Watching, Learning, Protecting

Wednesday, May 27, 2026 7:30am-9:00am
Location:  Meet at the Purple Martin Housing at the Equestrian Center
Max:  10
Cost: Free for 2026 members, $10 for guests 
Trip Leader: Jen Jerome

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Beginning last year Seabrook Island Birders established Purple Martin Housing at the Seabrook Island Equestrian center. We were extremely fortunate enough to have our gourds accepted and inhabited with nesting birds and our first egg laid on May 25 of 2025.

We ended up with 5 successfully fledged young. Some of you might remember the wonderful video of “Violet,” our very first fledgling last year, provided by Gina Sanders.

They have returned this year, our first nest building began April 7, 2026 and our first bird sighting was April 11, 2026. Since that time they have been busy checking out all of our 6 gourds, establishing mates and finding just the right one to start building a little Purple Martin (PUMA) family. It’s been fun to watch as they jostle for a spot, the #2 gourd seems very popular and was the most successful nesting gourd last year!

Our team of volunteers will continue to monitor and report our information to the Purple Martin Conservation Association throughout the season.

We are planning to meet as a SIB group at the Equestrian Center on May 27th at 7:30 a.m. to view the progress and take in the beauty of the morning bird activity as they awaken for the day. We have also established Eastern Bluebird nesting boxes in the near vicinity, we already have eggs in two of the boxes at the time of writing this, so we may see some Bluebird action as well!

Bring a chair, binoculars and whatever else to make you comfortable while we sit and watch a while.

If you are not yet a 2026 SIB member, you may become a member for only $15 by following the instructions on our website: Become a Member. You may bring the form and your dues to the event. Or you may pay the Guest Fee of $10.

Please register no later than May 25th.  All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior to the trip.  If you need to cancel, please let us know so we can invite people on the waitlist to attend.