It is official! The first purple martins for the 2011 season have arrived. As usual, the West coast of Florida lays claim to the first purple martin “scout”.

On Jan 5, 2011, Dr. Steven K. Million of Lake Suzy (Lake Suzy is west of Arcadia and east of Port Charlotte and Northeast of Punta Gorda), Florida reported the first martin. Fort Myers (first to report purple martins last year) followed suit on 06 January at a colony affectionately named the Purple Martin Hotel At Gateway.

Of course, we ALL know that there are NO purple martin scouts. Even the PMCA agrees. What some folks call scouts are just older more experienced birds returning to their old colony sites to secure a nest spot. They simply stop at other sites along the way. Now in my opinion, (considering how gregarious purple martins are) when they arrive in such small numbers they are seeking out other martins to socialize with so maybe they are simply seeking out their own.

For our colony, I suspect the martins won’t arrive for a few more weeks. If you are like me then you still need to buy those replacement purple martin house doors, a few extra gourds, heck maybe a new purple martin system. So now is the time. We recommend making all repairs and most minor changes BEFORE your purple martins arrive.

An article that appeared a few weeks ago in the New York Times home section captured the eye of the Martha Stewart production team who brought it to the attention of Martha Stewart herself. A fellow martin landlord, Larry Melcher was able to be on her show and did a great job as an ambassador for Purple Martins. At Martha Stewart’s website, you will find athe actual video that aired on her show and also an easy to follow “how to” guide for making natural purple martin gourds.

Just remember. If you want to attract purple martins, one gourd will not be enough. Be prepared to make at least 4 and use a face mask as the fine dust created by cutting gourds is very irritating to the lungs. Also remember that you cannot successfully attract martins by hanging one of these from a tree. It must be hung in an open area at least 10 feet or more, off the ground. If you don’t have a pole to hang the gourds from a pole like this one is perfect for hanging a few gourds. Easy to raise and lower and a top perch to boot.

Check out Martha Stewart’s website and enjoy!

I recently found a really fun, interactive way for children to learn about migration. PBS kids has made an online game featuring Dr. Seuss and a flock of, you guessed it, PURPLE MARTINS! How cool is that?!? In Migration Adventure, kids learn all about how and why birds migrate. It’s a teaching tool masked in an online video game that is as safe as it comes. And we all know kids learn best when they don’t even realize they are being taught! Check it out and have your little one play. Also (on the theme of kids and learning) our website has a couple of great kids books. A purple martin book made specifically for children and a darling beginner reader book about a swallow that also teaches cooperation, friendship and about migration.

My Best Nest, a hardcover children’s picture book, is filled with vibrant and active illustrations that allow the reader to follow a mother Purple Martin swallow during her first day of nest building. A short natural history section with color photos is included for parents, grandparents and teachers. A bonus plus is this book is autographed by the author/illustrator Ree Dellinger. Truly a work of art, each page is beautiful and proceeds of this book go to benefit migratory birds and wildlife conservation efforts.

Follow the Swallow is a cool for early readers between 5 and 7 years old. Vivid illustrations and large text and also balloon inserts that kids find irresistible and exciting. Written by award winning author, Julia Donaldson, who has written books such as Spinderella, The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom.

I suppose, talking to avid purple martin lovers all day, I tend to forget that some folks hate birds. I am sure these are the same people that move next to a garbage dump and then complain about the smell. But it is what people do with that hatred that has me laughing today.

I received a call a couple of days ago, from what I assumed was a customer. The lady proceeded to tell me that it was not she but a neighbor that has “many” purple martins. She was calling from North Carolina (I am in Florida) to complain about her neighbors birds and how their chirping is keeping her and her husband up all night. I was confused…did she want to join in the purple martin madness and join her neighbor in hosting martins? I mean, geez, what would you be calling a retailer to complain (long distance) about something that you should walk next door to talk about? I liken it to me calling up Walmart to complain about my neighbors affinity for “Made in China” clothing. Are you kidding?

Well, I patiently and gently explained how the birds, having just returned and in overdrive breeding mode are very happy to be home and the males are so eager that they are often heard singing in their nests to their mates. I assured her that if they were the same as my birds, all would be quite within a week or two when eggs start getting laid. As the males move from Casanova mode to daddy mode, they will quiet down.

The lady expressed, “Yeah, I remember last year they did this too.”

I thought, “Glad you didn’t call me last year.”

From all of us at PurpleMartins-R-Us.com and MyPurpleMartinBlog.com

Have a wonderful Easter.

After capturing the female in the old faithful S&S Repeating Nest box trap, the male continues to come by. Usually in silence, he lurks on the gourd rack watching the goings on around him. I have left him alone for now. For no other reason except that he poses no real threat AND I am a horrible shot.

The S&S awaits him and I am sure that when he finds a girl to bring by she may take a gander at the trap herself. I do have my old plastic martin house attached to the side of my home that I welcome any starlings to nest in. Since the house will not attract anything other than the starlings, in my neighborhood, it should do nicely as a trap.

The S&S repeater trap plans are available as is the ASSEMBLED trap also. The assembled trap is already put together and only requires minimal assembly of the pole.

I still have not noticed any SY martins and due to some odd weather the martins seem to be out feeding a lot. Between record low cold fronts and rain storms with gusting winds upward of 30 mph, the martins seem to be conserving their energy.  Remember that you can watch the exterior of the colony on our live streaming webcam at PurpleMartins-R-Us.com.

I am not sure how long this deal will be going on. It includes a New Starter 4 purple martin gourd rack and 4 Troyer gourds of your choice. The usual cost for this system is $250. The special package price is only $218 which makes it a bit more cost effective for those that are looking to buy an inexpensive martin house.

These Starter 4 racks are new to the market place and feature a pulley system for those that don’t want to deal with hoisting up a telescopic pole and want the benefits of a gourd rack at a great price. I started out in purple martins with telescopic poles but soon discovered that my manicure was allergic to raising and lowering the poles.

I am a steadfast lover of gourds over houses. The main reason is they truly reduce dominance by male purple martins that can chase other prospective residents from your house. The gourds are spaced far enough apart that this porch dominance doesn’t take place as much. Besides, gourds look cool!

Yes, last week the purple martin colony cam went online. What is the colony cam? Well, it is the exterior view of a portion of my purple martin colony. Located in Sunny South Florida (Loxahatchee, which is western palm beach county, to be exact) the colony consists of 2 gourd racks and 1 multipurpose pole. The camera is currently on the “numbered” purple martin gourd rack.

As of right now there is capacity for 33 pairs but a few more gourds will go up bumping up this years capacity to about 36 pairs of purple martins. Last year 131 purple martins fledged from this site and we hope to do as well this year.

As of this morning there appears to be 2 pairs of martins. More should be showing up soon. Since migration appeared to have been delayed due to weather, the time between the ASY or adult purple martins arrival and the SY or sub adults arrival may be shorter than usual. So be prepared and get your houses up. If you live in the northern portion of the purple martins range and don’t expect them till later in the year, feel free to watch them on the web cam which should be running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…barring any technical issues which sometimes arise.

A few European Starlings keep making early morning visits but will not enter my nest trap. The first day they arrived the starlings tried to enter the trap which was stuck and since then they seem in no hurry to enter it again. Of course, it is working now but as my luck would have it, they wont even look at it again. Instead the starlings will sit and watch from atop the gourd rack and do that drawn out backwards wolf whistle that makes my hair stand up. Like fingernails on a chalk board. Normally the repeating nestbox trap also known as a S&S trap would do the trick and trap them like a charm but alas, you can lead a horse to water…  For easy to build step by step plans on how to make your own S&S trap click on the photo above or this link:  Repeating Sparrow and Starling nestbox trap plans. But in essence the trap has a clever teeter totter type mechanism that automatically resets itself after depositing the trapped bird (UNHARMED) in a cage below. A great tool for those that manage bluebird trails as well. Our native birds need all the help they can get!

I found this awesome article by Rob Fergus, co-author of The Purple Martin that states the new aggressive stance against TNR programs by 10 conservation biologists in the latest issue of the journal Conservation Biology. Basically urging conservation biologists to take a strong stand against the establishment and maintenance of feral cat colonies (Trap-Neuter-Return (or Release) programs.
Read portions of the article HERE.

It is good to see conservationists finally sounding the trumpet and trying to take on some of these groups that cause more harm with their good intentions.

So what can you do to protect the birds in YOUR yard from cats while the politicians, PETA and others hack it out? Here are a few options.

You can trap them yourself. Just minus the”Neuter and Release” part of the equation. Your neighbors may not appreciate you trapping “Fluffy”,  so this works better with feral cats. However nothing says keep your cat off my property better than a visit to the pound. The Collapsible Raccoon Trap is great for trapping cats.

You can discourage them from visiting your yard by making it cat unfriendly. Everyone knows that cats HATE water, so take advantage of that with this neighbor friendly alternative. The ScareCrow Motion Activated sprinkler shoots water out at the unsuspecting feline when the little darling decides to take a stroll through your herb garden to spread its Toxoplasmosis.

You can buy a dog that hates cats. So you may run into other problems like food and vet bills but still, it IS an option.

My Disclaimer: Please no hate mail. I actually am a cat lover…an indoor cat lover and my old cat “Elvis” was an indoor cat until the day he passed away at the age of 11. I just so happen to also be a bird lover and a conservationist. The definition of a Conservationist is “someone who works to protect the environment from destruction.” And I think studies have pretty much proved that the domestic cat is pretty destructive to wild NATIVE birds…ie: the environment. So thanks for your understanding.

I told you about the new gourds by Andrew Troyer that were on the way. Brand new for 2010 the Troyer Vertical gourds are here. I am impressed by the design and I am very excited to show you the pics of these beauties.

troyer vertical gourd

13″ deep (just like a horizontal gourd) but has the aesthetic look of a “regular” gourd that many folks prefer. At around 8″ wide the interior compartment is generous in size and yet doesn’t look like a gourd on steroids as some other plastic gourds appear. It looks a lot smaller than it actually is, in fact. The weight is distributed evenly and the 4 molded canopies on the top of the gourd can be easily drilled out for added ventilation.

All in all a superior gourd that I am very happy to offer at PurpleMartins-R-Us.com