Bird Abodes' SuperGourd

Here is a video I shot this morning of the Purple Martin colony on Edinboro Lake, in Edinboro, PA, that I helped establish last summer. Last year it attracted 4 breeding pairs of martins. This year it attracted 15 pairs. These are in porched, crescent-holed SuperGourds. This colony site is right next to a multipurpose trail with lots of human foot traffic, so lots of people get to enjoy the antics and pleasant chatter of these sociable birds!

I did my weekly nest check on my Purple Martins the last couple of days here in northwestern PA and found two 7-egg clutches. One was in a porched, crescent-holed SuperGourd, the other in the removable nest tray of a wooden T-14 martin house. It looks like I’m going to enjoy the company of about 45 breeding pairs of martins in the yard this summer! The constantly resupplied green leaves in these amazing nests are thought to be for both humidity control and parasite control.

Here is a photo I took two years ago of an adult female Purple Martin removing a fecal sac from her nest of 12-day-old nestlings in a SuperGourd. A fecal sac is mucous membrane surrounding the waste (feces and uric acid = urine) of their ever-growing nestlings. The nestlings of most songbird species produce fecal sacs. These sacs keep the waste contained in a handy disposable diaper that helps keep the nest bowl and cavity clean. Parent birds either eat them, or fly o...ff with them to drop some distance from the nest. Surveillance cameras placed inside Purple Martin nest cavities show that nestling martins often excrete a fecal sac within seconds of being fed. Other times the feeding parent may probe around a nestling’s cloaca (waste opening) to stimulate the excretion of a sac. Scientists can examine the contents of fecal sacs to determine if young have been exposed to contaminants, or to learn more about the diet of the species. See more

Here's a photo of a Purple Martin with prey that I took during the summer of 2016 in Waterford, PA.

One of the most revolutionary features of the SuperGourd, is the waterproof, threaded access cap on the side that let's you not only view the contents of the nest during the breeding season, but also makes removal of old nests a breeze at season's end!