Minutes - Parks and Recreation Commission - 07/10/2008

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COMMISSION BUSINESS Case #1: Purple Martin Project at Emerald Pond Park Parks Supervisor Riverblood advised that this project began in May of 2007 and has now been ongoing for the past year. He advised that Hans, Lorrie, and Tony were present to give an update on the project. Hans thanked the Commission for the opportunity to install the martin house. He advised that he had been working with purple martins for the past five years and Tony had been working with them for the past eight years. He advised that a lot of people have misconceptions of purple martins. He explained that he started this project a little more than two years ago. He reported that they put the house up in June of 2006 and there were three martins in the house that built a nest that year. He advised that the nest was vandalized and the birds abandoned the nest after that. He advised that this yearlhey have two martins and he had seen as many as seven at the house at one time. He advised that the nest was vandalized again this year and the birds have again abandoned the nest. He advised that there were three nests in the house at that time. He advised that the purple martin is the largest member of the swallow family at seven inches and weighing almost two ourices. He advised that the bird spends the winter in Brazil. He explained that in this area the purple martin depends exclusively on human made houses and in the south they also use gourds or woodpecker holes. He advised that the birds have a strong bond with humans and prefer for their housing to be near humans. He stated that purple martins. are aerial insectivores and eat only flying insects, but do not eat mosquitoes. He explained that they had chosen purple martin restoration because they are a fun bird to watch, and the population of the birds in this state had decreased by 80 percent in the last 40 years. He advised that the long term goal is to establish a colony in this park and then spread out and form colonies in other parks throughout the city. He advised that more information could be found on his web site, www.MNMartin.org. He stated that there is also a public forum on the site which provides a lot of good information and gets a lot of activity. He advised that they are also looking into the possibility of having a security camera near the house to deter vandalism. Michael Max questioned if the birds tend to come back to the same nesting area each spring/summer. Hans replied that some studies have shown the same purple martin returning to the same nest for six years in a row. He explained that they bond with the site and return for generations to come. Commissioner Erickson questioned what the lifespan of the purple martin is. Tony replied that if the birds are able to make it through their first year they should then live to be about five years old. Parks Supervisor Riverblood was impressed by the relationships built in the neighborhood through this project. Park and Recreation Commission/July 10, 2008 Page 3 or8