by Jeanne Wiebenga
When Jack Gulvin saw Purple Martins flying overhead a few hours south of us, he realized it was time to set up housing for them along Chautauqua Lake, since their return could be expected any day.
Purple Martins are the largest and darkest of the 8 swallow species breeding in North America. They leave for South America late summer and return in early April to their nesting sites.
Eastern birds historically nested in abandoned woodpecker holes, but for more than a century they have almost exclusively used apartment-style birdhouses and man-made gourds that somehow remind them of their ancestral homes. The poles are placed close to lake shores or river banks, away from trees. This ensures that the birds, who live entirely off insects caught on the fly, have an open view and can easily spot predators such as Owls, Crows, Hawks, Blue Jays and Tree Snakes. Sparrows and Starlings will destroy eggs and the young, when the nest is not guarded by a parent.
Jack, who has been our naturalist for 25 years, picked March 28, predicted to be a sunny, slightly chilly day, to set up his bird houses and hang up the gourds on 4 locations on the grounds and one pole on the golf course, behind the barn.
Off season the birdhouses and gourds are stored at the Sports Club. Jack put a fresh coat of white paint on all of them, with green trim along the apartment edges.
Using needles he collects and dries in the fall, Jack piled white pine needles in each of the 14 compartments of the birdhouses, T-14s (which Jack calls the Rolls Royces of birdhouses, designed by the founder of the Purple Martin Conservation Association (1987, James R. Hill III). He also filled the gourds, made by local Amish man Andy Trotter, with a bottom layer of the same needles.
He attached the T-14s to the poles, which is a job he has done by himself for the past 24 years--an almost impossible task, so I was glad I happened to be around to give him a hand, by just holding the boxes steady while he screwed the backs into the poles. Each birdhouse has a sparrow trap on top, to deter the sparrows that could damage the eggs or hurt the young.
All together Jack placed 64 apartments in 6 birdhouses and 40 gourds on the grounds and golf course.
We can expect the birds to arrive in early April. After forming new pairs, it takes several weeks before the female produces a clutch of eggs, from 4-6 on average, one egg a day. The female incubates the eggs for 2 weeks, and after hatching, the Purple Martin chicks will fledge about 4-5 weeks later. By mid July most birds are ready to head back south.
During the summer we can see the birds flitter around the nest and along the shore line early mornings and late afternoons. During midday they are usually out hunting for insects to feed their families.
During the first half of the Chautauqua season, Jack will continue to give his weekly Purple Martin chats, during which he takes the bird houses down for inspection and counting of the hatchlings. This also allows attendants the opportunity to see the young chicks up close.
We owe Jack an enormous thank-you for his dedication for a quarter century to the well-being of our Purple Martins who contribute so much to our enjoyment of our lake!
Jack Gulvin spent March 28 at Chautauqua putting up the Purple Martin houses. Jeanne Wiebenga followed his progress, captured these photos and video, and wrote the article . Thanks to both of you, Jack and Jeanne, from the birds and the humans who adore you!
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