Do purple martins feed low?

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Yes they do, I often see my martins feeding down low, skimming the grass or at times even sitting down in the grass, to me it seems they feed as much below 12ft as much as high in the sky.

[Steve Kroenke]

Yes, they do around our martin colonies, too. I see martins feeding just over the tops of tall grass in nearby pastures and even around our yards. During periods of cool weather, I have seen martins catching small insects off blades of grass and other low growing vegetation. Though martins probably do catch most of their food higher up, particularly those dragonflies, martins will definitely feed low down when swarms of insects are present.

Steve

[Okie]

Do you have a lot of grasshoppers?

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Do you have a lot of grasshoppers?

I checked this evening, there's a lot of 1/4 inch size crickets and some smaller insects that fly up out of the grass.

[Bob]

I am in central Illinois and I have noticed a few times in spring, when weather is cool, our martins will fly low over the pasture and fields. I assume they are feeding. I have never noticed it when weather is nice and warm.

[Mhoover]

I had some martins land this spring and feed on the insects on the ground like the robins.