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| Paxton's Purple Martin Paradise |
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| WE ARE A |
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| 116 Gourds Super Gourds, Plastic Gourds Natural Gourds |
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| Photos Of Martins Courtesy of James R. Hill, III, copyright 2000, Purple Martin Conservation Association |
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| 40 Pairs 2000 55 Pairs 2001 69 Pairs 2002 51 Pairs 2003 |
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| If you are wondering; why the fuss over a mere bird? It's very apparent you are not a PURPLE MARTIN Landlord. My hubby, Ray and I have put up Purple Martin housing for many years. I can't remember a year that we have regretted the time, money and the work it took to construct the colony. It's a labor of love as far as we are concerned. I know the general conclusion is, "When you have nothing more to do than watching birds, your life can't be very exciting." That conclusion my friend, is so wrong. There is nothing quite like awaking every morning to the sound of the Martin's song. Watching them soar across the sky is the most serene thing I can think of. Sitting on the backyard swing watching the Martins dart from gourd to gourd, watching the deep purple males show off for their lady friends is a pure delight. They are such an interesting species with very quaint habits. Ray and I agree the Martins seem to remember from year to year which gourds they inhabited the season before. It's hard to believe that these lovely creatures fly all the way from South America to the same colony somewhere in the USA for their entire life. They brave cold weather, storms, and predators to reach their destination. They sing a song of Joy when they arrive and greet each other like members of a family who are gathering for a reunion. Spring seems to come early with the arrival of the Purple Martins. They stay with us from the last of February to the first week in August. They raise their family, teach the little ones to fly, teach them to catch their own food and then return to their far away home in the jungles of South America. We started our colony with three pairs of birds and grew to 78 pairs in of period of seven years. Then, much to our sorrow, a Great Horned Owl began to attack our colony every night and did so for almost two full seasons. The Owl suddenly stopped coming and we began the difficult task of rebuilding our colony. In 1999 we had a total of 38 pairs of Martins. We grew to 40 pairs in 2000. 2001 brought us 55 pairs and 2002 found us with 69 pairs. Hopefully we will eventually get back to our grand total of 89 pairs again. If you haven't learned about the Purple Martin then you most definitely need to do so now! You are missing so much without them! 2003 Was our first year to fall in our Martin Count. |
| See Pictures of our colony on next page... |