MartinFest 2025
June 28, 2025 10:00AM to 4:00PM
Oconto City Park (Wisconsin Purple Martin Public Colony Site)
5182 County Highway N, Oconto, WI 54153
Oconto City Park (Wisconsin Purple Martin Public Colony Site)
5182 County Highway N, Oconto, WI 54153
The Wisconsin Purple Martin Association (WPMA) invites you to join us for the Free 15th Annual MartinFest with our sponsors to celebrate the beloved Purple Martin (Progne subis subis) along with Bird City Oconto.
Oconto City Park is a 24 acre site containing 700 feet of beach along the Bay of Green Bay, providing a picturesque setting to celebrate with your whole family watching purple martins along with mingling with martin enthusiasts. Weather permitting: seeing up close martin young, eggs, and live capturing of adult martins for banding. A vendor for purple martin housing will be present. Please join us for our Silent Auction for educational support throughout the day with awarding of items after 3:00 PM.
Facilities include playground, camping facilities, and flushed bathrooms. The Farnsworth Library will be present for activities with a scheduled storybook walk. Talks on banding, purple martin nest checks and nest replacements, a demonstration about taking horizontal gourds to drill and install 90 degree elbows on the covers for air circulation, on bluebirds and trail monitoring, fossils, reptiles, bees, Motus towers, etc.
Oconto City Park is a 24 acre site containing 700 feet of beach along the Bay of Green Bay, providing a picturesque setting to celebrate with your whole family watching purple martins along with mingling with martin enthusiasts. Weather permitting: seeing up close martin young, eggs, and live capturing of adult martins for banding. A vendor for purple martin housing will be present. Please join us for our Silent Auction for educational support throughout the day with awarding of items after 3:00 PM.
Facilities include playground, camping facilities, and flushed bathrooms. The Farnsworth Library will be present for activities with a scheduled storybook walk. Talks on banding, purple martin nest checks and nest replacements, a demonstration about taking horizontal gourds to drill and install 90 degree elbows on the covers for air circulation, on bluebirds and trail monitoring, fossils, reptiles, bees, Motus towers, etc.
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Purple Martin Schedule of Events
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Wisconsin Purple Martin Association (WPMA) Registration. Talk to WPMA Board Members throughout day on issues concerning purple martins. Housing Vendor will be present near registration area for people interested in homemade housing. 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM Silent Auction. Items will be awarded after 3:00 PM. Must be present to win with payment due and pick up items. 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Capture of Purple Martin adults and young by licensed banders who attach bands for the Bird Banding Laboratory (Weather permitting). Presentation on nest checks and nest replacement & Presentation on venting of gourds 3:00 PM Silent Auction Ends with announcement of awards afterwards 4:00 PM End of MartinFest |
Other Events & Booths Scheduled
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM--Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin with presentation, house monitoring & sale 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM--Raptor Education Presentation 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM--
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Food fundraiser provided by the Park and Recreation Department of Oconto
Oconto City Park Purple Martin Colony
Oconto Purple Martin Colonies comprise of several sites across the city proper totaling several types of housing comprised of two Lonestar Alamo houses (Aluminum) at City Park on two poles and at City Dock one pole with two reconstructed Trio Wade houses (Aluminum) with four plastic gourds comprising of three Super Gourds and one Troyer Vertical gourd hanging below on a pole through the 2024 nesting season. The City Park site was started in 2015 while Oconto was one of the many of Wisconsin’s Bird Cities started in (2012). The first purple martin housing placement at City Park was comprised of a single unit Trio Wade (Nature House) now Erva which had ten pairs (total cavities 12 of 6” X 6” X 6”) of martins in the first season. In 2016, two houses called “16 Family Purple Martin Barn” (Figure A) from S & K Manufacturing Inc were placed in the spring by the Oconto Park’s Department, which were quickly occupied by 14 pairs of purple martins that laid 54 eggs. During 2017, the S & K houses were replaced with a grant from the “Songbird Essentials Buy One-Get One Grant Program” when two Lonestar Alamo houses were erected (Figure B). The 2017 season at City Park yielded ten pairs that laid 52 eggs, hatched 43 young, and fledged 39 young.
In 2018 at City Park, there were 11 pairs that fledged 51 young. In addition, a new housing complex (Figure C) was placed within the city of Oconto at a place called City Dock. This was a reconstructed set of Trio Wade housing made originally by Nature House Inc which was sold to Erva. Housing is aluminum with reconstruction placing three stories high on two sets of housing with three Super Gourds and a Troyer Vertical gourd suspended below that were gifted to Oconto and placed on a square pole. Here 4 pairs of martins nested at this new site and fledged 17 young.
In 2019, Oconto City Park had seven pairs fledged 33 young and at City Dock another 13 pairs fledging 56 young. High water at City Park began rising during 2018 through 2021 affecting the housing stability. Note Figure D showing the unstable soil and wave actions impacting the base along the high-water line.
Nesting season during 2020 provided stable high-water levels at City Park carrying through 2023 was a gift when shoreline levels started to go down. In 2024 water levels have come down more with the hope for 2025 to have low levels not impacting any housing. New housing to be placed is housing donated by Troyer Gourds (Figure G) with its current demonstration site for Martin Fest 2025 at City Park then its permanent placement at City Dock thereafter. https://www.troyergourds.com/
Bird City Oconto
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Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (Oconto County)—Gene Birr (920) 461-0108
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Farnsworth Public Library in Oconto—(920) 834-7730
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R L Hall Land Title Company Inc—David Hall (920) 835-5733
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Troyer’s Birds Paradise—Adam Troyer (814) 587-2756
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Sponsor Contacts:
WPMA—Co-Presidents Les Rhines (920) 889-0060 & Nicki Schumacher (920) 207-6480
Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin ( Oconto County)—Gene Birr (920) 461-0108
City of Oconto Parks Recreation & Forestry—Director (920) 834-7706, https://cityofoconto.com/parks-and-rec/
Farnsworth Public Library in Oconto—(920) 834-7730
R L Hall Land Title Company Inc—David Hall (920) 835-5733
WPMA—Co-Presidents Les Rhines (920) 889-0060 & Nicki Schumacher (920) 207-6480
Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin ( Oconto County)—Gene Birr (920) 461-0108
City of Oconto Parks Recreation & Forestry—Director (920) 834-7706, https://cityofoconto.com/parks-and-rec/
Farnsworth Public Library in Oconto—(920) 834-7730
R L Hall Land Title Company Inc—David Hall (920) 835-5733
