Up to 36 pairs of Purple Martins, Belgrade, 5/25!
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Derek and Jeannette Lovitch
May 25, 2017, 5:15:45 PM5/25/17
to Maine Birds, Don Mairs
Hi all,
I visited the Purple Martin colony on Depot Road in Belgrade this morning to check on the occupancy rates of the now fully-restored colony. Thanks to Don Mairs, Hammond Lumber and family, and local volunteers, we have now replaced every single dilapidated house in the colony, and added more homes this year thanks to additional donations. Down to as few as 6-8 active nests by 2014, the results have been remarkable!
This morning, I observed the colony for a half hour, counting occupied nest holes and nest building pairs. While some pairs were undoubtedly prospecting at multiple holes, I estimated that 36 holes were occupied/could be occupied! I am sure some of those were double-counts of birds that have not yet decided on where to nest, but I did tally as many as 44 birds in the air at one time. Several pairs included apparent 1st-spring males, suggesting that nesting cavities were no longer a limiting factor. A mid-summer visit, when nesting pairs are feeding young, will shed more light on the actual numbers, but clearly, there are a lot more martins nesting here than three years ago!
For a little history of the project, see my blog from two summers ago:
-Derek
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Derek and Jeannette Lovitch
Freeport Wild Bird Supply
541 Route One, Suite 10
Freeport, ME 04032
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