It was a raw, windy day at Hammo but we put up the additional martin houses at Chase Pond, changed out the cables, added some roosting posts, general maintenance to get the houses ready for occupancy, finally. We were able to add the new floor of apartments at the Nature Center site...but after 3 hours, we decided to call it quits and finish another day. Thanks to Olivia, a Clinton high school junior who is interested in helping out with the martins this summer. She was a great help today, giving up a day of her school vacation to help the birds.
I haven't seen them myself, but another reliable birder has reported the first purple martin at Sherwood Island Park, another strong purple martin colony.....within the next week we will be putting the houses up at Hammo (although we won't open them up quite yet to discourage house sparrows)
We also need to pour concrete to install the trial purple martin gourds at the Guilford Salt Meadow Sanctuary. We have been waiting for the ground to thaw to pour the concrete. If anyone is interested in coming out to help or watch when we are setting up the houses, email me and let me know and I will contact you when we are a go, weather and help dependent. [email protected] Welcome and thank you for supporting Menunkatuck Audubon Society (MAS). We currently have two very successful purple martin colonies at Hammonasset State Park in Madison.
Our existing colonies have existed since 2005 when John Picard installed and began monitoring the martins, keeping records of successful nests and keeping the nests clean. MAS has been monitoring the existing colonies since 2005 and keeping records of the nesting success. Considering martins are classified as a bird of “concern” in CT., and our colonies have had such success, we decided to purchase additional housing units for this location. Your generous sponsorship helps to offset the purchase price of this housing. MAS Board member Terry Shaw has been monitoring the martins for the last 3 years. We think you will end up loving these beautiful birds by the end of the season. We fully expect an even more successful breeding season this year. As you will see, weather plays a very important part in martin breeding. I'd love to receive your comments or questions. John Picard, another MAS Board member with extensive knowledge and expertise on martins has been invited to add information here or answer questions. When you comment, a weebly box will pop up asking for your name, and other things, you just need to put in your name to submit a comment. If you have any issues, email me [email protected]. I will put up a page with graphs from previous years for those interested, you will be able to find it under the links at the top under more. Thanks again. Lorrie Shaw Also visit the Tree Swallow page at www.treeswallows.weebly.com |
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