MartinCam.Com Blog

Article in Wall Street Journal about J.L. Wade, a promoter of purple martins par excellence.

Martins are being reported all around this area of Florida. No official sighting here yet, but chirps were heard on Saturday during the first raising of the 12-SuperGourd colony.

Each gourd was prepared with:

• An inside bottom spray of neem, for insecticide properties.
• Nesting material: cedar chips, half an old cigar, pine needles.
• Lid threads/seal coated with Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap for insecticide properties. This has proven highly effective in the past at preventing mite buildup.

A few gourds face inward, toward the support pole. Each of the outward facing gourds has an aluminium owl guard.

Martins are welcome, but amenities still to come are:

• Long bamboo perches
• Camera with infrared support
• Plastic martin decoy(s)

Today's paper talked to a local area landlord and got the scoop on Purple Martins. Nice job!

2 adult martins showed up at 9:30am this morning. Interestingly, January 17th is the same day we had first arrivals in 2004. Today's birds are a male and female and are checking out gourd #8 which is in the top section facing north towards the colony camera.
After 10 minutes of perching the male entered gourd #8 and then poked his head out for a while.
Other landlords in the area have reported arrivals too, so the season is definitely underway here in Brevard County, Florida.

Today was tear down day on the gourds/housing. We found 3 eggs left in gourd 8 (which had had 6 eggs almost all season). The 3 that hatched in this gourd were the last of the season. All the gourds were rinsed and scrubbed and the nesting material used as mulch around two young atamoya trees.

Final 2005 tallies:

Gourd 1: 5 eggs, 4 young/fledged
Gourd 2: 6 eggs, 6 young/fledged
Gourd 3: 6 eggs, 4 young/fledged
Gourd 4: 1 egg, 0 young/fledged
Gourd 5: 5 eggs, 3 young/fledged
Gourd 6: 6 eggs, 6 young/fledged
Gourd 7: 5 eggs, 3 young/fledged
Gourd 8: 6 eggs, 3 young/fledged
Gourd 9: 3 eggs, 2 young/fledged
Gourd 10: solar panel position
Gourd 11: 6 eggs, 4 young/fledged
Gourd 12: 6 eggs, 6 young/fledged
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55 eggs 41 young/fledged