This presentation explores the history, management and expansion of Purple Martin (Progne subis) colonies in and near the town of Kent, CT starting in 2006. It focuses on the community partnerships formed with The Marvelwood School, Kent Land Trust, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Purple Martin Conservation Association and the Connecticut Ornithological Association to both restore and monitor the movement of inland populations of purple martins. Two historical nesting sites were identified and efforts were first made to improve and expand housing opportunities in these areas first. Next, ideal habitat was identified near these historical sites and new housing was secured via grants and donations. Working with scientists from DEEP, our initial banding experiments utilizing silver federal bands, revealed that we were getting sub-adult birds returning to the different colonies we managed. In 2011, DEEP formally commenced a scientific study to determine the dispersal patterns of sub-adult purple martins in Connecticut. Our inland colonies were part of this natal dispersal project which involved using different color bands assigned to colony sites that were placed on nestlings (along with a federal band) when age appropriate. Some of the questions trying to be answered by the natal dispersal study include:
What is an optimal nesting site?
Why do martins use certain housing while avoiding others, even in ideal habitat?
What are the natal dispersal patterns of the subadults in CT.
Do coastal and inland martins disperse differently?
So far, there has been virtually no dispersal of inland banded nestlings returning as sub-adults to breed along the coast and vice versa? Why this is not happening, especially in such a small state as Connecticut is not fully known. Most of our inland birds are dispersing within a ten mile radius of the historic colonies. However, as housing opportunities begin to expand outside this radius, especially to the North, South and West of our inland colonies, others are detecting birds that were originally color banded by us in or near Kent. We also have several foreign recoveries in New York State
Over the years this collaboration has helped to elevate the species from their status of a Threatened Species in the state to that of Species of Special Concern. While the news about expanding inland (and coastal) populations of purple martins in the state is exciting, their conservation story is not yet finished. Purple Martins in Connecticut and in Eastern North American are entirely dependent on humans and artificial housing to breed. Current landlords are getting older and there is concern about who will manage these existing colonies in the future.
Contact Information:
Laurie Doss
860-671-1142
Banding Together for Purple Martins (Go to page 8 once link accessed below:)
Aging undertail coverts
https://www.purplemartin.org/uploads/media/tattletails11-4-376.pdf
Connecticut Purple Martin Newsletter
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/PUMANewsDec14pdf.pdf
PUMA Fact Sheet
https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Purple-Martin
Purple Martin Monitoring
https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Learn-About-Wildlife/Purple-Martins
Purple Martin Conservation Association
https://www.purplemartin.org/education/25/kids-teachers-section/
Natal Dispersal Studies
https://www.purplemartin.org/uploads/media/nataldispersal12-2-374.pdf
Natal dispersal of eastern purple martins (Progne subis subis) on the western periphery of their range
https://www.academia.edu/20024426/Natal_dispersal_of_eastern_purple_martins_Progne_subis_subis_on_the_western_periphery_of_their_range
