PURPLE MARTINS ON THE MOVE
2025 April 4
2025 April 4
As many folks have become familiar with the Purple Martin colony located between the hardware store and the city buildings on First Street, they might notice the colony is gone. That is because it was moved across the street next to the colony by the marina.
We recently learned that the lot where the colony was located is the future home of the new Steamers Restaurant. So, the colony needed to be moved before construction begins soon. Extreme care was taken to ensure we were not altering the bird’s biology at a time when breeding and egg laying begins. Most important is the spatial orientation of the gourds. They must be in the same location (order) and the entire structure must have the same compass orientation. So, we needed to move the entire structure with the gourds in place to the new location. We had lots of help.
At first, the birds were clearly not pleased, but after a short while they returned to the structure at its new location and settled down. By morning, things were back to normal.
Meanwhile, Ms. Winnie Lante (a Purple Martin landlord in Gainesville) was sent a photograph of a colony at Cedar Key that did not have a predator control device attached to the support pole. Neither colony downtown have predator excluder devices. Thanks to the personal purchase by Ms. Lante and the Alachua Audubon, both colonies now have predator excluders on the support poles. We are grateful for their gracious concern for the colonies and their contribution to their safety.
Meanwhile again, Dennis Gill, owner of Second Street Café and Steamers graciously donated a new complete set (support pole and gourds) to be added to the colony. Because it is late in the season to install a new structure, we plan to install it in the fall before the birds arrive for their next breeding season in February. Wow! Thank you Dennis!
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