Walt Disney World Resort is hosting some “egg-stra special” guests this spring! Meet the purple martin, a small songbird that has traveled an incredible 3,000 miles from its wintering grounds in the Brazilian Amazon to North America to complete a very important mission: raising a family.
Just like our guests, purple martins come to Walt Disney World Resort to enjoy our incredible resorts, fine dining and (if you’re a purple martin) a little romance! Adult birds began arriving in January and have spent the last few weeks perusing all the accommodations at our 19 luxury bird house “resorts” located across Walt Disney World property, and more importantly, sizing up their fellow bird resort-stayers to find a mate! Nearly 100 happy bird couples have already made their selections and have built nests, and we’re excited to announce that a lucky bird couple nesting at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has welcomed the first eggs of the season!
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In just 16 days, these newly arrived eggs will hatch, and these purple martin parents-to- be will be busy caring for five to seven growing chicks. In about 26 days, the chicks will go from pink to purple as they grow in their feathers and prepare to take their first flight at Walt Disney World. Talk about a thrill ride!
Guests visiting our Disney parks and resorts through July have the special opportunity to get an up-close view of the purple martins, which are featured in the Purple Martins Presented by Audubon Florida garden at the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival as well as at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort Riverside and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.
Additionally, guests can get the chance to meet one of our purple martin specialists during the Epcot Outdoor Family Fun (April 8-10) and Earth Day (April 22-24) weekends as they carry out a “housekeeping check” at each of the purple martin houses to monitor nests and record information about the adult purple martins and their young. You may even get an up-close view of a purple martin nest!
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We got a personal introduction to the purple Martin’s, their history, a nest with chicks, and Disney’s conservation efforts, from a team leader and Biologist at Carribean Beach resort–sadly, we can’t recall her name–but she and her conservation commitments were amazing!
Love that there are so many places for nature to go in Wdw
OH MY GOSH! I almost started crying during the video! (“Purple Martin 057, welcome to Walt Disney World.”) This is great 🙂 Please keep the videos and updates on your amazing conservation efforts coming!! <3
Hi Carmen! I’m so glad you enjoyed the video! We have a lot of great videos highlighting our conservation work. Check out this one from last year’s Tour de Turtles at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. Keep up with our Wildlife Wednesday posts to hear more conservation stories about migratory birds, turtles and more!
Have you considered setting up webcams on the birdhouses so enthusiasts and see them?
Hi Jeff! We are looking into setting up video cameras on the nests this season, so stay tuned! Until then, you can check out our ASE Facebook page (http://www.Facebook.com/DisneyASE) to see updates on the birds throughout the season.
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