[birdky] Re: Purple Martins. Boy, Have I hit the Jackpot !!
- From: "Scott Freidhof" <sialia67@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <purplemartin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:25:16 -0500
Larry you are not alone. I am fortunate to be able to spend a little
time managing three public sites as part of my job. All three sites are
at Yatesville Lake in Lawrence County. Specific locations include the
campground, the marina, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office. I
am planning to expand the public sites to include all of the Wildlife
Management Area lakes over here on the eastern side of the state. These
areas represent a lot of excellent martin habitat that is currently
unused because there is no housing for them.
Everyone probably remembers the phrase, "If you build it, they will
come." Well here at home about 4 years ago, at 7:00 pm on May 11, I
raised a single pole with eight natural gourds hanging on it. At 8:00
am the next morning, there were three martins sitting on the gourds.
Three pairs nested that first season. I still find it amazing to think
that it took just 13 hours to attract martins and establish a colony.
Of course it helped that there was a large, long established colony
about a mile down the road. That colony was not managed well though
because the house sparrows and starlings were aggressively usurping a
number of cavities, forcing martins to look elsewhere. Fortunately for
me that elsewhere was my yard.
Scott Freidhof
Rowan County
-----Original Message-----
From: birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of purplemartin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 10:31 PM
To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [birdky] Purple Martins. Boy, Have I hit the Jackpot !!
I am glad I found this site!
This is where the REAL Experience checks in.
Thanks for the offers! I'm glad to get some folks offering to drop by at
Bernheim.
A little history about me:
I'm just a guy that put up a martin house, got lucky and built a nice
returning bunch of martins, and accidentally fell into public
involvement.
Where I work, there were martin houses. I asked around, and found that
the man that put up the housing had retired long ago. The enviromental
engineer welcomed my offer to monitor the martin housing.
I quickly got tire of answering, "I'm not sure." to folks that would ask
me questions about martins at this public site at work. I "armed" myself
with knowledge, and read about martins more and more. I also downloaded
informational handouts from The Purple Martin Conservation Association.
When someone approaches me now, I have some answers, and usually a
handout that they can take with them to read.
I live walking distance to Bernheim Forest, and always thought this was
a great place to introduce martins to people. Purple Martins almost
entirely depend on human supplied nest sites, and so many of the best
martin colonies are "tucked away", down secluded backroads.
Long story short... I already had the handouts, and read about martins
almost daily... I'm also a member of a "Purple Martin Clubhouse", and
literally talk to some of the most experienced landlords in North
America and Canada.
So "For some reason", this hobby of martineering has exploded for me,
and it is my simple goal to share these fasinating birds in a few public
places. It amazes me that I seem to be "alone" in my public colony
venture. Looks like I'm the only one in this area, South of Louisville,
that is managing public sites.
I'll bet I'm wrong. If you are sharing your birding to "the next
generation", FANTASTIC !! Our native species have way too much
non-native competition, and desperately need more folks putting up and
managing Bluebird, Purple Martin and Tree Swallow houseing, just to name
a few.
Larry Melcher
Bullitt County KY
purplemartin AT windstream DOT net
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