Hurricane Ian devastated the Purple Martin colonies in Cape Coral.  Purple Martins use only human-supplied housing in North America to produce their young.  Since Jim's arrival in Cape Coral almost 20 years ago, he has helped set up many new Purple Martin colonies in Cape Coral.  The canals of Cape Coral prove to be a favorite nesting place for "America's Favorite Bird".

Needless to say, the hurricane winds brought most of the housing units and gourd racks crashing to the ground and into the water.  The damage was extensive and varied - poles bent, ground stakes pulled up, gourds in the water etc.  With the help of CCFW and PMCA (Purple Martin Conservation Assoc.) we were able to order new parts at manufacturers' cost plus shipping.

Then the real work began of re-erecting 25+colonies from the ground up.  Jim was able to get help from some good friends to assist with this daunting task, but it took a great supervisor to figure out all of the supplies and tools needed to put the racks back up.  Keep in mind we were under a time crunch, as the Martins begin returning from their winter home in Brazil in January.  We were able to get everything done in time for the first arriving Purple Martins.

In a poetic gesture from Mother Nature, the first birds in Cape Coral arrived the evening of January 1, flying right over our house! They were saying "thank you" even though they had no idea about the hurricane damage since they were thankfully in Brazil at the time of Ian. It was the earliest return recorded in Cape Coral, and the third sighting in North America for 2023!

Jim wants to thank all of the volunteers that helped with this big job.  We had a record season for Purple Martins in the Cape.  Hundreds of new babies fledged from the re-erected house and gourds, all thanks to Jim and his volunteers.  A well deserved award for him. - Cheryl