Are you looking for something to do after supper or during your spare time? Why not visit Delaware State Park (DSP) and watch Purple Martins that are busy raising their families in three martin hotels that are the creations of Kenny Fecker of Waldo. Kenny’s martin boxes are located between the marina and the boat launch ramp. Whenever I am monitoring my bluebird nestboxes in the park, I make a point to check on the martins. They are always chattering and at this time of year, they are feeding nestlings.
The closed restroom near the boat launch ramp at Delaware State Park now supports Cliff Swallows. A metal bench to the left is used by visitors to watch Purple Martins raise their families in two martin hotels. The marina’s patio is another good viewing spot to watch the third hotel.
There are other times when I experience Kenny’s martins. For the last 25 years, I have taught Bluebird Trail Management to talented and gifted middle school students as part of the OWjL Academic Camp at Ohio Wesleyan University that takes place during three weeks prior to July 4. Students are called campers and have completed either sixth, seventh or eighth grade. Campers live in a campus dormitory for one week and attend four classes each day that mimic a liberal arts curriculum. They also enjoy participating in evening events and are never bored as they make new friends.
During field trips to DSP on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, campers experience highlights of “Bluebird Trail Management” when they hold and examine nestlings that they always call “baby birds.” We inspect active nests in nestboxes to compare life histories, growth and development, and adaptations of Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and House Wrens. Every camper places a leg band on a nestling and experiences other techniques practiced by field ornithologists. Other adventures include exploring the OWU Zoology Museum on Monday and building a high quality bluebird nestbox of their own on Friday. The course is designed to launch a lifetime interest in wild birds.
We always visit the park’s martin boxes on our last weekly field trip, and during some years, Kenny has been available to give the campers a hands-on moment with our largest swallow. This year, Kenny was available for each of the three-week sessions. We met at 9:30, and Kenny would lower one of his hotels and extract nest trays to check for eggs, bare hatchlings, and older families. Fully feathered nestlings became available during the third week of camp.
When we arrived on June 26, we met Kenny at his two boxes near the park’s closed restroom building. Kenny was eager to show ten campers and Jack, the van-driving counselor, and me, the recent feathered tenants under the eves of the restroom. Cliff Swallows had claimed the abandoned building for their own and were busy building their enclosed gourd-shaped mud nest chambers. My guess is that they had built their original nests under small creek bridges only to have floodwaters wipe them out. Seeing and discussing the multicolored swallows were a good addition to the curriculum.
After being impressed with the Cliff Swallows, we walked to the nearest martin hotel and Kenny lowered it and placed feathered martin nestlings into the hands of the middle schoolers for their inspections. During the time remaining, campers learned of the martins’ natural history and our partnership with Brazil and other southern neighbors in an effort to do what is best for our treasured birds.
So, if you need something interesting to do, visit Delaware State Park to see Cliff and Tree Swallows and three very active martin hotels full of talkative families. Hopefully, you will also see some bluebirds and House Wrens using man-made housing throughout the park. And, if you run into Kenny Fecker as he monitors his martins, thank him for his contribution.
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