The purple martin has been my favorite bird since I became a birder in elementary school. This beautiful and gregarious bird is very social and live in martin houses, often several houses in close proximity. They will also nest in manufactured gourd-like houses.

When I was about 8 tears old, my grandfather who had been a carpenter, surprised me on my birthday with a 6 apartment martin house and a 20 ft. pole on which it could be erected. That was the best birthday present I had ever had, my own martin house. I sat in the hedges around my backyard every afternoon, waiting for the arrival of the martins. Of course, the pest English sparrow moved into several of the apartments immediately much to my disappointment. Then finally around the first of march the first pair of martins arrived to inspect the house, I was thrilled and could not keep my eyes of them. It was like having Christmas in April. The pair soon chose an apartment but only after a fierce fight with the English sparrows. They would fight in and on the house and sometimes in the air, often falling to the ground trying desperately trying to claim their territory. After all the fighting was over they would live side by side with only an occasional dispute.
Written by Jack Kidd.

Very early in my years of birdwatching, the purple martin has fascinated me. They are beautiful, cheerful, friendly and excellent insect feeders. They prefer to live in colonies around humans. Especially fun is to listen to their songs and friendly chatter. They have many types of songs depending on the situation. The male has a very distinctive song while trying to court a female martin. During other times, such as welcoming new members to the colony, they have a loud chirping sound where they flap their wings in anticipation of a new arrival. I call this their “happy song”. If danger approaches or it times of distress they have a loud short one syllable that emits from their throat warning the colony of potential danger. It may be a crow, hawk, eagle, blue jay or a human approaching their nest. I have seen them “dive bomb” dogs, cats or even humans, especially when they have young in the nest. Because cause of their propensity to drive away winged predictors, the native American Indians hung 5-7 hollowed out gourds, for them to make as their home. This would keep hawks, eagles and crows from raiding their chickens,gardens or small livestock
Written by Jack Kidd..

That means Martin landlords must start preparing to keep up with the arrival in the southern most parts of the eastern U.S. This migration will continue northward with colonies nesting primarily east of the Rockies through early May; sub-adults, those in their first breeding year, arrive 3 to 6 weeks after the adults. Once Martins nest at your location, they will come back every year if you manage the site properly. If you have ever considered attracting Purple Martins to nest near you, now is the time to learn what you need to know to be a successful Purple Martin landlord. It helps to have more than one martin house as they like to have many neighbors. Erecting purple martin gourds in multiples if 4-6 is also helpful in attracting purple martins.

Purple Martins spend the non breeding season in Brazil, then migrate to North America to nest. East of the Rockies they are totally dependent on human-supplied housing. West of the Rockies and in the deserts they largely nest in their ancestral ways, in abandoned woodpecker nest cavities. In the Pacific Northwest, Martins are beginning to use gourds and clusters of single-unit boxes for nesting.

The building of the nest out of mud, grass and twigs is shared equally by the male and female. The female lays two to seven pure white eggs at a rate of one egg per day. After about 15 days of incubating the clutch, the young hatch. Both parents feed the babies continuously for a period of 26-32 days until the young fledged
The young continue to be dependent on their parents for food and training for an additional one to two weeks after fledgling. It is not uncommon for the fledglings to return to their human-supplied housing at night to sleep during this period.

Location of the martin housing is very important. They have very special aerial space requirements. Housing should be placed in the center of the most open space available, about 30 to 120 feet from human housing. There should be no trees higher than the martin house within 40 feet. Keep tall bushes, shrubs and vines away from the pole.

Timing is important. Landlords of active sites can leave their housing completely closed up until the martins return and land on the housing. They exhibit a very high level of site fidelity. Once they have bred successfully at a specific location, the same individuals return year after year. No matter where you live, keep your housing open through August.. Martins may arrive and begin nesting as late as the end of June anywhere in North America, and in July and August this years young will be scouting for next years breeding sites.

Housing should be painted white, or a light pastel color; trim can be any color. White seems to attract martins best and it also reflects the heat of the sun, keeping nestlings cooler. Look for housing designed to raise and lower vertically, with easy access to compartments. Landlords may need to lower housing daily to evict nest-site competitors or to check on martin nestlings. Systems that telescope up and down or raise and lower with a pulley and winch are the most practical. Nest checks will not cause martins to abandon their nest or their colony site.

Predation is the most common reason martins abandon their colony site. It only takes one foray up a martin pole by a snake, raccoon, or squirrel, or a few visits by an owl, hawk or crow, to cause all the surviving birds to abandon the site. Landlords who do not conduct weekly nest checks may never know martins, nestlings, or eggs are disappearing. All martin poles (metal or wooden) should be equipped with pole guards.

Weather Extremes that affect insect availability can be tough since martins feed solely on flying insects. If poor weather persists for more than 2 or 3 days, martins begin to die of starvation.

Becoming a landlord to Purple Martins should not be taken lightly but the rewards you will reap in watching their antics in your backyard as well as eating many insects will greatly enhance your quality of life.