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Martins at WWTP's




	As I mentioned a few days ago in an email, Purple Martins are nesting
at the Asheville wastewater treatment plant.  I decided this might be an
interesting article for our local Audubon Society newsletter, so I called the
manager of the plant and got some more info.  They started setting up Purple
Martin gourds (he said he had much more success with gourds that houses) five
years ago and the Purple Martin population has doubled every year since then. 
He has had to set up more gourds every year. 
	 He didn't think that the use of Martin colonies to control insects was
a common practice at wastewater treatment plants in general.  It sure seems
like something bird clubs could encourage at their local plants.  The plants
are perfect places for Martin colonies - wide open spaces with lots of standing
water and flying insects.  He also said that one of the managers from the
Asheville plant recently relocated to the Raleigh/Neuse treatment plant and was
thinking of setting up some gourds there.
	Anyway, I though this might be an interesting project for some local
bird clubs.
Marilyn Westphal, Hendersonville, NC  email:  mjwestphal@unca.edu