A 100 Nesting Pairs of Purple Martins Headline MartinFest 2019
Join the Wisconsin Purple Martin Association on June 29 to celebrate the 8th annual Purple Martin Festival along the northeastern shore of Lake Winnebago at High Cliff State Park. Imagine Purple Martins flying thousands of miles each year since 1994 across two continents to spend spring and summer in Sherwood amongst the picturesque escarpment to raise their young, delight us with musical chatter, and to deliver aerial acrobatics equal to EAA Air Venture. These families of aerial insectivores of over a hundred nesting pairs will be the central attraction for all people to know more about Purple Martin ecology, attracting them, learn effective ways for monitoring colonies, types of housing desired, and speaking to actual landlords.
High Cliff State Park is located at N7630 State Park Road near the Fox Cities and Appleton. Food and drink will be available for purchase by Friends of High Cliff State Park (http://friendsofhighcliff.org/) to benefit their organization. The event is free and open to the public with a State Park sticker. Central activity is near the Lower Shelter with trails leading to the Purple Martin colonies. A martin-housing vendor will be available along with free brochures related to Purple Martins. A silent auction is conducted to benefit the Wisconsin Purple Martin Association for its educational efforts and managing of public colonies within the state. If the weather is cooperative, close up views of nestlings, banding by Master Bird Bander Dick Nikolai and a program by Jerry Theys of Wildlife of Wisconsin on rehabbing purple martins and other birds.
Purple martins make a 4,000-5,000-mile flight from South America to Wisconsin from early April to the end of June. They are one of the earliest spring migrants. Most notably, they are semi-dependent upon people to provide housing & security for their reproduction to be successful. Because of this close association with people, purple martins need managers to be educated to prevent Wisconsin’s declining purple martin population.
Information is available online at http://wisconsinpurplemartins.org/ from the Wisconsin Purple Martin Association.
Purple martins are the largest members of the swallow family weighing a little over 2.25 ounces with an overall length of 7-8 inches. Martins are colonial nesters, raising one brood per year laying up to eight eggs. Aerial insectivores like purple martins, chimney swifts and barn swallows are on the decline and all need human-related construction for their survival. Average purple martin adult life span is around 3-4 years with the oldest known surviving martin attaining over 13 years of age. Once a colony has successfully reproduced fledging young at a site, they are true to returning to that housing. Purple martins are listed as a “species of special concern” in Wisconsin. Annual surveys conducted in Wisconsin for 50+ years, have shown purple martins declining 6.84% per year (1966-2015) while declining 7.67% per year within the most recent decade (2005-2015) of information. The highest count on all annual route surveys tallied was 591 purple martins in 1971 to a low 21 in 2015. Weather for purple martins since their return at High Cliff State Park on April 8, 2019 has gone through several snow storms, lots of rain and cooler than normal temperatures placing them under stress. This means more energy demands for purple martins and possible survival issues for the adults, their unhatched eggs and will be soon for their hatchlings in mid/late June.
“Purple martins and their colonies are the pride and prize of Neotropical Migrants coming to North America in our yards. They are like our own family visiting for the spring and summer bringing a constant concert of song and antics for us to enjoy. Without their friendly connection, there is an absence of value of the natural world,” said Dick Nikolai, a retired biologist from the state DNR. Contact at prairiechicken@att.net for further information.