PURPLE MARTIN COLONY – 2021 SUMMARY

Martins perching on June 26, 2020. Photo © Frank Mantlik

PURPLE MARTIN COLONY – 2021 SUMMARY
Connecticut Audubon Society
Coastal Center at Milford Point
September 3, 2021

The Purple Martin colony at the Coastal Center had a very successful nesting season. The nest gourds were installed April 2, and the first returning “scout”,
a male, was seen April 15. By the end of April, 25 Martins were counted. The first nests were started mid-May, and the first eggs were laid around June 1. The number of active nests grew to 44 by June 25. A total of 191 eggs were laid, the first chicks hatched about
June 15, and the first few chicks fledged about July 8.

On July 16, our team (augmented by Milan Bull, Deidra Wallin, and Chris Cerillo) assisted CT DEEP biologists in banding 86 chicks – with federal numbered aluminum and orange-colored leg bands – which were then returned to their respective nests. This is one of the largest Purple Martin colonies in Connecticut.

Overall, an estimated 120 chicks fledged (the last one fledged on or about August 1). The adult and young Purple Martins are well on their way to their wintering territory in the Amazon River basin of South America. Have a safe journey, and we will see many of you back in Milford next spring!

Thanks to all the staff and volunteers who helped with this project, including conducting weekly nest checks, and maintaining and cleaning the 71 gourds: Stefan Martin, Milan Bull, Kat Gillis, John Mager, Lori Romick, George Amato, Gilles Carter, and Pam Landry.
Thanks also to all the people who made a donation by adopting one or more gourds. Your support makes this important project possible.

Frank Mantlik
Coastal Center Advisory Board Member
Milford Purple Martin Team Leader

Purple Martin Nest Check © Frank Mantlik

Purple Martin parents waiting 7/16/2021. © Frank Mantlik

CT DEEP Purple Martin banding tent at the Coastal Center @Frank Mantlik

Nesting season is finished for this year but please watch for updates next spring about how you can play a direct role in conservation by adopting a Purple Martin gourd.

Your adoption will help maintain the structures and support the staff effort to monitor and check the nests each week — essential tasks for protecting Purple Martins.

Purple Martins are completely dependent on human-made structures, either boxes or gourds, for their survival.

This species was listed as “threatened” in Connecticut until about six years ago. Because of its increasing population, largely the result of the careful management of colonies, its status was changed to “special concern.”

Purple Martins have declined in many areas nationwide, including Connecticut and New England. According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, competition with invasive House Sparrows and Starlings for nesting space, and pesticides poisoning their food supply are contributors to their decline.

Purple Martins are beautiful, much-admired songbirds, and these popular swallows are sought after as backyard birds all across the U.S., particularly in the south and east. They feed only on flying insects. They are often mistakenly thought to control mosquitoes. That’s not quite true. They feed on a much wider variety of insects including dragonflies, which themselves feed on mosquitoes.

Purple Martins are not easy to attract, requiring certain habitat and landscape conditions, usually open areas near water, but once a colony is established, they will return every year to breed and raise their young.