Hello Everybody:
            Have been hearing, and I might add, experiencing some bad news regarding the  "Most Wanted Bird in America", the Purple Martin. I had received a call within the last several days from a friend of mine that manages a fairly large Purple Martin colony in our area. He advised me, because of the rather "cold" week prior to the July 4th weekend, that there was a major die-off of young Martins, still in the nest. Because of the lack of flying insects, the parents were unable to provide the necessary food. I then made a call to a friend that advised me that the die-off was very wide spread throughout the Midwest. I became very concerned. I manage three colony sites in our area (my residence, Pleasant Hill Lake, and Malabar Farm State Park). Until now, these locations have done well. Bad news!!  Found out that after doing a nest check I experienced major losses in young.
            Question--- has anybody heard of similar reports?  I had not seen any reports concerning this occurrence. I do realize that Mother Nature has a way of keeping things in balance. We have to accept this (not always easy).
                         A concerned Martin Landlord.
                              Don Plant, Perrysville, Ohio (Mohican Country)




______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]