If I had a dime for every time I rolled my eyes when my Mom talked about her beloved Purple Martins, I might be able to knock a few working years off this life and retire early.
But a day finally came when I stopped rolling my eyes and really listened. Purple Martins are fussy birds and my Mom attracted them all the way from Brazil to our rural back yard. She positioned their hotel-style houses with care, up on high poles. She dutifully cleaned out their little suites, scared off predators and watched happily as the adults taught their babies to fly. I believe one of her friends is still trying, decades later, to get just one bird to visit a similar house in their yard.
Now Purple Martins are apparently on the verge of becoming endangered, according to Nature Canada, the oldest nature conservation charity in this county. Their numbers are falling by 4.1% a year, so they’re on a watch list. The humble Bank Swallow’s numbers are diminishing faster, by 8.9% annually. Some conservation-minded friends on Twitter shared a petition Nature Canada is assembling to send to Minister of Environment Leona Aglukkaq, in an effort to convince her to designate the Barn Swallow and Bank Swallow as threatened under the Species at Risk Act. Purple Martins may be next. I signed. You can join me, here: LINK TO PETITION.