[Birdtalk] A Seven Purple Martin Day!

[Kristin Purdy]

Jack Rensel and I visited the Monte Cristo area in Rich County this morning where I saw two male PURPLE MARTINS on Sunday. The specific location is around the intersection of SR-39 and Curtis Creek Road at mile 48.8 of the highway. The purpose of today's trip was to try to locate Purple Martin nest cavities; we found three. 

The first one, PUMA 1, is on the edge of a meadow south of the highway opposite the entrance to Curtis Creek Road. The snag is approximately 300 yards from the highway and requires bushwhacking through the meadow to see the birds entering and exiting the hole. The hole faces away from the highway. The martins selected an aspen snag about 30 feet tall; the nest hole is approximately 25 feet up. 

The meadow is the same one where I saw two males perching on an isolated dead aspen on Sunday. Purple Martins can be seen here on the aspen in the middle of the meadow without approaching the nest snag or even leaving pavement. 

The second site, PUMA 2, is 200 yards up Curtis Creek Road, right side (east), 30 feet off the road. The birds have chosen an aspen snag and the hole is on the side opposite the road, 25-30 feet high. This pair and others perch on another aspen snag along the road on the west side in the area of the snag. 

The third site, PUMA 3, is hundreds of yards across a meadow also. This location is approximately 200 yards up Curtis Creek Road, west side, across the meadow, and into the trees. These birds are also nesting in a flicker cavity in a dead aspen and the hole is approximately 55 feet up. This site is difficult to find. If you're only after a Purple Martin sighting, spend your time near  PUMA 2 on Curtis Creek Road. 

While I was crossing PUMA 1's meadow, six Purple Martins came in swirling and warbling over my head by 30 feet or so. I've never been swirled by Purple Martins before--it was a Purple swirly! The seventh bird appeared to be a juvenile-type "helper" at PUMA 2's cavity. We saw both the juvenile and the adult female perching at the rim of the nest cavity side-by-side. The juvenile was completely dusky/brown on the back with no blue tones at all. The three adult females we saw today all had shades of blue in their scapular regions and we're sure none of the young in the cavities have fledged yet.

All three adult pairs were seen carrying insects into the cavities; no young martins were seen jostling for position at the holes. 

The three sites are pink taped and I took GPS coordinates. Reply if you'd like more details. 

Other birds that entertained us in the high country today include:

Williamson's Sapsuckers

A Red-naped Sapsucker flycatching. This bird might have been pursuing a single big bug, but I saw the sapsucker sally out from a tree twice in an attempt to catch it.

A Hairy Woodpecker

A female or recently fledged Northern Flicker that was driving a pair of Houe Wrens nuts. The flicker perched serenely on a branch about 18 inches above the wren's nest hole. The wrens DID NOT want her there. They swooped at her repeatedly and only got the flicker to look up and open her beak widely in protest or defense. 

Clark's Nutcrackers

Lots of pairs of Mountain Bluebirds and Cassin's Finches

A Red Crossbill--finally! I got my eyeballs on a loner male Jack pointed out. 

Those were the goodies. The flies were the baddies. If you visit the high country, wear bee-keepers netting to protect yourself or expect to snort, eat, and swat flies.

Kris
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