by Education Intern Alie Mayes
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Alie with a Great-Crested Flycatcher, a surprise catch at our Grandfather Prairie MAPS site. |
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A day-old Purple Martin hatchling at landlord Randy Harlin’s home just outside of Marshall, MO. |
Purple Martin banding is in full swing for MRBO. Daniel and I had a chance to go out for a couple hours with Dana the other day to see what it was all about. We were able to see a newly hatched Purple Martin. It was so small! It is amazing how quickly baby birds grow up! Dana and Ethan work closely with Purple Martin landlords in Missouri to band many young (over 800 so far this year!). Of this population, only about 50% will make it through migration to next year. Of that 50%, about 10% will return to their original nesting site. That means that if MRBO bands 100 Purple Martins at a nest site that 50 individuals, statistically speaking, will make it threw migration and only 5 of that 50 will come back to that exact nest site the next breeding season. Because of this, everyone at MRBO hopes to hear from folks who have Purple Martin colonies in the areas around where we band.