Banding Purple Martins Part II

Taking notes
– E. Tenhoeve

Purple martins
– D. Bedry

Bruce Cousens with Purple Martin nestling
– E. Tenhoeve

Banding a nestling
– D. Bedry

Bruce Cousens retrieves a nestling
– D. Bedry

A clutch that didn’t hatch
– D. Bedry

Banding Purple Martins Part II

Quite a crowd turned out for what is becoming an annual event.

At Myrtle Rocks we have one of the northernmost colonies of Purple Martins, birds of the swallow family who nest in the boxes attached to offshore pilings.   We watched the nestlings as they were removed from the nest, banded, and assessed for age, then put back into the nest.

These birds migrate huge distances, so the banding helps to keep track of what journeys the birds have made.