with House Sparrows) had crescent entrances. Matt graciously drove out to Western Academy to offer advice on our setup. In the summer of 2017 Mary Anne put me in contact with Matthew Fendley, a Purple Martin Landlord at the University of Houston. Every year we waited with eager anticipation for the distinctive chortling and flying antics of these harbingers of Spring! For three years we used the hexagon Martin house, enjoying the return of the Purple Martins to campus each April. A few House Sparrows and at least one European Starling pair moved into some of the upper chambers as well. Mary Anne donated several white gourds, which we hung beneath the metal house, but the Purple Martins seemed to prefer the higher cavities and House Sparrows moved into the gourds. What a joy to hear the Purple Martins chortling above campus, and watching them circle and swoop above our heads! Because the metal house was permanently fixed to the top of a pole, there was no way to lower the house and count eggs or check on the Purple Martins, so we have no accurate numbers from those first few years. That spring, we had our first Purple Martins! We set the house up in the median in the middle of the main driveway. We mounted it on a 12-foot pole that was part of the chain-link fence that used to run the length through of what is now the middle of campus.
In January 2015 Mary Anne put me in touch with Bob Wall, a Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association Member, who donated a two-story metal hexagon Purple Martin house to Western Academy. Spring 2015: Hexagon two-story Martin tower at Western Academy
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