PURPLE MARTIN SCOUTS STAKING CLAIMS EARLY

Some choosy little real-estate shoppers are starting to arrive in the region, a sure sign spring is on its way.

Purple martin scouts have been spotted in the Dexter and Sikeston areas and may be arriving in Cape Girardeau soon to find housing for their flocks.

Bird-watchers believe the scouts arrive a few weeks before larger crowds of purple martins flock in.

"Who knows what they're looking for, to be exact," said Glen Smart, a longtime Cape Girardeau bird-watcher. "They're not making a survey, you understand. They're checking on the availability of nesting sites and habitat."

Smart said he isn't sure how the scouts communicate to the main flock that an area is suitable for nesting. "I guess it's being a little anthropomorphic assuming that they're here to see what's available," he said.

Purple martins usually start showing up around mid-March. Warmer than usual weather means they have started scouting nesting places in Stoddard and Scott counties, said Leother Branch, a conservation agent for the state.

The birds have a major roost area in the region, and southern Missouri is a popular spot for the birds, said Janeen Laatsch, a natural-history regional biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"You'll find more purple martins in southern Missouri than in the north of the state," Laatsch said. "There's a kind of a forested border along the Missouri River, and there aren't as many martins north of it."

The main flocks usually arrive two to three weeks after the scouts, Smart said.

"The scouts are going to be showing up as the weather begins to warm and the days begin to get longer," he said.

More people are putting out houses for purple martins, said Dortha Strack of Sunny Hill Gardens and Florist in Cape Girardeau.

"There are more houses going up all the time," she said. "People like them, because they do catch a lot of mosquitoes."

Purple martins live on mosquitoes and other flying insects.

"They're probably one of the greatest devourers of mosquitoes of any of the bird species," Smart said.

This is a good time to put up a purple martin house, Smart and Strack said. Manufactured homes are available, or hollowed gourds strung 10 to 12 feet high also work well.

The houses need to be out in the open and away from trees so the birds can fly freely while they hunt.

It is also a good idea if the house is near a utility pole or other overhead line so the purple martins have a place to perch.

Purple martins like access to water, whether it is a pond, stream or birdbath.

The birds are "colonial nesters," Smart said, so the apartment-style birdhouses sold commercially are good choices.

Strack said purple martins can be picky tenants. They like their houses to have railings or porches "so the babies don't get out and fall off. That's motherly concern," she said.

"There are a lot of houses available, so they can be pretty choosy," Strack said.

Purple martins are related to swallows and have the same forked tail. They are about the size of a cardinal. The males are purplish-blue, and the females are purplish-blue on the back with a gray belly.

Smart called the purple martin "an unobtrusive little bird with a rather pleasant song."

Other signs of spring are also becoming apparent a little earlier than usual. Frogs are starting to breed, and robins are beginning to establish their territories.