Disappointing visit to Griggsville IL

[jonkertb]

This summer while on business I decided to take a little detour to visit Griggsville, IL the self proclaimed PM capitol of the world and where Trio houses line the main street.
It appears that no one is being a landlord with the housing
All were still round holes, many were leaning at strange angles and most had sparrow "trails" of nesting material dangling from the holes. Very few PM were seen flying around the town....my three houses have more flying over my backyard than I saw in the whole town. Wonder if I could adopt some of those Trio Castles and take 'em home????? I need two more here as mine are 95% occupied !

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

A few years ago when I was still trucking I too decided to stop in at Griggsvile and see the town. I never got to. I made it as far as to where the martin house manufacturing plant is on the edge of town and the transmission went out on the truck. In fact I had to get towed out of the plants parking lot. I never did get to see the rest of the town. Other people have said too that thibngs need a little shaping up around there.

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

Jonkertb, that is truly most disappointing. I too had thought about making the trip but remember hearing lackluster reports about the area as well. This truly concerns me as I wonder what's changed. Certainly HOSP and Starlings existed when Mr. Wade began producing his aluminum houses so it can't be that they've forced the Martins away. Also the town was getting some tourist revenue from diners and hotels and even a few hundred visitors a year would have made a difference in family incomes. Also, I've noted that no one that's very active on this board claims any affiliation with the town. I read about a fire that took out a main visitor center or something and wondered if that was an "insurance job" hot on the heels of a faltering business. OK, so Martins CAN but typically DON'T eat 2000 Mosquitos a day. Let's get over it already! I know that Griggsville was described as a fairly rural community near a good sized river. I suspect that a major part of their incomes are derived from farming. Now here comes the disturbing part..I read where Northbound Martin flyways in the Springtime tend to follow major "and not so major" waterways as they typically provide the needed insects for food. Now I also heard that the application of certain insecticides on farmland along these waterways unhappily coincides just as Martins are returning and need the food. As if the birds don't have enough to worry about with late winter weather, now the food sources they depended on for thousands of years are being stifled by the farmers near the rivers and floodplains. Could it be that Griggsville Martin numbers are down because growing crops provides more income that bird-based tourism?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Fred, there may be an explanation, and that is this: the farmers spray their crops near the ground, the spray falls downward, and lands on their crop. The insects come and eat that crop, and quickly get sick and die. The insects probably never get back up high enough for the martins to catch them. I never heard this before, but it seems logical because there are very few cases where an insecticide is even suspected to hurt the martins. Also, there are few reports, and most cannot be proven, that any birds are severely affected by farmers spraying their insecticide. The birds probably quickly leave that area because they find few insects there.

Another thing to consider is that most of the land along the rivers is filled with trees, forests, and cattle grazing country, and their is no spraying along any of that.

I think that you jump too quickly accusing farmers of hurting the martins, I do not think that is the case. Furthermore, there would probably be a food shortage much more severe than the oil shortage if the farmers would not spray their crops. We all probably would lose a lot of weight.

Also, no matter where the martins flyways are, if there is total neglect of the housing as it probably is in Griggsville, then there will be very few martins at those locations. If Griggsville mantained their housing in the manner that the PMCA forum members do, the town probably would really be the martin "Capitol". I doubt that insecticides are hurting the martin population in Griggsville.

[Dick Sherry]

Over the years we have visited Griggsville several times on summer trips, but none of the visits have been at "prime time" during the nesting season, so it was hard to tell how many of the houses were occupied. It was also hard to tell if many of the houses on the big tower were being used. I think the heyday for Griggsville (as a martin attraction) may have been in the late 1960's or early 1970's when the aluminum martin house was still kind of a novelty, and before a lot of other modern martin nesting products came along.

They had a lot of grand plans for attractions near the manufacturing plant (Purple Martin Junction with old railroad passenger cars that would were to be a natural history museum, I think), but fate was not very kind to them. Lightning struck their downtown museum in the Spring of 1970, I believe, and destroyed all of the items they had collected to that time. Then a major highway that was to be built nearby either got rerouted or cancelled.

Mr. Wade was an innovator and a pretty good salesman. He got a lot of attention for purple martins, even if the main slogan was far from factual.
He definitely created a new era in martin housing, and their monthly newspaper has provided a way for martin enthusiasts to communicate with one another on a regular basis (long before the Internet and personal computers!). So as unexciting as it may be to visit at times now, it was clearly the site of a revolution in the ways to house and care for purple martins.

In reality, Victor Stoll's farm should probably be the Purple Martin Capital of the World!

[CUL Lou~Mich]

I believe the reason Griggsville has fallen down is because the "novelty" wore off. How many houses do we see that are abandoned in folks backyards? Tons of them. I think this is the same thing that happened at Griggsville. I've wanted to go there for years, but I'd probably be sick if I saw such abandonment. Especially if I saw even one PM there. CUL Lou

[stan kostka]

Sometime during the 1960s, when the Nature Society News came into publication, Purple Martins were first noted nesting within the newly constructed steel and concrete box-girder bridges in Sacramento, California. The following decades have seen the apparent decline of the martin?s status at Griggsville, while the Sacramento birds have slowly but steadily increased. Coincidently, aluminum Trio houses were introduced to the Sacramento birds in the 1990s, without success, apparently because unlike the bridge chambers, birdhouses in this urban environment were quickly taken over by House sparrows. I have visited Sacramento every summer since 2001, specifically to observe and study the bridge-nesting martins. The aluminum birdhouses are still there also, apparently still producing House sparrows.

For me, the simple lesson is that Purple Martins know a heck of a lot more about Purple Martins that humans will ever know.

Martins have slowly increased in Sacramento over the years, in spite of the fact that in the past the California Department of Transportation and others have installed blocking devices and screens at two of the oldest and largest colonies to prevent the birds from nesting in the bridge chambers. Fortunately CalTrans recently adopted a policy of protection for the bridge colonies.

If some well intentioned folks had succeeded in transitioning the Sacramento martins into Trio houses years ago, the birds likely would be in the same boat as the Griggsville population at this time.

I?m not bashing putting up birdhouses for martins. Not at all. I?ve built and nailed up hundreds across several counties around northern Puget Sound, and likely will build and install more in the future. But I think it?s important we realize that as stewards, or landlords if you prefer, we most certainly are not the be all and end all for martins. We need to learn from them, not necessarily always seek to modify their behavior, in order to suit our perceptions and intentions.

Purple Martins return to Sacramento every spring, apparently unaware of our befuddlement that they do so without managed martin housing, no starling or House sparrow control, no nest checks or nest replacements, no Sevin, etc.

Purple Martin Capital of the World ? Sacramento.

[Dave Duit]

This post was originally from 2005. Since that time, our Iowa Organization members have come to the aid of a dwindling martin population in Griggsville. A huge undertaking of sparrow control and addition of SREH to the compartments and gourds and contacting Griggsville residence to reboot their efforts in maintaining a healthy colony has taken place. The Iowa organization donated to the effort and purchased the necessary items. Big thank you shout out to Tim. You know who you are and thank you. We can't go down regularly, but we gave them a boost and new breath in the re-establishment of good landlord practices. We have seen an increase in the population and we hope that all stays the same in the future.

[sugarcreek]

Its a new generation of people that hopefully will keep them going.

[Bird Brain]

Same thing in Lewisville, TX. Mismanaged municipal martin houses everywhere. The government managing a martin house? Give me a break.
They can't manage the roads, the schools, the voting counts. How could they possibly manage martin houses? Yes. They are just sparrow sanctuaries.

[Dave Reynolds]

This post was originally from 2005. Since that time, our Iowa Organization members have come to the aid of a dwindling martin population in Griggsville. A huge undertaking of sparrow control and addition of SREH to the compartments and gourds and contacting Griggsville residence to reboot their efforts in maintaining a healthy colony has taken place. The Iowa organization donated to the effort and purchased the necessary items. Big thank you shout out to Tim. You know who you are and thank you. We can't go down regularly, but we gave them a boost and new breath in the re-establishment of good landlord practices. We have seen an increase in the population and we hope that all stays the same in the future.

..
.
Dave ... Sure sounds like they got things turned around a bit.. That's a good thing.. Some how the younger generations needs to fall in love with the Martins like we did as children.. My Dad didn't use the word "love" when he took care of the Martins at our home many years ago. But some how he passed on somethings about taking care of Mother Nature's creators and the good earth.. We as landlords must do a better job.. Thanks so much for the PMCA and all other Martins Organizations for keeping the conversations going for this wonderful Bird.


Dave

[Dave Duit]

Well said Mr. Reynolds. Some have a very strong passion for martins and nature as a whole. I cringe when I see martin housing that has gone downhill and in disrepair. I'm careful not to step on toes when chatting with not so good landlords; while encouraging them to keep a healthy set up. It is a fine line when approaching those with martins. I have a feeling that the original folks who set up the Griggsville martin housing had well intentions, but time went by and the initial excitement died down like many other hobbies and ideas. There is a new breath in the Griggsville martin landlords today and we hope that all continues to run smooth. I feel being a martin landlord is and should be a life long commitment.

[Chris B]

I was kinda distressed reading the start of this thread but it has ended well.

I wonder about the Capistrano Swallows, and also why PMS have to go all the way to Washington state instead of a lower latitude.

Is it food supply? I sure do like them eating my flying bugs.

[Dave Duit]

Hi Chris,
The Washington state purple martins are of the, Progne subis-arboricola. The most common are the Progne subis-subis, which are found mostly east of the Missouri River. The Washington species are, I believe considered at risk in population. There is also the Progne subis-hesperia of the desert southwest.

[stan kostka]

Glad to hear some good news about Griggsville. I was surprised to see my somewhat unrelated post about Sacramento, I had totally forgotten that I made it. But since the subject of insecticides was brought up back in 2005, I thought I’d share what’s been learned since then, regarding the role insecticides may play on martin populations.

Things were going really well in Sacramento back then, the known population of martins was expanding every year, and in 2004 we documented 173 pairs in multiple colonies. Unfortunately things have gone downhill since then, and it’s not due to any reductions in volunteer enthusiasm or conservation efforts. There are now only about 35 pairs of martins in Sacramento, using only a fraction of the sites they used back in 2004.

Declines in populations of Western Purple Martins and other insectivorous birds have been documented in the Central Valley of California since about 2005 . While it should be understood that insecticides do not directly poison the birds, insecticides may play a role by reducing the abundance of insects upon which martins depend. While there is no long-term data on insect abundance in general, it is well documented that Butterflies in the Central Valley have exhibited declines in species richness and abundance over recent decades. The butterfly decline has been well documented over decades because butterflies are one type of insect that people specifically pay attention to. In decades past they were pursued and collected by butterfly enthusiasts. Times change, and folks are still chasing butterflies there, but now primarily to observe and photograph.

A comparison of data on birds and these flying bugs over time presents significant correlations between declines of aquatic insects, invertebrates, and insectivorous bird populations.

While pesticide use in the Central Valley has a long history, the widespread use of a family of compounds called Neonicotinoids is relatively recent, and it coincides with declines in populations of insectivorous birds, including Purple Martins.

Neonicotinoids currently have a wide range of agricultural and domestic uses; they are water soluble and therefore transport in surface water and persist in the absence of direct sunlight, with the potential to occur at chronic and acute levels in aquatic ecosystems.

Hypothesis: Increased usage of neonicotinoids is related to declines in California bird and butterfly populations.

Purple Martin declines have traditionally been attributed to habitat loss and competition with Starlings and House Sparrows for nesting cavities. However, the recent decline has occurred in situations where such competition is unchanged, absent, or minimized by excess cavity supply.

The population declines of Purple Martins have significant negative correlations with insecticide application in the two areas with the highest use of neonicotinoid insecticides, but have remained relatively stable in the one area where no use occurred.

Research in Europe has shown dramatic decreases of insect abundance not only in agricultural areas, but elsewhere in nearby systems. Therefore, some governmental agencies have begun banning neonics in outdoor agricultural settings.

Since managed pollinators are so important to a wide variety of agricultural crops, the industry took notice when problems began to occur in bees. Neonicotinoids have since been linked to declining bee populations.

Stan Kostka, Seattle.

[colliemom]

For many years, I used to go to Griggsville at least once a year to buy housing and parts. This would have been
late 80's through early 90's I think. It was past their heyday but the factory and museum was still there and
operating. They kept it in fairly good condition then. When the factory moved out of the area to downtown
Chicago, it pretty much went downhill from then on. That would be great if they could come back. Not sure
if they were really ever the martin capital but it was a nice place to visit.

[Dave Duit]

Hi Stan,
Thank you for the info on insecticides. I do worry about the increased usage of chemicals and their effects on the life cycle from insects to all animals and birds dependent on their abundance. Our Amish communities here in Iowa, which are chemical free, seem to have thriving martin colonies and I do believe it is correlated to this topic.