Migration Mapping - Purple Martins -

The Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA) is a non-profit organization “devoted exclusively to the scientific study of Purple Martins (Progne subis), their biology, and habitat requirements”.

One important project of the PMCA is called the Scout Arrival Study. They collect migration reports from all over the United States and then map them according to when and where they arrive. Each year (since 1998) the PMCA collects more and more data.

This map shows the arrival dates and breeding ranges of Purple Martins

The PMCA also collects data on the location of Purple Martin colonies. Anyone with housing for Purple Martins (whether active or inactive) can fill out a short form with their information. There are over 50,000 registered colonies. Tracking birds by user information through the internet is a growing method of figuring out where birds are being seen (or not seen).

4 thoughts on “Migration Mapping – Purple Martins”

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Very nice graphic of purple martin migration. You should know at the time of writing this that the migration is a little slower this year due to the crazy weather here in Oklahoma. Still though, I look forward to them arriving!

No sightings, yet

The PMCA does some really cool stuff. I use them each year to determine when I should be putting my purple martin houses up. Obviously people in the north don’t need to do it for a while, but if you’re in Florida you should be getting prepared by Christmas time!