APED - A Picture Every Day: Purple Martin

Showing posts with label Purple Martin. Show all posts

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Thursday's Questioning Martin 07-14-16

Hello and happy Thursday. I've caught one of the Purple Martins checking out the view from above. I believe she's wondering when Friday will be here. It's tomorrow, little one. It's only a day away. Meanwhile, she's keeping watch over her nest inside, making sure the home is safe. Maybe Friday is her shopping day, or her day to have some time for herself; no one knows, but sometimes it's fun just to make stuff up. :)

I hope you had a great Thursday. Thanks for looking. See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Wednesday's Martin Mothers' Stares 06-22-16

Hello and happy Wednesday. Well, unlike yesterday when the Carolina Anole wanted me to take his picture, these two nesters appear as if they would rather I go away. They must have been having a private conversation before I interrupted with my camera. I promise that I didn't stay long. I just wanted a few photos.

I hope you got what you wanted this Wednesday. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Monday's Meeting 06-13-16

Hello and happy Monday. It looks like the Martins are gathering for a meeting. Maybe there's a party that needs planning. Maybe they just like to visit. Or, maybe they just like to see how many can fit on the rods. Whatever the reason, I am always happy to see them. It's just wonderful to wake up and see the Martins and/or to see them in the evenings and to hear their wonderful chatter.

I hope you had a wonderful Monday. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Monday's Peek-A-Boo Martin 05-23-16

Hello and happy Monday. Peek-A-Boo from my little female Purple Martin friend. She has been sitting in her gourd on her nest all day and now wants to take a peek to see what's happening near her house. Well, it's just little ole me looking for a Martin - found one. I have to admit that I have always enjoyed playing Peek-A-Boo.

I hope you found what you wanted today. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Wednesday's Home 05-11-16

Hello and happy Wednesday. Have you been house shopping lately? It looks like this female Purple Martin has found her new home. I was very scared when I put the new Martin houses up in April, which was late in the year as far as they were concerned. It has been such a relief that, in the last couple of weeks, we have seen new Purple Martin pairs choosing the new gourds. Yippee! That means there will be more babies and then that means more Martins coming back next year, which means we can put up more housing for them. Color me excited!

I hope you had an exciting Wednesday. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Tuesday Might Need More Deodorant 05-10-16

Hello and happy Tuesday. Or, is it rather, "Bye, bye, birdie"? Maybe the female Purple Martin is saying "Bye, bye, Tuesday". Or, maybe it just needs a little more deodorant? Haha. Who knows.

Anyway, I hope you had a great, uncomplicated Tuesday. Thanks for looking. See you tomorrow.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Purple Martin Friday 05-06-16

Hello and happy Friday. For a little over a year now, I've been saving money to get this certain lens for my camera. It has a long range, like 150 - 600 mm, and, when I put it on my Nikon D5300, the range is even greater (225-900mm). That lens arrived today! It got here later in the day so I didn't have a lot of time to play with it before dark. The Purple Martins were coming back in for sunset so I started photographing. I got my chair and sat across the pond hoping not to scare them away. It worked on at least one, as you can see. This guy was at a focal length of 750mm, ISO 640, shutter time of 1/800 and f6.3. I didn't take the tripod out with me so this is a hand held shot with the vibration compensation on. He looks pretty good to me. I think I might keep this lens and also get accustomed to using my tripod - or start lifting weights, because this lens is HEAVY!

I hope you had a light and easy Friday. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Wednesday House Hunting 05-04-16

Hello and happy Wednesday. Is it a good day for house hunting for you. It seems to be for this female Purple Martin. I put the new plastic gourds up, I thought, too late for the breeding season of the wonderful Purple Martins, but I wanted to show them that new housing was available and they would know this for next year. I'm happy to see that someone may be interested in the new abodes this year. I've even seen them going in and out of the gourds instead of just sitting on the top. Maybe she's told her guy that she wants that one for next year. I know I'd be happy with her choice. The more the merrier.

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday, whether or not you were house hunting. I thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Monday, March 28, 2016

Purple Martin Monday 03-28-16

Hello and happy Monday. I have for you today a pair of Purple Martins in a gourd. The darker one is the male and lighter one, the female. I'm hoping that they've chosen where they will spend their summer, mating and having children, and later flying back to South America. We "inherited" this pole with gourds. The pole was bent over and we had heard the martins around and wanted them to come back so we tried to straighten the pole. Well, we ended up breaking the pole near its base, we fell back, along with the pole and broke a couple of gourds (at least we didn't break anything on us)! We set the pole back up complete with the broken ones and the martins came back!! There are three pairs of them that I've seen so far and I hope they stay. I love their chatter and they are not really afraid to be around humans. I ordered another pole and more gourds so maybe others will join - the more the merrier. Plus, they eat mosquitoes, bees and wasps. I'm told they might even eat fire ants.

There's a lot more to know about Purple Martins, and, if you're interested, check out this site:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Martin/lifehistory

I hope you had a marvelous Monday and gained a little knowledge today. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.