The Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA)'s live-streaming gourd cams are up and running!  With two camera views - one inside the gourd and one outside - viewers have an incredible view of a nesting pair of purple martins at PMCA's headquarters in Erie, PA.  Using high quality cameras and sensitive microphones, the nest can be viewed 24 hours a day without disturbing the birds.  The female laid her first egg on May 31 and the pair is currently incubating a full clutch of 5 eggs. 

While Florida's purple martins arrive from Brazil generally in late January/early February and the breeding season ends by July, purple martins nest later the farther north they go in order to coincide with the emergence of insects upon which they feed.  

As we prepare to say goodbye to the last of our Venice Audubon colony purple martins, you can enjoy watching the nesting process through the PMCA live cams and better appreciate the amazing process of raising a new generation of purple martins.  To view the nest cams on YouTube, click this link: https://www.youtube.com/live/WzMDQIvDhC8?feature=shared