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ADVERSE WEATHER AND WHAT LANDLORDS CAN DO TO HELP PMsPurple Martins are weather-sensitive birds. Adverse weather is the cause of thousands of martin deaths every year. Adverse weather can be characterized as any prolonged period of inclement weather that impedes the presence of flying insects, the staple in Purple Martin diets, thereby contributing to the physical decline of Purple Martins. Adverse weather usually occurs in the early weeks of spring as the weather patterns struggle to moderate in the different latitudes of North America. This often occurs just as first arriving adult birds return to their breeding grounds. Adverse weather can happen in South Florida, and all along the Gulf Coast, as well as in the usually expected northern areas in early to late spring. Adverse weather can even occur in June and July during times of either prolonged cool times with or without rain or during hot periods with little rain with accompanying periods of drought. Most Purple Martin landlords do not relate to the real killer of martins during cold spells. Many landlords think that the cold temperatures are the reason for martin deaths. It is not the cold weather that kills Purple Martins. It is the lack of flying insect foods! It is actually starvation that kills the martins. Martins are as capable as any other bird to withstand cold temperatures but due to the dearth of insects during such critical times, martins, already in debilitated physical condition due to a long stressful Northward migration, fall easy victims to further physical stresses place upon them. You could actually say that the first arriving Purple Martins actually lay their lives on the line by arriving early on the breeding grounds. Healthy adult martins weigh about 54 grams and after several back-to-back days of little or no food, martins soon lose bodyweight and fat supplies and die. Many emaciated dead martin specimens resulting from cold weather weigh only 40 grams. WHAT CAN LANDLORDS DO?There are two courses of actions that Purple Martin landlords should consider: supply Purple Martins with mealworms or crickets to supplement the birds’ diets during these times and provide a source of light heat inside the martin housing to help to keep the birds warm, conserve group energy and save martin lives. FEEDING MEALWORMS TO PURPLE MARTINSWith the sales of birdhouses and related equipment, bird seed, books, periodicals, optics and eco-travel, today, the birding interest is a $5 Billion a year business according to recent reports from the US Department of Conservation. Many times, bird lovers spend hundreds of dollars to feed their little feathered friends during the winter months and these are the same birds for which natural foods are available to the birds that forage for these natural foods. So, why wouldn't Purple Martin landlords who have a special relationship with the birds of their colonies, spend time, energy and some monies to either purchase mealworms from suppliers or home cultivate their own mealworms to feed their birds that cannot find any natural foods during periods of adverse weather? Many PM landlords are beginning to see and understand that feeding martins is not just a matter of more personal commitment. While it may be more of a labor for some PM landlords it is a labor of love that is helping to save PM lives! Since mealworms do not fly, Purple Martins do not recognize mealworms as food but you can teach your birds to eat mealworms with some patience on your part. You can begin to train Purple Martins to eat mealworms by offering the mealworms inside their compartments. A good way to do this is to purchase small parakeet feed cups from a pet store or K-Mart or WalMart store. Purchase sticky Velcro® tape and cut 1" piece and place this to both the back of the feed cup and the inside wall of your compartments. Since Velcro® has a rough side that can snag bird feathers and also a soft side, place the softer side of Velcro® to the inside wall and the rough piece to the back of the feed cup. Fill the feed cups with mealworms and attach with the Velcro® to the inside wall of the compartments. Now, the feed cups full of mealworms will not be knocked over by the martins in their compartments. This will require both a quantity of mealworms as well as patience by the landlord. It may take a few feedings before desperate martins finally realize that those mealworms are food for them, but once they do take the mealworms, you have taken the first really difficult step in saving your martins from starvation. Once martins are feeding inside their compartments, you can then also put the feed cups, that normally come with hooks, over the railings on the porches. The next step would be to place mealworms on narrow sided dishes on special elevated feeding trays such as the universal feeding platform, the StarFeeder, for martins designed by Edwin Donath, a PMS member from Arlington Heights, IL. When martins are easily eating from an elevated platform, the fact that worms are food for them is registered in their birdbrains for the next food emergency. FEEDING CRICKETS TO MARTINSFeeding crickets requires just as much patience as feeding mealworms. Mealworms do not move quickly inside the martin house and can be easily contained in a dish or container with as little as one inch sides. But, with crickets, these insects are quite lively and can easily escape from a martin compartment, however, the look and liveliness of crickets may be more attractive to martins. To keep the crickets in a confined area, landlords can remove the cricket legs before feeding. The insects will still have a lot of movement and be attractive to martins as food. Some landlords, such as Andrew Troyer, a PMS member from Conneautville, PA, fling crickets into the air into the beaks of flying and hungry martins by the use of a slingshot (from WalMart) or from the insides of a plastic spoon. Mealworms and crickets are not inexpensive. Purchasing them from pet stores can be quite expensive. It is best to raise your own mealworms over a period of weeks or have a supply on hand in case of emergencies. Remember! When the emergency need arises and martins need food, it would require time for ordering bulk worms. Today, landlords can receive fast reliable service from such mealworm/cricket companies such as
SUPPLYING LIGHT HEAT INSIDE MARTIN HOUSINGIf you have not heard of placing 60-watt lightbulbs into unused martin compartments, do not laugh. Yes, we do odd things for the martins but by providing a heat source, we can seriously help martins if the weather takes a big change for the worse. While the PMs do not share the same compartment as the lightbulbs, they can enjoy the warmth in other nearby units of the house. Supplying heat inside martin housing is as simple as placing one or two 60-75 watt light bulbs inside aluminum or wooden housing and allowing the light to operate during the chilly nights and days. Using light bulbs to warm areas of martin housing during these times is economical in terms of saving martin lives. In times of cold weather, Purple Martins, like other avian species, exhibit a behavior known as communal roosting. Large numbers of martins will roost and rest within the confines of one compartment in the house--all sharing their body heat, thereby conserving the body heat and lives of individual birds during these demanding times. By communally roosting in warmed housing, martins may be able to extend their lives by a day or two when unreasonable cold weather continues. Purple Martin landlords should place one or two light bulbs inside unoccupied martin compartments, preferably in the center units, and duct tape those compartments closed to confine the warmth. Incredible as it may seem, the heat from one small lightbulb will radiate to the floors, ceilings and walls of the house and help keep the resident martins, in other compartments, warmer, and hopefully, alive long enough to survive the spell of adverse weather. An inside view of these birds would show all the birds huddled close to the source of warmth. The number of lightbulbs depends on the size of the martin housing. Larger houses, 20+ compartments, may need two lights while smaller twelve compartment houses will only require one lightbulb. The lightbulbs can be operated on timers so that the lights (bird furnaces) will only come on at nighttime. In the northern latitudes of the martins' breeding range, placing lightbulbs inside martin housing is encouraged as a yearly spring ritual. They can be easily removed when the weather moderates. Martin landlords should be advised in the safety of such a practice. Wet feet, whether they be avian or human feet, should not come in contact with electricity. During these extremes in weather, martins should not be disturbed so that they may direct all of their energies toward their survival. However, there is an exception to this. In times of communal roosting, large numbers of martins may be crowded into one house compartment. It has been documented that thirty birds have pushed and crowded themselves into one 6"x 6" x 6" unit. 1 Occasionally, the last bird in or out or half way inside can die and entomb all the remaining birds. This is a horrible tragedy. While it is not advisable to disturb martins during times of adverse weather by rapping on the pole or lowering the martin house pole, it is recommended to keep a watchful eye for such catastrophes before they occur. # # # 1 James R. Hill, III, "Diary of PM Weather Disaster Purple Martin," Purple MartinUpdate. Vol 2, (1).1989.
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