In Portuguese, bem-vindo de volta translates to “welcome back” in English. A few weeks ago in South America (primarily in Brazil), hundreds of visitors began their annual journey north to return to Logan County.  

Preparations have been underway since to prepare for their arrival. Last week Joe Lautenbach, wildlife biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, addressed the members of the Benjamin Logan Environmental Science Club to share about purple martins, our eagerly anticipated guests, as well as bluebirds and chimney swifts (another migratory species).  

Following Lautenbach’s presentation, the students assembled at the school's purple martin gourd rack for the annual reinstall of the gourd shaped apartments that will house the birds during the upcoming breeding season. 

The Benjamin Logan campus is not the only host for purple martins in Logan County. Myeerah Nature Preserve has two martin houses, and a new complex was just installed at the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center.  

The purple martin is North America's largest swallow. Weighing in at around 48 grams, the adult purple martin has a wingspan of about 39-41 cm and is about 19-22 cm in length.  

Famous for their graceful flight and voracious appetite for insects, purple martins eat and drink completely while flying.  

As migratory songbirds, the purple martin spends winters in South America and returns in the spring to nest. This annual migration distance is between 5,000 and 10,000 miles.  

Migrating birds, including species like purple martins, can fly for days by employing unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, where one half of the brain rests while the other stays awake to navigate, Lautenbach shared. This adaptation allows them to remain alert to dangers and maintain aerodynamic control with one eye open while "half-sleeping" during long flights.  

The breeding range of purple martins is as far south as Florida all the way up to Canada. East of the Rocky Mountains, purple martins will only nest in homes we put up for them. Purple martins return to the same nesting site each year, and often to the same apartment.  

Native Americans were providing gourd homes for martins prior to European settlement. In the early 19th century, noted naturalist John James Audubon rated the quality of an inn by the quality of the martin house that he observed outside. 

 If you would like to host some martins on your property, information can be found at https://purplemartinplace.com/ and https://www.troyergourds.com/ 

The week before learning about purple martins and other migratory bird species, the Environmental Science Club members went on a water bear hunt. In 1773 a German scientist discovered these creatures that are about the size of a period on a page. He called them “little water bears” because of their gait and appearance.  

They are famous for their ability to withstand extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, and even radiation. Tardigrades (slow steppers) are found from the depths of the oceans to the peaks of mountains as well as any moist environment on the planet. These characteristics fascinated these young scientists who collected moss samples so that they could search for the creatures using a compound light microscope. 

For more information about the Benjamin Logan Environmental Science Club contact [email protected]. To support the Logan County Land Trust please contact https://logancountylandtrust.org/.