Disney Prepares for the Start of Purple Martin Nesting Season on National Bird Day 2024. I have a weird infatuation with all the birds found around Walt Disney World. Last year I even did an expose on some of the images we have shot over the past few years.
Walt Disney set aside one-third of Walt Disney World Resort—over 8,000 acres of wetland and upland habitats—as a protected area. This area is an important corridor for many species of migratory birds. More than 200 bird species live at Walt Disney World Resort, either seasonally or year-round.
The United States of America declares January 5 as National Bird Day to raise awareness of the significance of birds to our ecosystem. The day is set apart to make all of us understand that birds are not made to be caught or had as showpieces in our homes, rather, they are nature’s lovely creatures that deserve to live with complete freedom.
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Today Dr Mark at Disney posted an update:
“It’s #NationalBirdDay, and it’s also the beginning of purple martin nesting season! These small songbirds travel over 3,000 miles from the Brazilian rainforest to Walt Disney World to raise their young. And every year, Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment team prepares, maintains and observes the purple martin bird houses at Disney World. Here, the birds lay eggs and care for their chicks until they learn to fly, when they collectively head back to Brazil and repeat the cycle all over again!”
Each year, purple martins travel to Walt Disney World Resort to raise their young before flying more than 6,000 miles to the Brazilian rainforest and back, providing us with a unique front-row seat to the magic of nature.
To prepare for the birds’ arrival, Disney VoluntEARS gear up a month in advance by cleaning and prepping all 20 purple Martin bird houses across Walt Disney World Resort. Each house has multiple rooms, so we now have 460 nest compartments ready and waiting for purple Martins to check-in. All this preparation is important because purple martins have specific needs for nesting. They prefer birdhouses almost exclusively, which enables us to attract them to areas close enough for us to observe them as they find mates, as they find mates, lay eggs, and care for their chicks until they learn to fly.
