Purple Martins, thriving at 5 Connecticut Audubon locations, continue to make a comeback from the threatened list
Volunteers Katherine Murray, left, and Tom Murray, and Coastal Ranger Johann Heupel checking Purple Martin gourds on a hazy July 5th. The team leader, Frank Mantlik, took the photo.
July 11, 2024 — Purple Martins are thriving this summer at 5 Connecticut Audubon locations — approximately 140 pairs are raising as many as 500 hatchlings.
Most of the young birds are still in their nests, so it’s too soon to declare the season a total success. But as of now, it looks like these large swallows are continuing to make a comeback several years after their removal from the state’s threatened species list.
That comeback is partly the result of the hard work of Purple Martin lovers throughout the state, including Connecticut Audubon Society volunteers and staff who are able to give the martins the attention they need.
The staff time of course in funded by Connecticut Audubon members and donors, whose support goes toward conserving the state’s birds, other wildlife, and their habitats.
Historically, Purple Martins nested in abandoned woodpecker holes in dead trees. Now, east of the Rocky Mountains, they rely completely on artificial nest sites — “gourds” and multi-nest houses elevated on poles. They can thrive when the nests are checked and tended regularly.
Near the mouth of the Connecticut River, Andy Griswold, director of Connecticut Audubon’s EcoTravel program, leads a team that oversees 68 nests. In early July, they were filled with 266 young birds (and 32 unhatched eggs).
The nests are perched on 14 poles scattered about the tiny Borough of Fenwick, in Old Saybrook. Andy and EcoTravel’s Matt Bell visit every 3 weeks or so, and they rely on volunteer help from Jim and Jan Sherwonit, and from Sandy Sanstrom.
At the Center at Pomfret, sanctuary manager Andy Rzeznikiewicz has about 20 nests on the Bafflin Sanctuary. A relatively new cluster of gourds rises above the pond at Deer Pond Farm in Sherman. When DPF Director Cathy Hagadorn and her team checked this week, there were 3 active nests and 13 baby birds.
Connecticut Audubon also manages a small cluster of gourds at the Stratford Point sanctuary.
An adult Purple Martin offers food to its hungry offspring in early July at the Milford Point Coastal Center. The 4 young birds were among 176 hatchlings counted that day. Photo by Frank Mantlik.
A mile and a half across the Housatonic River, at the Milford Point Coastal Center, Frank Mantlik, a member of the center’s regional board, leads a team that consists of staffers Stefan Martin and Johann Heupel and a half dozen volunteers. Among the regulars are Tom Murray, Katherine Murray, Lori Romick, Bev Propen, and George Amato, who is the chair of the Coastal Center’s regional board.
They tend a colony that this year comprises 47 nests tucked into artificial gourds on three poles near the parking lot and observation deck (a good place for visitors to see the birds). As of early July, Purple Martin parents there were raising 176 hatchlings. The average over the past half-decade has been about 150 per year.
Frank and his crew tend the Milford Point colony each week, using pulleys to lower the gourds, meticulously checking each nest on visits that last 45 minutes to an hour.
Frank details the work in weekly reports. His latest presents a good picture of what the work entails: “It was the day after Independence Day … . The weather was less than ideal: 74F, but with oppressive 95% humidity and no wind. Luckily biting flies were not a problem.
“Many more eggs have hatched since last week. We have 47 active nests that contain eggs and/or chicks. The egg total is 12, and the chick total is 176. As the chicks huddle together in the nest, it is often difficult to accurately count them all. The parents are constantly bringing insect prey — caught in flight — in to feed their rapidly-growing nestlings. Viewed from the nearby platform, many chicks were near the entrance holes, waiting to be fed. When the parent arrived with food, the chicks’ mouths were open wide! The oldest chicks are about 23 days old, so they will be fledging (first flight) within the next week!
“This day there were at least seven gourds that had some level of infestation with mites. We hustled to clean out the three worst infested gourds, to give the chicks a better chance to survive these parasites. We also wiped mites from the other less-infested gourds.”
It can be tough work, what with the heat and humidity, the din of squawking parents and babies, and the need to get out of the way fast so feeding can resume. And the mites crawl up the hands and arms of the people cleaning the nests. But to a person, the volunteers and staff will say that it’s worth the trouble.
This year the proof is in the number of nests and baby birds.
