Clermont Purple Martin Banding

We took last week off because we promised to band some Purple Martins with our friends in Clermont. It was planned for the Saturday but weather squashed those plans so we took a hit and gave up our Sunday to help get nearly 100 Martins banded before they fledged. It was a good time. Andrew and Jenny teamed up at two tables and got through the task with no problem.

There are a lot of photos from this trip, so sit back and enjoy.

All volunteers arrived just before sunrise on Lake Minniola.



The main group brought down the first house on 7th Street and prepared to bring the Martin chicks to the tables.



The first nest was on its way to the banding site.



Connie brings in the second nest of chicks to Jenny's side.



A nest full of resting Martin chicks.



Andrew and Jenny get to work while Susan and Phyllis record the data.



Each chick was weighed in the bag and the empty bag was later weighed to get the exact weight of the bird.



Then each chick (and a couple of captured adults) were given their own unique band with specific numbers for data later in case they are later recaptured.



We finished the 7th Street house fairly quickly and then moved down to 5th Street for the remaining house. The crew began to extract the next nest box.



As we were banding, there was a race going on along the trail. The most enthusiastic member was cheering on fellow runners along the way. Of course, we dubbed him "Martin".



Let the banding continue, accompanied by music from the starting line down the road.



Lynn and Kate were along to document the event and provided some excellent shots for us, like this one of one the nest being returned to the house.



The crew was still hard at work gathering chicks to be banded.



On and on they came.



Another weight check.



And another....



Then banding...



...and banding...



...and more banding.



Most of the chicks were young enough and very docile. Some showed a little more personallity.



Once the last of the Martins were banded, we stayed a bit to watch and photograph the adults as they arrived back at the now raised house to start bringing in food for their hungry broods. One of the females seemed to have brought in a shell of some sort.



The main catch of the day seemed to be dragonflies.



This bird returned and we could see it had been previously banded, most likely from the week before.



She was quickly joined by a male before they flew off again in search of more food for the hungry chicks.



This male came in with a Gulf Fritilary butterfly.



A great day of banding was celebrated as we concluded the morning. Thanks to all of the Lake Lotus volunteers and to the Clermont Martin Watch crew for asking us out! Next year may be even bigger.



Our final banding day of the season at Lake Lotus will be this Sunday before the Summer heat chases us indoors until the first Sunday in September.

Today's Totals

Birds Processed	New	Recaptured	Total
Purple Martin	81	0	81
Totals	81	0	81

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NOTE: Due to the new CDC recommendations, if you are fully vaccinated you are not required to wear masks, esp. at outdoor events such as ours. Get your shots and come on out. Otherwise, bring a mask. All current members at Lake Lotus are fully Vac'ed.
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Next (planned) Banding Day: Sunday, May 15th.
All nets will be opened by 6:00 A.M.