Martins in the Imperial Valley, CA?
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Guest
I am visiting family in Imperial Valley California. I'm fairly certain I've been seeing PMs flit over the fields, but didn't bring my binocs. Is there by any chance, anyone here with an active colony of Purple Martins that can confirm this?
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Guest
Are you close to Sacramento or Penn Bridge Park, Penn? They have purple on their map.
Or could you be seeing some type of other swallow?
Hope you find out its martins.
Lanell
Or could you be seeing some type of other swallow?
Hope you find out its martins.
Lanell
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stan kostka
- Posts: 154
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 7:59 pm
- Location: Washington, Seattle
To the best of my knowledge there are no birdhouse martin colonies anywhere in California. Most birds use trees, some use other landscape features, such as the bridges in Sacramento.
However, if you are seeing martins, they may be migrants, stalled in the south due to unfavorable weather conditions up along the west coast so far this season.
Try to borrow a pair of binoculars, and if you do find birds perching anywhere, be sure to look at their legs for bands. As a percentage of the total [known] popuation, far more west coast birds have been banded than those of the nominate eastern race.
Are you in Imperial County, in the southeast corner of the state ?
However, if you are seeing martins, they may be migrants, stalled in the south due to unfavorable weather conditions up along the west coast so far this season.
Try to borrow a pair of binoculars, and if you do find birds perching anywhere, be sure to look at their legs for bands. As a percentage of the total [known] popuation, far more west coast birds have been banded than those of the nominate eastern race.
Are you in Imperial County, in the southeast corner of the state ?
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Guest
Sorry it has taken me so long to answer this -- my access to the Internet has been sparse. Thanks to those that have answered.
I am in the Southwest corner of California in Imperial County. I have been able to verify that I am seeing Purple Martins. There are TONS of them here feeding on clouds of Green Lacewings (some sort of gnats). There are also Tree Swallows and Cliff Swallows here as well, I've seen them too. I have looked as we've driven around, but have seen no man-made setups for the Purple Martins. It looks like the Purple Martins are nesting in holes in the sides of deep irrigation canals like Cliff Swallows do. There are also quite a lot of places for them to nest inhaystacks, old farm machinery and vehicles that I see in Farm Junkyards (these farmers save EVERYTHING for spare parts).
I'll try to get close enough to the holes I've seen them entering, perhaps at evening and get a picture to post.
I am in the Southwest corner of California in Imperial County. I have been able to verify that I am seeing Purple Martins. There are TONS of them here feeding on clouds of Green Lacewings (some sort of gnats). There are also Tree Swallows and Cliff Swallows here as well, I've seen them too. I have looked as we've driven around, but have seen no man-made setups for the Purple Martins. It looks like the Purple Martins are nesting in holes in the sides of deep irrigation canals like Cliff Swallows do. There are also quite a lot of places for them to nest inhaystacks, old farm machinery and vehicles that I see in Farm Junkyards (these farmers save EVERYTHING for spare parts).
I'll try to get close enough to the holes I've seen them entering, perhaps at evening and get a picture to post.
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Daniel Airola
- Posts: 114
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:11 pm
- Location: Sacramento
I agree with Stan Kostka that martins could have stalled in Imperial County, due to the cold weather throughout the West Coast states since early March. There are records of martins during migration at the Salton Sea in Imperial County.
Purple martins are not known to nest in desert regions of California. Also, while I am not sure what number equates to "tons" of martins
, I would be doubtful that martins would show up at any one site during migration in numbers exceeding 50-100.
Finally, I am not aware that martins have nested in holes in irrigation canals anywhere in the state, although they have used holes in tall cliffs in northern Arizona.
You didn't mention several other swallows that would be more likely to occur in large concentrations, including tree swallows, violet-green swallows, and barn swallows. Many people mistake these species for martins. Of these, tree swallow would be the only possibility to nest in banks in Imperial County, and that would be a long-shot. Typical bank nesters are northern rough-wing swallows (who usually nest in groups of 1-6 pairs) and bank swallows (which nest in large concentrations in banks). Both would be possible in Imperial County, I believe. But both of these species are a drab brown, and so would be hard to mistake them for martins.
Strange things happen, I won't say it's impossible that martins are nesting in the area - rather it is just very unlikely. The Sonoran Desert race of the martin nests in hot desert areas in Arizona and Baja California, but generally only in saguaro cactus, which is absent (I think) from Imperial County.
Please do try to get some pictures of the birds you are seeing and let us know any further thoughts based on your additonal observations. And if there are martins there, I also encourage you to search for color banded birds. The color bands can be seen with binoculars, even if you can't read the individual codes on the bands. Record the color and leg (R/L as seen from the bird's perspecitve) on which the band occurs and send to Stan or me.
Thanks for sharing your observations.
Purple martins are not known to nest in desert regions of California. Also, while I am not sure what number equates to "tons" of martins
, I would be doubtful that martins would show up at any one site during migration in numbers exceeding 50-100.Finally, I am not aware that martins have nested in holes in irrigation canals anywhere in the state, although they have used holes in tall cliffs in northern Arizona.
You didn't mention several other swallows that would be more likely to occur in large concentrations, including tree swallows, violet-green swallows, and barn swallows. Many people mistake these species for martins. Of these, tree swallow would be the only possibility to nest in banks in Imperial County, and that would be a long-shot. Typical bank nesters are northern rough-wing swallows (who usually nest in groups of 1-6 pairs) and bank swallows (which nest in large concentrations in banks). Both would be possible in Imperial County, I believe. But both of these species are a drab brown, and so would be hard to mistake them for martins.
Strange things happen, I won't say it's impossible that martins are nesting in the area - rather it is just very unlikely. The Sonoran Desert race of the martin nests in hot desert areas in Arizona and Baja California, but generally only in saguaro cactus, which is absent (I think) from Imperial County.
Please do try to get some pictures of the birds you are seeing and let us know any further thoughts based on your additonal observations. And if there are martins there, I also encourage you to search for color banded birds. The color bands can be seen with binoculars, even if you can't read the individual codes on the bands. Record the color and leg (R/L as seen from the bird's perspecitve) on which the band occurs and send to Stan or me.
Thanks for sharing your observations.
Dan Airola - Sacramento CA
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Guest
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your reply. They may have stalled here due to the abnormally cold weather California is experiencing. Here, the winds have been coming out of the North, strongly for the past week or so.
By 'tons' I meant between 20-30 at a time feeding over the fields, but I'm seeing them all over the county as we're driving. We are technically in the desert, but due to irrigation, the center of the valley is rich, green farming land year-round. Flying insects are plentiful here.
You mentioned that PMs nest in tall cliffs in Arizona. Some of the irrigation ditches we have here--oh wait. My husband informs me I'm seeing them in drainage ditches--they are deeper than irrigation canals -- 15-20 feet deep -- with dirt cliff-like sides and some water flowing in the bottom. these are the places I've seen the PMs dart down into and skim the water. I've also seen them perch on the lip of these ditches, then hop down and enter holes.
Oh, I did mention other swallows in my post.
Quote:
"There are also Tree Swallows and Cliff Swallows here as well, I've seen them too."
Barn swallows, I know by sight. I grew up on a farm and we had them. Tree swallows are disctinctive, too--their bellies are white, whereas PMs are not. They fly differently, too. The ones I'm seeing are dark, iridescent blackish-purple all over or dark, iridescent blackish-purple on their backs with brownish underneath.
You're correct we don't have native saguaro cactus here, but many homes and businesses have transplanted them into their landscaping.
I have borrowed a pair of binocs from family and will definitely try to get some pictures with my digital camera--I can get some great close-ups with them. I will look for bands, but it's unlikely I could read them without a good scope. I'll let you know what color bands I spot, if any.
Thanks for your reply. They may have stalled here due to the abnormally cold weather California is experiencing. Here, the winds have been coming out of the North, strongly for the past week or so.
By 'tons' I meant between 20-30 at a time feeding over the fields, but I'm seeing them all over the county as we're driving. We are technically in the desert, but due to irrigation, the center of the valley is rich, green farming land year-round. Flying insects are plentiful here.
You mentioned that PMs nest in tall cliffs in Arizona. Some of the irrigation ditches we have here--oh wait. My husband informs me I'm seeing them in drainage ditches--they are deeper than irrigation canals -- 15-20 feet deep -- with dirt cliff-like sides and some water flowing in the bottom. these are the places I've seen the PMs dart down into and skim the water. I've also seen them perch on the lip of these ditches, then hop down and enter holes.
Oh, I did mention other swallows in my post.
Quote:
"There are also Tree Swallows and Cliff Swallows here as well, I've seen them too."
Barn swallows, I know by sight. I grew up on a farm and we had them. Tree swallows are disctinctive, too--their bellies are white, whereas PMs are not. They fly differently, too. The ones I'm seeing are dark, iridescent blackish-purple all over or dark, iridescent blackish-purple on their backs with brownish underneath.
You're correct we don't have native saguaro cactus here, but many homes and businesses have transplanted them into their landscaping.
I have borrowed a pair of binocs from family and will definitely try to get some pictures with my digital camera--I can get some great close-ups with them. I will look for bands, but it's unlikely I could read them without a good scope. I'll let you know what color bands I spot, if any.
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Daniel Airola
- Posts: 114
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:11 pm
- Location: Sacramento
Thanks, Becky. Sorry re: missing your notation about other swallows. This is a very interesting observation, as there are so few martins in the west coast states (est total for CA to British Columbia of about 5,000) that there are very few records of martins in migration. It sounds like you know martins well, and it is hard to mistake an ASY (black) male from any other swallow.
Those of us banding in CA, OR, WA and BC are dying to get records of birds in migration. Several thousand birds have been banded in the last 3+ years, and I am only aware of one long distance return. So giving us a color of a color band would make you an hero of the Western Purple Martin Working Group. It's worth some effort, and do keep us posted!
Those of us banding in CA, OR, WA and BC are dying to get records of birds in migration. Several thousand birds have been banded in the last 3+ years, and I am only aware of one long distance return. So giving us a color of a color band would make you an hero of the Western Purple Martin Working Group. It's worth some effort, and do keep us posted!
Dan Airola - Sacramento CA
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Guest
Just a quick note: Still haven't been able to catch a shot of a PM here in Imperial Valley, but while driving up through the area around Temecula (in Riverside County) we saw quite a few PMs around the vineyards there as well as what looked like PM housing amongst the arbors there. again, I wasn't able to get photos (no time). 
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stan kostka
- Posts: 154
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 7:59 pm
- Location: Washington, Seattle
Hi Becky,
I really hope you are able to get a photo of martins there associating with nesting cavities, whatever they happen to be.
Some years ago I received a report of martins investigating a hole in a bank. Ordinarily I might discount such a report, figure it was a case of misidentification, but in that case it came from what I consider a very reliable source. The area was rather inaccessible and I never saw martins there in the two followup visits that I made. However, since starlings have been know to nest underground, in an abandoned rough wing or kingfisher burrow, I dont recall at the moment, its certainly possible for martins to do the same. Martins do nest below grade at Lava Beds in Northern CA but the lava tubes are not quite the same as where you would normally find roughies or bank swallows. To find a martin nesting like that would be extremely noteworthy. It is early in the season now, so it's likely the birds will be found at their nest sites only in the morning and evening.
And, if you find martins associating with a birdhouse in CA, that would be noteworthy also.
So, good luck, and hope you find something and get some good photos.
Stan
I really hope you are able to get a photo of martins there associating with nesting cavities, whatever they happen to be.
Some years ago I received a report of martins investigating a hole in a bank. Ordinarily I might discount such a report, figure it was a case of misidentification, but in that case it came from what I consider a very reliable source. The area was rather inaccessible and I never saw martins there in the two followup visits that I made. However, since starlings have been know to nest underground, in an abandoned rough wing or kingfisher burrow, I dont recall at the moment, its certainly possible for martins to do the same. Martins do nest below grade at Lava Beds in Northern CA but the lava tubes are not quite the same as where you would normally find roughies or bank swallows. To find a martin nesting like that would be extremely noteworthy. It is early in the season now, so it's likely the birds will be found at their nest sites only in the morning and evening.
And, if you find martins associating with a birdhouse in CA, that would be noteworthy also.
So, good luck, and hope you find something and get some good photos.
Stan