Spring rainbow and a persistent pair of tree swallows wanting to claim the new trendsetter house 2015.
In the spring of 2015 I made a renewed commitment to get my colony site back to its former glory. In July while watching my birds I developed plans for what I hope to be the ultimate Purple Martin housing system. I named this the ChirpyNest system as chirpy is an adjective meaning cheerful and lively.
After nearly seven months of development my ChirpyNest Purple Martin boxes are ready for presentation to the martins returning this spring. Of the twenty-two boxes I had made I am erecting eight of them at my site, two at an established site about 15 miles northeast and two at a site about 10 miles southeast of my site. I hope to find other landlords to purchase one or two of the houses, to trial at at other established colonies. I you are interested in trying a ChirpyNest box at your established colony I would like to talk to you.
To learn more about the ChirpyNest system follow this link.
You can find my contact information here.
The ChirpyNest Blog will discuss and chronicle the 2016 season at my Peaceful Valley Purple Martin site as well as record the success (hopefully) of the ChirpyNest system.
Purple Martin roost August 2009 at Dale Hollow lake In Byrdstown, Tennessee
Video of the Dale Hollow Roost. It was an amazing experience
Purple Martins and me
I first began with Purple martins while growing up in the city of Erlanger Ky. My uncle had a thriving backyard colony that was my first experience with this new bird. After that first discovery during a family picnic some forty plus years ago I have been in love with the Purple Martin. Information on martins back then was scarce but through anews article that I still have in my notes, I discovered the Nature Society News which provided me with much information on martins. From there I planned, saved and began my quest to become a purple martin landlord.
My first attempt at attracting martins was with a12 room wooden house I built in seventh grade shop class. After giving the house a nice coat of white paint and mounting it on a wooden 4x4 tilt down pole I sited the house in the most suitable spot in the yard. I had little luck with that first house so I built a 6 room one story aluminum house and mounted that in the side yard, maybe a more suitable location. I waited patiently each winter for March to come and another chance to attract my first pair of martins. Each year March led to summer and the best I was able to do was to attract visitors that investigated the location but rarely landed and never nested. The sound of a martin flying over always got me looking skyward and always kept me optimistic about attracting my first nesting pair of birds.
After graduating college, leaving home, getting married and moving to Bristol Virginia I continued my quest for becoming a successful Purple Martin landlord. A requirement for our newlywed home was to find one with a yard suitable for a martin colony. That home brought my first nesting martin pair after 7 years of trying but the colony never developed into a thriving one, and raised only one successful brood over the ten years I was there. . My next move in 1995 brought me to where I now live, Abingdon, Virginia, a small town at the foothills of the Appalachian mountains in southwest Virginia. Armed with a very rural location and the discovery of the Purple Martin Conservation Association and a whole new set of tools I was able to establish the colony I have now. That was twenty one years ago. Still not as long as all the years I spent trying to attract these beautiful birds but all that time became worth it when that first nesting pair claimed one of my gourds hanging beneath an old trio eight (converted to four) compartment house that I reclaimed from an overgrown vacant lot.
My Peaceful Valley Purple Martin site (Peaceful Valley is the name of the road I live on) has had its rise to 70+ nesting pair of martins and its fall to last years 34 nesting pair. I must admit that some complacency had set in that led to the decline, and a lot of that has to do with failing to take measures to prevent owl attacks at my site as well as the demands of raising a family and making a living. I can say however I have always maintained my site and have done my best to keep nesting records and my site has never had starlings or European house sparrows take over any nesting compartments.
In an effort to bring my colony back to its former vigor I am embarking on a complete overhaul for the 2016 nesting season. The launching of this website is part of that renewed determination as well as a desire to share my lifetime quest as a purple martin landlord. Through My ChirpyNest Blog page I will chronicle the 2016 season as well as the trial year of my ChirpyNest System Purple Martin House.
I hope you enjoy the site and I welcome any comments you may have.