One thing is certain. If you host purple martins, you will have to deal with the loss of those birds. Sometimes it’s babies dying in the nest, sometimes it’s adults ending up dead from cold, predation or any other number of reasons. After so many years you get used to it and accept the fact that nature is tough and there is little you can do to change it. Still there are those times when losing a member of your Purple Martin colony really hurts.
One of those times for me is now.
April 5, 2017 a unique martin arrived at my colony. This bird was an ASY male with a condition called leucisim. Leucisim causes a lack of pigment in parts of the bird and results in partial white bird. The uniqueness makes him stand out and allows a landlord to keep a special eye on him throughout the nesting season. I named him Leuie and When Leuie, returned on April 7, 2018 I felt like I reunited with an old friend.
Leuie tolerated the up and down temperatures of this spring along with the other returning martins and had staked claim to cavity B-4, a ChirpyNest cavity hung below my T-10 house.
This was a neighboring cavity to his 2017 plastic gourd he was unsuccessful in having hatchlings from two egg clutches laid by his mate.
Having Leuie return meant another season with my friend and another attempt for him to raise young. Curiosity was high. Would he be successful this year, would he pass his leucisim to his offspring? With his selection of a ChirpyNest cavity I was even more excited to have him bring added attention to my innovative martin housing.
On Monday April 23 of this past week the morning weather was drizzling and temperatures in the 40’s. The forcast was for fifties and cloudy the rest of day with rain to cease after noon. While looking out the window of my home office I see a male ASY Martin sitting in a small evergreen just outside.
It’s always unusual to have Martins land in trees unless it’s leaf gathering time and of course I had to go out to get a closer look. To investigate the reason for this. As I got closer and realized that this martin was in distress and that he was not going to fly off I gathered him in my hand, dried him and brought him in. my attempt to save this bird failed as he died within 30 minutes. My first known casualty of the 2018 season. Now in my 23 rd year as a landlord I knew it was the first of a number that would occur this season. As with many, the cause of this one’s death is speculative but I suspect migratory stress magnified by poor weather.
My second loss of the 2018 season hurts a lot more and more than almost any other during my time as a Purple Martin landlord. Leuie has disappeared from my colony and I cannot say why or even exactly when. I last saw him Monday eveningbut with cold evenings and damp weather I didn’t spend time watching my birds come in on Tuesday or Wednesday. To not see Leuie during the day is not unusual due to my work and the spring habit of the birds spending day time away from the site. When I didn’t see him return Thursday eveningI became concerned but remember times last season when he would dart in well after sunset and easily be missed. When a determined effort to spot him Friday and Saturday did not pan out I knew there is a more than likely chance that something has happened to Leuie.
The optimist in me wants to think that maybe he is out and about or even decided to move to another colony but with a mate and cavity already chosen I know that is not the case.
Leuie was a special bird that brought me, my wife and many others that knew him through the UPDATE, internet postings and the newspaper article published last year, a lot of joy. Having the features to stand out from all others allowed me to get to watch him in a way like no other colony member before. I suspect he was a resident here in his Second Year , although I didn’t notice him without his adult plumage, his time as a Peaceful Valley Purple Martin colony standout will be missed. I wonder how long it will be until I watch my birds and stop looking for Leuie. Whether a victim of weather, predators or natural attrition I’ll never know for sure. One thing for certain. If you host Purple Martins you will lose birds. It’s never easy. Some will hurt more than others.
Leuie 2018
