Purple Martin
Progne subis
Purple Martins are the largest of all American swallows and are common summer visitors in eastern North America and a few places in the west. They all fly south in the winter, some as far as northern Argentina. Man-made nest boxes, or Martin condos, are preferred by the birds in the eastern USA, but the birds in the western USA seem to prefer natural cavities, such as woodpecker holes for nesting.
Today, science recognises three subspecies of Purple Martin:
- P. s. subis breeds across eastern North America from southern Canada south into south-central Mexico, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast. They spend winters in South America east of the Andes from Colombia south to northern Argentina.
- P. s. arboricola breeds throughout the Rocky Mountains, south to western Texas, and in the Pacific Northwest south to southern Baja California (Mexico). Researchers believe they spend winters in South America.
- P. s. hesperia breeds in the deserts of southern Baja California (Mexico), and southern Arizona south to Sonora (Mexico). They probably spend winters in South America.
Prior to visiting Texas in 2020, my only encounters with Purple Martins were with high-flyers zipping through the air at break-neck speeds. Thanks to a Martin condo in the RV park, where I stayed during the earliest lock-down phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was blessed with intimate encounters with these birds. The opportunity played a pivotal role in keeping me sane during insane times. I learned to recognize their bubbling songs and the calls they shared with the world while they chased high-flying insects.
24 Photos
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: Against a gray sky, these Purple Martins made nice silhouettes. My third day of exploration of Aransas NWR was a memorable one. I boarded the tour boat the "Skimmer" and got schooled by Captain Tommy Moore on a three plus hour cruise of the back-bays and waterways beyond the view of the public from the tour roads on the reserve. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:17 8:22 |
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Location:
Fulton Harbor |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D503163-BoatRide-Aransas-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Against a gray sky, these Purple Martins made nice silhouettes. My third day of exploration of Aransas NWR was a memorable one. I boarded the tour boat the "Skimmer" and got schooled by Captain Tommy Moore on a three plus hour cruise of the back-bays and waterways beyond the view of the public from the tour roads on the reserve. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:17 8:27 |
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Location:
Fulton Harbor |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D503185-BoatRide-Aransas-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Against a gray sky, these Purple Martins made nice silhouettes. My third day of exploration of Aransas NWR was a memorable one. I boarded the tour boat the "Skimmer" and got schooled by Captain Tommy Moore on a three plus hour cruise of the back-bays and waterways beyond the view of the public from the tour roads on the reserve. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:17 8:27 |
|
Location:
Fulton Harbor |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D503186-BoatRide-Aransas-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:03 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508081-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:04 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508099-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:04 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508128-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:04 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 280 mm, f/5.6, 1/3200 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508170-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:06 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508198-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:14 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 400 mm, f/9.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508284-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:14 |
|
Location:
Breeze Lake |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 330 mm, f/9.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508294-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:15 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 280 mm, f/9.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508338-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: My "home base" in Brownsville Texas has a "Reseca" or Oxbow lake on its border. I spent my mornings checking out the local birdlife. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:04 10:29 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D509119-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: My "home base" in Brownsville Texas has a "Reseca" or Oxbow lake on its border. I spent my mornings checking out the local birdlife. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:04 10:33 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D509178-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: Flight shots of these Purple Martins proved a challenge. Stationary shots were much easier to capture. The camp where I spent April in Brownsville, Texas has a "Reseca" or Oxbow lake on its border, Several feeder stations, with tall trees and grassy areas. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:26 8:54 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508439Breeze-Lake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:15 |
|
Location:
Breeze Lake |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 280 mm, f/9.0, 1/2500 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508368-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:15 |
|
Location:
Breeze Lake |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 280 mm, f/9.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D508364-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin Condo(Scenery) |
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Description: Purple Martins have a “condo” at my "home base" in Brownsville Texas, where a "Resaca" or Oxbow lake is on its southern border. I spent April Fools morning checking out the local bird life. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:01 9:17 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: moto x4, 3.99 mm, 1/1000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin-Condo-20200401_091751-BreezeLake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
|
Description: Against a gray sky, these Purple Martins made nice silhouettes. My third day of exploration of Aransas NWR was a memorable one. I boarded the tour boat the "Skimmer" and got schooled by Captain Tommy Moore on a three plus hour cruise of the back-bays and waterways beyond the view of the public from the tour roads on the reserve. |
Date Taken: 2020:03:17 8:27 |
|
Location:
Fulton Harbor |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D503182-BoatRide-Aransas-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: I’d not seen Purple Martins this winter in south Texas until I came to Edinburg. These were the early-birds of the species. I had an errand to run in McAllen Texas on Saturday and took the opportunity to meet a new birding location in the area, called the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands. What a lovely place! |
Date Taken: 2021:02:06 13:36 |
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Location:
Edinburg Scenic Wetlands |
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Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/11.0, 1/800 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_D5X9368-Edinburg |
| © 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: It was fun to see Purple Martins at Lake Kimiwan. I hadn’t spent any time with them since my last visit to Texas. |
Date Taken: 2022:07:04 16:13 |
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Location:
Kimiwan Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_8508467-KimiwanLake.AB_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: It was fun seeing Purple Martins at Lake Kimiwan. I had not spent time with them since my last visit to Texas. |
Date Taken: 2022:07:05 8:17 |
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Location:
Kimiwan Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_8508792-KimiwanLake.AB_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: It was fun seeing Purple Martins at Lake Kimiwan. I had not spent time with them since my last visit to Texas. |
Date Taken: 2022:07:05 8:17 |
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Location:
Kimiwan Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_8508785-KimiwanLake.AB_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: It was fun to see Purple Martins at Lake Kimiwan. I hadn’t spent any time with them since my last visit to Texas. |
Date Taken: 2022:07:04 15:39 |
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Location:
Kimiwan Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/8000 |
File Name: PurpleMartin_8508173-KimiwanLake.AB_ |
| © 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Purple Martin(Progne subis) |
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Description: This speedy flyer was hard to capture at Agua Caliente Park in North-Eastern Tucson, Arizona. |
Date Taken: 2013:08:27 8:37 |
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Location:
Agua Caliente Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: D3X1865-PurpleMartin |
| © 2013 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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