\nAkron Beacon Journal, OH – 20 hours ago
\nPortage Lakes group hangs up homes for insect eaters
\nBy John Higgins
\nBeacon Journal staff writer
\nCOVENTRY TWP. – Until Sunday afternoon, Alyce Duncan had never flung scrambled eggs catapult-style at purple martins in mid-flight with a black plastic spoon.
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\nDuncan’s niece, Heidi Pitts and her husband, Dennis, belong to the Portage Lakes Purple Martin Association, which has a sanctuary for the birds near the State Mill Road boat launch in Portage Lakes.<\/p>\n
They were among about a dozen who came out Sunday to witness what was described in the association’s newsletter as “the greatest spectacle in bird watching.”<\/p>\n
Shortly after 2 p.m., the assembled feeders loaded black bendable spoons with scrambled (chicken) egg bits fortified with powdered egg shell (for calcium).<\/p>\n
The association, which has about 30 members, has erected seven poles near the boat launch with a dozen white gourd-shaped bird houses on each pole modified to ward off predators, such as hawks and owls.<\/p>\n
Purple martins weigh about 2 ounces and are the largest member of the North American swallow family, according to the Purple Martin Conservation Association.<\/p>\n
The white-breasted females and the dark purple-breasted mature males floated like kites on the strong breeze off the lake in anticipation of the feeding frenzy.<\/p>\n
Their human feeders bent back their spoons, aimed for the sky near the nesting poles and launched the eggs.<\/p>\n
Martins swooped and dived, snatching many, but not all of the snacks in mid-flight. The rest rained down on the flingers.<\/p>\n
“There’s eggs everywhere,” Duncan said, laughing. “I had scrambled eggs for breakfast. I could have saved some.”<\/p>\n
She felt some errant egg bits thump her head.<\/p>\n
“They’re going to dive down and get in my hair. That’s where the eggs are,” she said.<\/p>\n
After the feeding, Larry R. Hunter, president of the Portage Lakes Purple Martin Association, lowered the gourd-shaped bird houses on one of the poles to check for invader sparrow nests and to take a peek at the baby martins nesting inside.<\/p>\n
The plastic bird houses — which the privately funded association purchases and modifies — are arranged on a structure like a candelabra that can be raised and lowered. The association has 27 poles in the Portage Lakes area and 278 houses for martins.<\/p>\n
Volunteers feed the birds eggs and eggshells regularly as soon as the first scout shows up sometime in April until the birds head to South America for the winter.<\/p>\n
The association was founded in 2000 as a project with the Portage Lakes Advisory Council to boost the returning population of the insect-gobbling martins. It started with one nesting pair that year, which had five babies, known as fledglings.<\/p>\n
Last year, 90 pairs produced 363 fledglings; this year, 103 pairs are expected to fledge 450 babies. Hunter said the group is on track to have 1,000 fledglings in Portage Lakes in 2014.<\/p>\n
Typically, about half of purple martins return to the nests they made the previous year, but the return rate is much higher in Portage Lakes, Hunter said.<\/p>\n
This year, 92 percent of the males and 66 percent of the females returned. Hunter suspects the rich egg diet has something to do with that.<\/p>\n
“The reason is all this calcium they get,” Hunter said. “They’re in super shape when they leave here.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Akron Beacon Journal, OH – 20 hours ago Portage Lakes group hangs up homes for insect eaters By John Higgins Beacon Journal staff writer COVENTRY TWP. – Until Sunday afternoon, Alyce Duncan had never flung scrambled eggs catapult-style at purple martins in mid-flight with a black plastic spoon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[413],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n