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Purple Martin Wonder of the WorldThe Purple Martin Tower By Rick Cruz
There may be other Purple Martin towers, but the tower that Dennis Zwerenz constructed for his colony site and study of martins is truly one of a kind. Even though he is yet to host his first martin pair at the Tower, Dennis gave several years of intense thought to Purple Martin behavior as well as consideration to what is in the best interest for Purple Martins. As he built the thirty–foot tower, he incorporated, not only his in–depth thinking, but all the latest Purple Martin management techniques and devices into the Tower in order to provide the ultimate martin management with minimal disturbance and stress for Purple Martins. The most notable feature of the Tower is its sheer, impressive size. From top to bottom, it reaches thirty feet into the Hampshire sky. It is easily visible several miles away, and from a distance, resembles a grain silo. It is even considered to be a local landmark. Up close, one can hardly imagine something this size could be a martin house, but the six–sided structure, filled with evenly–spaced bird entrance holes makes it unmistakably Martinique. The Tower, itself, is positioned on a hand–mixed and poured concrete slab that is strongly reinforced with steel rods, just like a house. On this slab, Dennis erected a series of modules with 2"x 6" pressured–treated wood boards, Styrofoam insulation, aluminum framing and vinyl siding. The bottom part of the Tower structure not only anchors and supports the bird housing on top, but functions also as the elevator shaft for the 2,000–pound electric powered winch that carries the floor, and its human cargo, to the observation and nest box areas up at the top. In shape, the Tower is akin to the famous World’s Fair Space Needle in Seattle, WA. From the outside, the topmost module resembles a white hexagonal gazebo with a stylish turret roof. The roof itself boasts a diameter of 11' 4" at the widest part of the roof. The handsome exterior of the turret roof is covered with luminous stainless steel, giving a long life to the roof and an absence of rust. It is also sun–reflective. Dennis remarks that the roof does not need to be made of stainless steel, but since he had the material on hand, he used it. Each of the six sides boasts twenty-eight 2" PVC cleanouts with caps complete with threads that function as entrance holes. So, when completed, the Tower has the combined potential of 168 nesting compartments. With this in mind, Dennis thought that nesting Purple Martins might get confused, or disoriented, in finding their chosen compartments. Knowing that birds can distinguish color, each side of the house is color–coded. Though the house itself is white, all individual porch trim edges on each particular side are assigned one color. So, one side facing each one of the six sides is either green, red, purple, yellow, dark blue, or light blue. To assist in color–coding, an 8" x 20" fold–out panel, underneath the observation module, is also the same matching color. When necessary, these panels fold out on the outside wall, under the observation module, as large serving trays, offering nesting material, grit, eggshell and mealworms to the Purple Martins. Completely vinyl–sided, The Purple Martin Tower is pleasing to the eye and is designed to withstand the rigors, and the poundings, of the elements in different seasons. The outside is impressive enough, but the real magic takes place inside. When ornithologists study nesting birds, they often erect a camouflaged blind, in which they crawl, so their presence does not alter, or disturb, the birds’ natural and normal behavior. Well, Dennis reversed this idea. He places himself in the center of the nest box area at the top, and allows the birds within the Tower compartments, to maintain a normal life with minimal disturbance and anxiety, but with maximum management. The inside Tower diameter is about five–feet, providing ample and comfortable room for the observer and a guest inside. The Tower is fully wired for normal household current. While Dennis can operate certain devices from inside the Tower, he can also operate the same devices from a master control panel in his workshop, located in his house, some seventy feet away. This electrical power is used to control a variety of features. Here, in Northern Illinois, cold springs can be devastating to martins. So, Dennis has installed a special heat system under each set of removable nest trays. The heating elements are the same type used in heating the floors in houses. Used in this fashion, the individual nesting trays can be heated to any desirable temperature for the comfort of martins. In addition, Dennis can heat the entire Tower structure by just placing a portable heater inside. To aid in the even distribution of temperature, a 20–inch reversible fan has been placed in the top of the turreted roof. This fan can draw air in, or out, depending on weather conditions, though the air vents at the very top of the tower and through ventilation holes drilled in the individual nest box drawers that he uses. Below this fan is a large omni-directional speaker that can play the Dawnsong, or anything Dennis chooses. Of course, there is lighting. Nothing fancy right now. Just a common desk lamp with whatever size light bulb one desires. In the future, Dennis will install better lighting in the final phases of completion. The most vital use of electrical power is for the 2,000 pound electrical winch that hoists the pivoting floor on 3/8" cable to the nesting compartments, 20–feet overhead. The floor–lifting winch can comfortably carry two people to the top, at one time, on a 48" platform. A hand–held box, with an up and down switch, allows the lift to stop at any point on its trip, a vital prerequisite for a tower that can be completely assembled and disassembled, if need be. It moves rather slowly, yet quietly, along four 2-¼" tracks, bolted firmly to the inside of the Tower. After a 2–minute ride to the top, the lift stops at the observation area. As one goes up on the lift inside, one notices a small motor assembly and a series of armatures on one of the inside walls. Simply, it is an inexpensive daisy–wheel motor that moves arms that move the martin decoys on the outside of the Tower. Yes, the decoys are moving just like the animated Christmas figures we see during the Christmas holidays. Dennis makes and molds his own decoys. No details were spared in this project. With modeling clay, Dennis fashioned martins with only upper torsos. He designed them with fine details. With a special rubber compound, he painted the rubber material onto the molded clay martin figures in layers, thus making the rubber molds thicker and stronger with each stroke. Once the rubber molds cures, Dennis fills the molds with Plaster of Paris. When these dry, Dennis realistically paints the decoys, distinguishing male and female birds. After painting the martin torso decoys, Dennis drills screws into the decoy bases, leaving an extension of the screws. Then, he pours plaster of Paris into threaded PVC caps and inserts the decoys, with screw extensions into these caps. When finished, Dennis slightly screws the threaded caps into threaded holes in the outside walls, hooks up the armatures to the decoys and to the daisy wheel motor. Voila! The half–torso decoys move from side to side on the outside, hopefully luring hapless Purple Martins to their new home in the Purple Martin Tower. The nesting area, above the observation area, is where martin management takes place. This is the heart, as well as the brain center, of the Tower. In this area, Dennis can access each of the 168 nesting compartments in 42 individual nest trays, stacked on shelves along the inside wall of the Observation Area. The nest trays consist of four individual 6" x 14" units, grouped into one removable, slide–in unit. Removing partitions can change the inside dimensions of each tray simply and quickly. So, in a few moments, there can be four 6" x 14", three 8" x 14" compartments, two 12" x 14" compartments, or by capping three entrance holes, one large 14" x 24" compartment. Just as the Purple Martin Tower is not just an ordinary tower, these compartments are not your ordinary martin nesting chambers! Not only are they heated, but artificial bowl–shaped Styrofoam nests have been added. Dennis easily changes these artificial nest inserts through the one–way viewing panel at the back of each individual compartment. The back panels of each compartment allow Dennis to see exactly what is going on inside the nesting areas without disturbing the birds. He can easily make these two–way Mylar ® panels opaque by using 2" masking tape, leaving a small area for viewing. With these large compartments, problems arise. Starlings! No problem! All the Tower compartments come with build–in, combination traps to catch anything that comes through the entrance holes from the front. A specially–hinged door lies flat against the ceiling of each compartment. Attached to these doors is a fine piece of fishing line. This line is attached to a peg on the outside of the compartment in the back from where Dennis observes. If he sees a starling, or a House Sparrow, enter from the outside, from his perch inside the Tower chamber, Dennis simply pulls the peg. Quickly and automatically, the door swings down, blocking exit back to the entrance hole. The unwanted bird is trapped inside. Since these doors are manually controlled, there is no way to accidentally trap any martins. In the period between May 1–25, Dennis dispatched 23 misguided starlings. A typical scenario: a starling is captured inside while its mate waits patiently outside on the porch for its return. When the trap door is reset, the anxious bird outside moves right in to see its mate, only to suffer the same fate. In the event of nesting martins, Dennis prepared removable starling–resistant entrance panels to be placed in front of the artificial nest bowl areas to prevent marauding starlings’ access to a martin nest in the event that he is not present. These same specially–hinged doors also provide an important feature in that they also allow Dennis to close off the front areas, when he nest checks, so that no martin young launch themselves out the entrance hole. The doors provide an extra benefit whereas Dennis can deal with a martin family, one at a time, which, in turns, reduces stress level of the entire colony. As impressive as all this is, the most amazing thing is that the Tower is completely modular. With the exception of the cement foundation, Dennis designed the complete structure to be assembled, and disassembled, by one person. Yes! ONE person! An achievement in itself! With only the help of the one–ton winch, Dennis constructed this Purple Martin skyscraper palace by himself. The Purple Martin Tower was a dream, idea, design and construction that Dennis planned in his head for three years. There are no plans! There is not a single blueprint, or schematic available outside of this talented and clever man’s head. From the mixing and the pouring of the foundation, to the top of this incredibly awesome edifice, 30–feet high, Dennis constructed it all by himself. And, the cost of this tower? Don’t ask. Dennis does not know. It was a labor of love. And, labors of love have no price tag. And, as with all creative geniuses, when Dennis Zwerenz has an idea for something he typically ignores two things: money and criticism. Some might snicker, and think this Tower thing will never fly, but its success is already measured in its existence and the new technologies exhibited in its construction. Many laughed when we sent a man to the moon, but much technology and research for the betterment of human kind evolved from such a pipe dream endeavor. Is Dennis concerned about what some may say and think? Absolutely not! Dennis is a free spirit that marches to the tune of a different drummer. Here, at the Purple Martin Society, would we want to change Dennis? Absolutely not! We recognize genius when we see it. We are very proud of Dennis and encourage him to march to any tune he chooses! The Purple Martin Tower is a more than a local landmark, or unique, structure. It is a prototype of various martin ideas for the future, taking much consideration of the well–being and the best interest of the Purple Martin. There is no question! The Purple Martin Tower is surely a Purple Martin Wonder of the World! (Terry Suchma also contributed to this article) # # #
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High
on a hill in Hampshire, IL, stands a fascinating and extraordinary
Purple Martin landlord achievement, built with
love and dedication to the Purple Martin. For three years,
Purple Martin Society member, Dennis Zwerenz, intently labored
as he fabricated an amazing thirty–foot spire, designed exclusively
for Purple Martin habitation, study and research.