Male Purple Martin, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa
I still have a few photos from our recent trip to Minnesota but today I like to share some actual pictures that were made yesterday. I had received an information about the current breeding activities of the Purple Martins (Thank you Mike!) and went down to Mud Lake at the Mississippi River. Three days ago both breeding towers had more than 75 eggs and almost 30 nestlings had hatched already. The parents were very busy to feed and to guard each nesting chamber. I believe each tower holds 18 chambers.
Female with her latest catch at the martin house
I have plenty of pictures with martins sitting at the entrance of a nest box but I really wanted some shots with a bird in flight, approaching the nest or just hovering in front of it.
However, the second image shows a female with a dragon fly in its bill and waiting in front of the entrance hole of her nest. It took about four minutes before she turned around and entered the box to feed the offspring.
Female Purple Martin
If you are not familiar with the habits and biology of our largest swallow, you can find a lot of information about these birds on the websites of the CornellLab or the Purple Martin Conservation Association.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Martin/
The Purple Martin is a very interesting bird and it is fun to watch how they catch all their food in flight and get their drinks by scooping water from the surface of the river or pond with their lower bill.