Purple Martins - North America’s Largest Swallows
Presented by Ranger Ken
Saturday, May 24, 2025 - 1:00pm
Did you know, Connetquot Preserve is home to a colony of Purple Martins? Purple Martins are beautiful, graceful flyers that live in colonies, depend on man-made housing and feed exclusively on flying insects. Martins overwinter in the Amazon Basin and start their spring migration into North America around the end of January, showing up in Florida in early February. Depending on weather and food supply the first Purple Martins, called scouts, arrive on Long Island around the first week of April to start their breeding season. Most Martins in this area start heading back south by the beginning of August.
Ken is the father of two 20 something daughters and has been married to his wife Juliette for 32 years. A lifelong Long Islander, he spent 40 years as a software engineer and is now semi-retired and working as a seasonal park ranger at Connetquot State Park. Ken first became interested in Purple Martins after spotting 40+ Martins sitting on a power line up in Westchester. Ken has been a Purple Martin landlord for about 10 years and currently has 3 poles with a total of 40 cavities in his yard in Blue Point.
Enjoy Ranger Ken’s presentation on Purple Martins and then he will lead a hike into the field for observations!
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