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Purple Martin Voice

Volume 2(4)

Purple Martin Voice is an eNewsletter distributed by Purple Martin Association of the Dakotas. Issues feature the plights and triumphs of Purple Martins in the Dakotas.

Would you consider a donation of $5?

Dear Associate

In order for event planning, Outdoor Purple Martin Festival tickets will not be available starting the week prior to the event. Box office and online sales will end on May 31, 2014 at 11:59 PM CDT and tickets will not be available the day of the event. Two Children tickets are free per paying Adult ticket; Student/Senior tickets are half price. PurpleMartinDakotas.yapsody.com is available for online ordering or call our box office at (218) 791 - 3689 to reserve your tickets. I hope to see you there.

We are over half of the way to our goal of $400 for the GPS Device Project, so I thought it would be fun to have a North vs. South fundraising competition to finish up the campaign. We have two very worthy campaigns running and either way our beloved Purple Martins reap all the benefits. We cannot make it happen without your help and support!

shop.PurpleMartinDakotas.org is another great way to show your support! All proceeds support education, research, and conservation projects for Purple Martin Association of the Dakotas. If you want the proceeds to be designated to a specific project just specify which project in the Special Instructions or Comments About Your Order during steps 1 or 2 of the checkout process.

Sincerely

Perry D. Vogel
Cofounder and President

North

Please make your donation to the North Red River Valley Purple Martin Project.

South

Please make your donation to the GPS Device Project.

P.S. You can send a check payable to Purple Martin Association of the Dakotas, 703 Barley Court, Grand Forks, ND 58201-8066 or make a secure online donation using PayPal.

Research

In the last two issues of Purple Martin Voice, we shared information learned from “multiple” migrations (two year migrations). One from an adult female from a Sioux Falls, South Dakota breeding colony and the other from an adult male from a Columbia, South Dakota breeding colony. This is very interesting and valuable data learned from “multiple” migrations from the same individual Purple Martin. As Purple Martins are now returning in better numbers to South Dakota, it is very exciting that the first Purple Martin captured and geolocator retrieved was from a female redeployed last year with her second geolocator. It is great to get more “multiple” migration information.

We will now continue to share information learned from new geolocator deployments from Purple Martins in 2012 and retrieved in 2013. An adult male left the Sioux Falls, South Dakota breeding colony on 21 August 2012. It took him only two days to get to the Texas coastline (see map). This Purple Martin then took one more day to get across the southern tip of Texas just across the border into Mexico. He spent a couple of days here before deciding to head across the southern portion of the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatán Peninsula. He spent about one week in the Yucatán Peninsula before heading through Central America similar to all the other Purple Martins with geolocator data. He reached his wintering roost location on 15 September 2012 and stayed at this winter location through 31 March 2013 when he began his spring migration back to the breeding colony site in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His spring migration route pretty much followed the same fall migration route through Central America to what looks like the same location on the Yucatán Peninsula. It is from here where his migration took a different route across the Gulf of Mexico. He flew across the Gulf of Mexico in two days reaching the Louisiana coast on 16 April 2013. From here, it only took him three days to reach the breeding colony in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on 19 April.

Here is some other information obtained from this adult male’s migrations. Total fall migration from the Sioux Falls, South Dakota colony was 4,216 miles and only took him 26 days to reach the wintering roost location. Total spring migration from wintering roost back to this colony site was 3,968 miles and only took him 19 days. Total annual migration distance was 8,184 miles. The number of days he spent at the breeding colony was 122 days which represents 33% of the total year. The number of days he spent at the wintering roost was 198 days which represents 54% of the total year.

Conservation

Repair and Relocate

The Agassiz Audubon Society Purple Martin Site was left damaged after a fast moving storm swept through late last summer. The pole was bent straight over at the ground socket. We have decided the location is just not suitable because of the exposure to wind bursts along the Agassiz Valley Water Resource Management Project. The house, poll, and ground socket have been repaired or replaced. There were no injured birds as the storm happened late in the season. Furthermore, we have not attracted Purple Martins to this site yet so Agassiz Audubon Society has made the decision to relocate the site. Due to recent changes at Agassiz Audubon Society, the system will be kept in temporary storage this forthcoming season, but the system will be returning in a better location. We look forward to the future when we have this site established with Purple Martins.

Status Quo

The Greenway of Greater Grand Forks Purple Martin Site is proof that new sites can even be established near historic districts. The Near Southside Historic District comprises of 182 acres within Grand Forks, North Dakota. This district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 and is directly adjacent to the Greenway of Greater Grand Forks Purple Martin Site. Last summer 5 pair fledged 20 young from the site. As the spring progresses three adult male and two adult female Purple Martins have already taken up residence at the site. The Lonestar system located at this site is superior fit because the ground socket is flush with the ground when the house and pole are placed in storage for the winter. This was a very important feature of this system because the dike is used as a recreational sledding hill during the winter.

Refurbish and Reuse

After last year’s enhancements to the Turtle River State Park Purple Martin Site, the Purple Martins had no problems taking up residence in the new or existing Trio Pioneer (M12K) houses. The houses were both fit with McEwen crescent shaped starling-resistant entrance holes and expanded compartments. Unfortunately, there were some inconsistencies in the recordkeeping for the total number of fledged young, but there were 7 pair that laid a total of 31 eggs at the site. This site is slated for more enhancements this coming summer! We recently acquired a well kept Trio-Wade (TW-12) system that will be refurbished and relocated from rural Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The partnership with Turtle River State Park has been a blessing as the site’s revitalization has been successfully executed.

Calendar

Saturday, June 7, 9am – 3pm Outdoor Purple Martin Festival

For more information on events, visit our Calendar page.