Three Images, taken this past Saturday at the Nepean Sailing Club were the annual banding of Purple martins was in progress. I am not sure of the exact number of Purple Martin apartments in the two large birdhouses, but my recollection is that there are about 125 of which about 95 have nests and young martins in them. The banding takes place over a four week period since the young are of varying sizes and ages and need to be a certain size and age before being banded.

The banding involves the lowering of the birdhouses for a one-two hour period. During this time, the adult Martins are impatiently waiting with beaks packed full of food for their young. Whilst they wait, they fly about some and perch on top of the roof of the house which remains up, or they perch in branches of nearby trees.

Top image: An adult couple, with beaks full, wait impatiently in a nearby tree.


The same pair; however, the male decided not to wait any longer and proceeded to swallow the meal himself. It then went off to catch some more.


A close-up of a female with its beak stuffed to the brim. There seem to be about 6 to 8 bugs in its beak. They look like wasps, but could also be large flies, perhaps a combination of Wasps, Horse Flies, Deer Flies, Hover Flies and Green Bottle Flies. I don't know how they can catch so many and keep them in their beaks.