Be a Part of Purple Martin Research
By Amber Burnette
Since bird conservation is a prime objective for Travis Audubon, we have recently added a research component to our Purple Martin work by banding nestling Purple Martins.
One of our Travis Audubon Purple Martin landlords, Amber Burnette, a federally licensed bird bander, has been banding nestlings and adult martins at several colony sites. Banding birds is the process of marking individuals so that they can be identified and monitored by observers. A silver metal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (federal) band is applied to the right leg, but there are nine digits to read, which makes it a little challenging unless one has optics. There is an auxiliary marker on the left that makes it a bit easier. It is a light blue band with black letters and numbers.
A Purple Martin modeling the metal USFWS band (its right leg) and the easier-to-read auxiliary band (left leg).
This long-term research reveals how our local birds live — whether they disperse to other colonies after fledging, how long they live, and other key life history details. The data will help build an area-specific species profile and deepen understanding of Purple Martin populations. In 2026, over 500 Purple Martins were banded at Austin-area colonies belonging to Travis Audubon landlords, which brings us to over 1,000 individual birds since the project began in 2024.
With the help of Purple Martin landlords, the birds are able to “tell” us some information about them. While we are just starting to collect information about “our” Austin area birds—and the information we have is based only on the birds we have identified, as we do not know how many birds actually survive year to year—we are excited about the results.
Amber has banded nestlings and adults at twelve colonies so far in the Austin metro since we started the project in 2024. We have identified 24 birds at nine of the colonies in 2026. Roughly half of the birds returned to the colony they were hatched in, and the others dispersed to other colonies. The distance ranged from less than two miles to about 20 miles. This means the birds hatched in the Austin area, migrated to Brazil, and then returned to breed in their second year of life, but made different choices in locations to breed. It was about half and half, male and female, that we identified.
A female Purple Martin holds a dragonfly in her mouth (foreground) while a male Purple Martin taps on top of the gourd (background).
Some neat specific stories? Three Martins that hatched at one colony in the same gourd in 2025 (meaning they were siblings) went to Brazil and came back in 2026 to breed at the same colony! One adult male Purple Martin banded in a colony in 2025 came back to the exact same gourd in the same colony in 2026.
Join the Flock of Purple Martin Enthusiasts and help spot banded birds. If you photograph or see one, email ATXMartinBands@gmail.com. Each future sighting of a banded bird adds to the story of their survival, movement, and breeding—valuable information for Purple Martin conservation.
