Page 10 - Discover Summer 2021
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Martins CONTINUED
M a r t ins C O NTINUED
for them to eat. Therefore, the sight of a purple Schieffelin, who fancied himself a naturalist,
martin in early or Mid-March is a pretty good decided to introduce English House Sparrows,
indication that spring is upon us. and later, Starlings, into North America. He
belonged to one of several societies that believed
Purple Martins are the largest species of
there was a benefit to the cross-introduction of
North American swallow, known for their
alien species. They did not realize the hazards
graceful flight, distinctive low-pitched gurgling
of upsetting the balance of nature in a given
song, and their appetite for flying insects.
environment, and the results were disastrous.
Humans have valued their presence for centuries,
and have been managing them far longer than Both of these “alien” species are secondary
any other species of songbird. Long before the cavity nesters, and both are extremely aggressive
arrival of Europeans to this continent, local in nature. They will stop at nothing to kill
natives would attract the Purple Martin to their Martins, destroy their eggs, and throw nestlings
villages by hanging up hollowed-out gourds as out on the ground in order to steal their nesting
potential nesting sites. Since sites. This has decimated
martins are “secondary-cavity” their numbers, to the point
nesters, this began a mutually where in 1992 the estimated
beneficial relationship. Purple Martin population
was only about ten percent
Cavity nesters are birds
of what it had been in the
who instinctively nest inside
mid-1800s. The result is that
hollowed out areas. Primary
Purple Martins have become
cavity nesters “excavate”
entirely dependent upon
their nest sites every year.
humans for the survival of
Chief among these is the
the species.
woodpecker. They normally
prefer to make new cavities Enter the Purple Martin
every year, which leaves the Conservation Association.
existing ones available to Founded in 1987, their
secondary-cavity nesters, mission is to promote
who lack the necessary “equipment” to dig out the management and propagation of these
their own nest cavities. It is easy to see why fascinating and appealing songbirds. It may seem
Purple Martins were attracted into forming strange to think of a species of wild bird that is
their “colonies” around Native American Indian easily managed by humans, but purple martins
villages. They are the only secondary-cavity are unique in this respect. Their long association
nesters in North America that are also colonial with humans has made them relatively tame.
nesters They are one of the very few species that man
has never hunted or intentionally exterminated.
European settlers quickly adopted the
Therefore, they have never had reason to develop
practice of managing Purple Martins, and we
a fear of man.
continue to do so today. Unfortunately, Western
civilization also unwittingly dealt them a dealt Before humans appeared on this continent,
them a stifling blow. In the 1800s, a wealthy Purple Martins nested exclusively in old
and eccentric businessman named Eugene woodpecker cavities, and natural cavities in trees
8 Discover Smith Mountain Lake SUMMER 2021
