2002 - 2005
During the summer of 2002 several Purple Martin houses were located at Memory Lake Park in Grantsburg, WI. All of the martin houses were located on the edge of the small lake. Three of the houses had nesting martins, with 6-8 pair in each house, for a total of around 20 nesting pairs. Upon closer inspection of the houses it was found that they were deteriorating and ready to fall apart (Figure 1). The entrance holes had been chewed open, the floors were rotting away, and some of the roof sections of the houses were missing. In addition, the poles were beginning to rot; one of the houses was already lying on the ground due to a broken pole!
For the past approximately 40 years, the region of East Central Minnesota and North West Wisconsin has had a horribly low, and continually decreasing Purple Martin population. Late in the summer of 2003, a letter was sent to the Village of Grantsburg to offer assistance in providing the Memory Lake Purple Martins with improved nesting conditions. The Village Board recieved the letter and responded with great excitement. At one of the board meetings, it was decided that the Village Board would purchase all the materials for the construction of a new martin house. An 8 room wooden house, similar in appearance to the old houses, was built and installed at Memory Lake Park (Figure 2). Four plastic gourds were also donated and hung below the house. The wooden house had 7" x 12" compartments, crescent SREHs, and was able to raise and lower vertically via a winch - big improvements compared to the dilapidated old martin houses.
In the spring of 2004 the Purple Martins returned to find all of their old houses removed and a new house added, in a new location, with new SREHs. The birds did not seem the least concerned about their new accomodations. The Purple Martins accepted their new house and quickly learned to negotiate the crescent SREHs. The Memory Lake Colony attracted ten pairs of Purple Martins during the 2004 season. During the 2005 season, the colony consisted of eleven pairs and during the 2006 season all of the compartments were full with twelve pairs of Purple Martins Nearly 150 young fledged from 2004 to 2006 from the Memory Lake Colony.
2006
The eight compartment wooden house served the Memory Lake Colony well from 2003 to 2006, however, it couldn't keep up with the growing numbers of Purple Martins wanting to join the colony. The Grantsburg, WI Village Board was again approached and asked if they would be willing to donate more money to upgrade the housing, the board agreed to donate enough money to replace the small and aging 8 compartment house with a T-14 Purple Martin House. Enough money was donated to also purchase 4 Excluder Gourds along with several Starling and House Sparrow Traps. The T-14 was built in the winter of 2006, to be ready for the Purple Martins return in April of 2007.
With the great success of the Memory Lake Colony, it was decided that additional colonies should be activated in nearby communites. It was determined that Pine City, MN and Braham, MN offered great possiblities for successful Purple Martin colonies.
Braham was chosen because it already had an established Purple Martin colony on the grounds of East Central Energy's headquarters. For many years the site consisted of several unmanaged Trio Castle martin houses. An estimated 12-16 pairs of Purple Martins nested among the four Trio Castles scattered across the open lawn of ECE's headquarters. A letter was sent to ECE asking if the company would be willing to purchase the materials to build a T-14. It was also requested that half of the Trio Castles be removed and the other half plugged to control the rampant House Sparrow problem. They agreed to both conditions. Enough funds were donated to install a T-14 with four Excluder Gourds. The T-14 was built in the winter of 2006 to ensure it was ready for the spring of 2007.
The city of Pine City was chosen as a location to establish a new Purple Martin colony because of its location and very low population of Purple Martins. This small town is located near the Snake River and Cross Lake. One of the Snake River boat landings, located on the North end of the town, offered a great location to start a new Purple Martin colony. A letter was sent to the mayor of Pine City asking permission to place Purple Martin housing on the public land near the boat landing. The mayor eagerly granted permission. A letter was also sent to the Hinckley-Pine City Flames Snowmobile Club, a charitable organization, to see if they would be willing to donate money to purchase the materials to build a T-14. The club agreed and donated enough money to build a T-14 and purchase a Super System 24 gourd rack along with 12 Excluder Gourds. The T-14 and Super System 24 gourd rack were installed late in the summer of 2006 to ensure the housing was ready for the return of the Purple Martins in the spring of 2007 (Figures 4 and 5).
2007
The 2007 season arrived with great anticipation, as ECMPMR now consisted of three public colonies (Memory Lake, Snake River, and ECE). Each of the three sites consisted of a T-14 with modified excluder entrances and four Excluder Gourds, also with modified excluder entrances. The Snake River site also included a Super System 24 gourd rack with 12 Excluder Gourds.
At the Memory Lake Colony, the old martin house was replaced with the T-14 early in the season. As a result of the drastic change in housing, some of the oldest birds moved elsewhere, but 16 nesting attempts were made by mostly younger birds, 12 of the nesting attempts were successful.
At the ECE Colony, early in the spring, half of the old metal Trio Castles were removed and the other half were completely plugged. The T-14 pole was installed in early April before many of the birds arrived. One the day that the T-14 was mounted on the T-14 pole, there was a Purple Martin sitting on top of the pole, even before the martin house was mounted! Clearly, the birds approved of the new location. All eighteen compartments offered at the ECE colony site contained nests, 15 of which were successful (Figure 8).
Suprisingly, the Snake River site was able to attract three nesting pairs of Purple Martins in its very first year - a great accomplishment, especially in Minnesota! The first pair arrived the third week in May (Figure 6). The male was a SY (second year) bird and the female was an ASY (after second year) bird. The pair laid six eggs, five of which hatched (Figure 7). Unfortunately, blowflies infested the nest and killed all five of the nestlings. The other two SY pairs successfully fledged young.
During the 2007 season the Snake Rivery Colony gourd rack had only half the number of gourds the rack could hold. A letter was sent to the Snake River Valley Conservation Club asking if they would donate the money needed to purchase the remaining gourds to fill the rack. The club eagerly agreed and twlelve more Excluder Gourds were added to the rack late in the summer of 2007, for a total of 42 compartments to be offered at the Snake River Colony!
Anticipating an increase in the number of nesting pairs at the Memory Lake Colony during the 2008 season, the Village Board was again asked to see if they would be interested in purchasing a gourd rack to add to the site. They agreed and provided the funding to purchase a Super System 24 gourd wack with 24 Excluder Gourds. For the 2008 season, 42 compartments will also be offered at the Memory Lake Colony!
After acquiring enough funding to purchase the Super System 24 gourd racks and gourds for the Snake River and Memory Lake Colonies, it was decided that the ECE Colony should also have the same gourd rack. A letter was again sent to ECE to see if they could allocate the funds needed to purchase a Super System 24 gourd rack for the 2008 season. ECE was able to get the request into their 2008 budget. The gourd rack is planned to be installed early in the 2008 season.
The ECMPMR project made many great accomplishments during the 2007 season. In addition to the Memory Lake, ECE, and Snake River Colonies, three other sites were established late in the 2007 season. The three additional sites include: Pokegama Lake in Pine City, MN; Rush Lake in Rush City, MN; and Plastech Corp., also in Rush City, MN.
The Pokegama Lake Site is located on the north end of Pokegama Lake on the grounds of the Pokegama Lake RV Park (Woischke's). Woischke Enterprises provided the funding to purchase the materials for a T-14 and Super System 24 gourd rack, along with Excluder Gourds. The poles were installed late in the summer. The gourd rack and gourds were installed in the early fall. The T-14 will be mounted early in the spring before the return of the Purple Martins.
The Rush Lake site and Plastech Corp. site are funded by Frandsen Corporation. The Rush Lake site is located on the north end of Rush Lake at Dennis Frandsen County Park. This site offers a great location within a public park, with wide open flyways with a large lake in close proximity. The poles and housing at the Rush Lake site will be installed in mid-April. The Plastech Corp. site is located on the grounds of Plastech Corp. in Rush City, MN. The poles were installed at the Plastech Corp. site late in the summer, with the gourds added several weeks later. The T-14 will also be installed in mid-April before the Purple Martins begin to arrive.
2008
The fifth year of ECMPMR promises to be a great year. The project now consists of six sites. Each of these sites offers the same high-quality housing - a T-14 Purple Martin House and a Super System 24 gourd rack with Excluder Gourds. The poles are installed 32' apart at each site. All of the housing entrances have modified excluder SREHs. In total, during the 2008 season, the ECMPMR project will offer 252 high-quality cavities available for the Purple Martins of East Central Minnesota!
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