In collaboration with CREW Land & Water Trust and the Florida Gulf Coast University Ornithology Club, Audubon of Southwest Florida complete installation of Purple Martin nesting tower.
A very successful workshop was held on May 4, 2024 at the CREW Flint Pen Strand Lakes parking area. Several FGCU Ornithology Club students attended, in addition to CREW and Audubon SWFL volunteers.
CREW staff and volunteers assembled the main structure of the metal nesting tower in the weeks preceding the workshop.
Barbara Zittel, a purple martin expert from the Venice Area Audubon Society, traveled to CREW for the workshop. She gave a very educational presentation about the bird’s lives, migration, nesting habits, and conservation needs. The group then added nesting material to the 18 nest gourds and the tower was raised at the end of the workshop, with four purple martin decoys to attract birds to the tower.
Purple martins in the eastern U.S. nest only in human- provided nesting habitat, making nest towers like this essential to the survival and growth of the species. Nesting is already underway for the 2024 season, but the Purple Martin Conservation Association posted a “scout arrival map” the week of the workshop showing sub-adult birds arriving in southwest Florida, indicating that it may not be too late in the season for some young birds to find our new nesting tower.
The purple martin nesting tower is located near the CREW Flint Pen Lakes parking lot on a trail, as the purple martins appreciate the presence of humans. Laminated educational fact sheets were added to the nesting tower to educate the public about the birds and the nesting tower.
A commemorative stone was placed at the foot of the tower with the Audubon SWFL logo and LCEC logo in appreciation for project funding.
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