BUSY PURPLE MARTINS

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/

https://www.purplemartin.org

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.

NATURE CLICKS #276 - PURPLE MARTIN

Female Purple Martin

Finding the Purple Martin is not a big problem along the Mississippi River. Most nest in colonies and use man-made birdhouses. Almost every boat landing, community, or park has them. We made another paddle tour in the Mud Lake area at the Mississippi yesterday and after the kayaks were loaded on the roof of the car I was able to photograph this species of the swallow family.

All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head, SB 800 speed light

Although the availability for natural nest cavities has declined over the years, the increased availability of human-provided nest sites has a positive effect on population. The Purple Martin competes with European Starlings and, as in the case of Mud Lake Park, with the House Sparrows for nest cavities. They share the big birdhouse at the boat landing with the sparrows, but as you can see in the second image it is not always a friendly relationship between these two species

Male Purple Martin

None of the photos would have worked very well without using fill flash. I just threw enough light at the birds to bring out the shadows and make the colors pop. It is a fine line and can be easily overdone.