THE 



NA/ILSON BULLETIN 



NO. 108 

 A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY 



VOL. XXXI SEPTEMBER, 1919 NO. 3 



OLD SERIES VOL. XXXI. NEW SERIES VOL. XXVI. 



PURPLE MARTINS AT ST. MARKS, FLORIDA 



BY JOHN WILLIAMS 



St. Marks, Florida, is situated on the St. Marks river, 

 about seven miles up from the open gulf. But little tim- 

 ber appears in the intervale, and save for the lighthouse 

 and two or three small buildings close about it, our vil- 

 lage offers the first resting place for these birds on their 

 return in the spring. Our river at the gulf presents a 

 broad opening of a mile or more in width, making an es- 

 pecially plain landmark for birds coming into land, after 

 an ocean trip. There seems to be little doubt that the 

 " Martins " come to us directly from Cuba, Central Amer- 

 ica or lower Mexico, as on their first appearance they come 

 up the river from the south and frequently show signs of 

 extreme exhaustion when they arrive. 



The following notes extend over the seven seasons 

 from 1912 to 1918, both inclusive, but are noticeably irreg- 

 ular and incomplete, due in the main, I trust, to lack of 

 spare time from regular occupation. 



During the seasons of 1912 and 1913 there was but 

 a single nesting box for the martins in our little village 

 and it was a four-compartment, scant affair that was rap- 

 idly passing into decay, and threatened early dissolution 

 but, as will appear, was evidently '' Home Sweet Home " 

 to certain members of the family and furnished most cher- 

 ished memories. In the spring of 1912 two pairs of birds 

 reared young in this box, and it was thought every high 



