The Purple Martins Are Back

I'm just beginning to realize how many of the birds we see here are not year-round residents but may spend only one season of the year here. Birds that breed and nest further north in the summer may spend their winters here. And birds that breed and nest here in the summer may spend the winters further south. Some birds also move up and down in the landsacape at different seasons, preferring the mountains in the summer and the lowlands in the winter. The Purple Martin (Progne subis) pictured above probably returned two or three weeks ago from South America where he spent the winter. In the autumn he'll gather with others to make the long flight south again.

Purple Martin (Progne subis)

Sometimes it seems like ecological disaster is inevitable and within a generation or two life on this planet will be very unpleasant. So it's nice to see that some of our changes are working and it is possible to reverse some damage. I was pleased to mention a few weeks ago the recovery of the Osprey population whose numbers were declining until DDT was banned. The local population of today's featured bird, the Purple Martin (Progne subis), was also in decline and they had almost disappeared from this area thirty years ago. This was thought to be due to competition for suitable nest sites from invasive species such as European Starlings, and because of the removal by humans of favored natural nesting sites such as dead trees. The resurgence in their population is due to the provision of nesting boxes such as pictured to the right. These have been designed to be especially attractive to Purple Martins and less attractive to competing species. The wire netting over the top and sides at the front of the nest is to prevent seagulls from snacking on the fledglings when they take their first peeks out the doorway. Above on the left is a male Purple Martin with a female of the species on the right. This colony of Purple Martins resides on the north shore of Esquimalt Lagoon below Royal Roads University and Hatley Castle. There is an article about them HERE.