By Roni A. K. Graham
Herald Correspondent
The City of Sanford and Seminole Audubon Society continue in their collaboration to provide safe shelters for the Purple Martin bird.
They held a recent windy “gourd-raising” ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Sanford Marina. Two new state-of-the-art Purple Martin habitat units were inaugurated for the upcoming birding season. The birds roosted by the thousands last summer in Sanford, garnering more funding for this season’s shelters. There is also a goal to attract more of the birds with 36 gourds raised to a height of 16 feet.
After the Purple Martin Bird was seen nesting in streetlights in 2016, this habitat project has been ongoing. In 2017, the first habitat was established, and the songbird population has only increased since.
The Purple Martin is a migratory bird that spends part of the year in South America and stops in Florida each year. They like to live near water and people and nest primarily in habitats that are man-made, making the Sanford Marina on Lake Monroe’s shore perfect. According to the Seminole Audubon Society, “They nest in the gourds and lay eggs which hatch in early summer. These birds then live in the local area and eat insects such as dragonflies and mosquitoes. In the fall, they return in large numbers to South America for the winter.”
The building of these safe havens for these friendly creatures is popular in Florida. Disney World holds more than 300 gourds that visitors have been able to see while they enjoy the theme park. The University of Central Florida has also done extensive research on the species. In 2021, UCF’s Department of Biology managed a total of 144 gourds for nesting.’
The Seminole Audubon Society looks forward to catering to the Purple Martins again this season and the public can now view the set up at the Marina.
