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Our Mission
The Purple Martin is a bird that is primarily dependent upon the assistance of humans in the areas east of the Mississippi.
They are our largest swallow measuring from aproximately 7 1/2 - 8 1/2 inches. The male of the species is uniformly
blue black with a forked swallow tail. The female is grayish underneath.
Here in the Portage Lakes we provide gourds for their nests. We discovered early on that they prefer them to the
usual Martin houses. We do use some native gourds, but we have purchased synthetic gourds that are more easily maintained.
The Martins seem to be equally happy with both.
The Purple Martins are a migratory species, flying to South America for the winter. They return to our area usually during
the month of April. In August, their Premigratory Roost at Nimisila Reservoir is a spectacular sight, with some 5000
to 10,000 Martins stopping over to rest briefly before proceeding on their long journey.
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April 15th 2013
Larry Hunter reports that here in the Portage
Lakes there were approximately 500-1000 Tree Swallows at State Mill Road and about 50 Purple Martins have returned to
our area.
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PURPLE MARTIN REPORT - October 2012
Larry Hunter reports the following for this year.
Final count: 177 Nesting Pairs, 908 eggs, 716 babies. Of these 710 were fledged.
[Note: When we started in the year 2000 - we had one nesting pair and fledged 5 babies.]
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Purple Martin Report July 2012
Larry Hunter reported 167 Nesting Pairs, 650 babies
fledging. Purple Martin boat rides (to see the staging) are now taking place.
There are still a few openings on the boats. Cost is $20 per person. For reservations or for more information,
contact Larry at: 330-644-1540.
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2011 - Purple Martin nests, etc.
This is the year we have been waiting for. 2011 will go down in the history books as a significant milestone for
us. After years of wishing and hoping, we finally did it. We fledged over 500 martins. Actually, we had 130 nesting pairs
that laid 624 eggs, hatching 533 nestlings, and fledged 514 martins of which 454 were banded. Now we have to raise the bar.
Our next milestone - 750 fledglings. Boat rides took place August 1st – 31st. cost was $20 per person.
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PLPMA has use of the State Park barn for the winter. It is heated and can be used for care and
storage of the gourds during the colder months. Also, in checking at Y-Noah site, Larry Hunter discovered that there
were at least two nests we didn't know about. These birds were not in our count, so we had more than we thought.
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2012 Statistics
1st Martin Sighting - March 28th - State Mill
1st Egg Laid - May 10th
1st Baby hatched - May 31st
WANT TO PROVIDE A HOME FOR THE MARTINS?
This has been a great year for Purple Martins in our area. Everyone had more martins than ever before. Our friend, Paul
Troyer of Riceland Ohio, had a fantastic year. He fledged 726 martins. As reported before, Paul has a banded bird at his colony
that was born and banded at our Site #4 (Judy & Larry Hunter’s). This After Second Year (ASY) female nested last
year at Paul’s and nested this year in the same cavity. Paul manufactures wooden martin houses. His design incorporates
all the latest advances in that style housing. Anyone interested in this type house can contact Paul at Orrville Woodcraft
- Tel.330-682-2958. Another source for Martin Housing is Andy Troyer, Birds of Paradise, Conneautville
PA. - Tel.800-872-0103 or Purple Martin Conservation
Association, Erie PA. - Tel. 814-833-7656.
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Our congratulations to Ted Carter who, after years of trying, finally had a nesting pair of martins. His babies
hatched the first week of August, which is really late. It is such a great day when you become a Martin Landlord!
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| TREE SWALLOW at State Mill Site |
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| Photo by Paul Toth |
BANDING PURPLE MARTINS
2008 - Banded 242 babies
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2009 Achievements
Larry reports that he banded 28 tree swallows and checked nests. He found 5 babies in the 1st nest, 6 in the 3rd, 5 in
the 5th. For the purple martins there are 108 nests with a total of 450 eggs. There are 12 gourds at Larry's house and all
12 have nests. Over 100 dozen eggs will be used to feed the Martins this year. The first egg was laid on May 7th. 
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Photo by Paul Toth 
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Purple Martin Capital of Ohio*
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