Susan Kirby

Usually, on this site, PM stands for Purple Monster, our Christmas heroine. But on this page, PM stands for purple martins (Progne subis), those broad-chested swallows that do aerial acrobatics to catch insects. Up until a couple of years ago, there was only one sanctuary nesting colony in New York City where you could see purple martins: Lemon Creek Park on Staten Island. The purple martins are very welcome there, with high-rise apartments and gourd single-family dwellings. (I understand there are now some purple martin housing at Jamaica Bay and Croton Point Park, but not sure if these are actually sanctuary nesting colonies.)

These photos are from a visit to the purple martin nesting area on Staten Island on June 1, 2021.

I visited the Lemon Creek colony on June 12, 2020, and was able to catch up a little with these awesome swallows. Do purple martins have tonsils?

More purple martin photos from my trip on June 12, 2020. Some of the fledglings were showing off their new feathers.

I visited Lemon Creek for the first time on June 20, 2017, traveling on the Staten Island Ferry and the Staten Island Railroad. It was so exciting to discover a new place and a new bird. These swallows have so much attitude and personality.

The Filming the Feathers video shows the purple martins at their nests and on a phone line. The music is by Bach and Bartok, arranged for recorder ensemble and performed by Papalin. You'll notice some wooden decoy purple martins in the video and in a photo below. Purple martins love to be in flocks, and the wooden birds welcome visiting swallows to the neighborhood. On the day I visited, I also saw starlings and house sparrows taking up residence in the condominiums.

All photos below were taken on June 20, 2017. The first photo is of one of the wooden decoys. You can see the various "residences" the swallows can find at Lemon Creek Park.