Attract Purple Martins To Enjoy Their Habits

Locating houses and understanding their habits are important factors in getting these birds to nest in your backyard. By using the information about house placement, and the martins nesting habits, you just might have a colony of these birds nesting around your home.

With the competition from starlings and house sparrows, it becomes important for humans to do all they can to protect these birds.

Timing and vigilance will be required also, done properly, you may be able to begin attracting Purple Martins to your backyard.

It's important that you learn all you can. Simply placing a house up may be enough to attract wrens to your backyard, doing the same for these birds will only lead to hatching more house sparrows and starlings.

Getting Purple Martins to Nest In New Housing

There should be no trees within 40 feet of the nesting site and preferably further away. In the South you can get away with placing your houses within 25 feet of trees.

The height of the house should be in the range of 10-17 feet. Don't attach wires to the house or pole. Predators can use them to get to the birds.

As you begin to attract Purple Martins to your nesting site,

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take precautions to protect them from predators. Some of the predators are raccoons, snakes, squirrels, and owls. The use of baffles on the pole can detour predators that climb.

In the South where fire ants are numerous, try keeping a ring of petroleum jelly on the pole.

Adults are rarely attracted to new breeding sites, they return to the sites where they mated previously. Done correctly the first time, you'll be able to attract your colony back and add to it over time.

Understanding Colony Startups

Typically, it's last year's young (Sub-Adults) that colonize new sites, they begin arriving about 4 weeks after the first adults in the northern third of the breeding range, (about April- 1 May- 1)6 weeks after the adults in the middle of the range,(about Mar.-1 Apr.-1) and 8 weeks after the adults in the southern third. (about Jan.-15 Feb.-15) Since the first time nesters arrive later than the adult scouts, it's best to keep your houses closed until it's time for them to arrive. Otherwise you'll be giving house sparrows and starlings a 4 - 8 week head start.

Purple Martin migration is a drawn-out affair, with birds arriving for 8-12 weeks in the north, 16-20 weeks in the south.

Purple Martins can arrive and begin nesting up through the end of June, range wide, so keep your housing ready; don't close it up, or let other birds use it.

Your chances for success will be better if your housing is easy to manage. Click here for a full selection of Purple Martins houses and accessories. Choose a pole that telescopes, or is equipped with a winch or rope & pulley, and housing that has easy access to the compartments.

Try placing dried white pine needles, dry twigs, or straw in an open area to encourage nesting. A supply of mud close by can help attract Purple Martins to nest.

Houses and gourds should be white, or a light color. White housing attracts martins best and reflects sunlight. Temperature extremes can be detrimental to the young birds.

The Cavity floor dimensions have in the past always been 6 inches by 6 inches, but larger cavities 7 X 12 are preferred and provide better protection from predators and rain. A round entrance hole of 2-1/8 inches is the preferred size for the Martins although they will use an opening in the 1-3/4 - 2-3/8 range.

Due to Starling competion, manufactures are making houses and gourds with Starling resistant entrance holes (SREH) These may be cresent shape or a host of other shapes.

Don't close the shop down too soon. Keep your houses open until late August, as this years fledglings will be searching for next year's breeding sites in late summer.

Closing Your Martin Housing

When you do close down your Purple Martin house, give it a close inspection. Remove all nesting material and scrub with a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water). Let it air dry before storing for the winter.

Take care of any repairs now so you'll be ready in the spring. If you choose to leave it out for the winter, be sure and plug the entrance hole. otherwise, house sparrows and starlings will begin to use it in late winter, making it impossible to get them to leave in the spring.

This is just a basic guide to learning about attracting and managing Purple Martins. Consider ordering one of the books mentioned and joining The Purple Martin Conservation Association to get the most out of being a Purple Martin Landlord.

Watch As A Purple Martin Suns Itself

Watch A Nestling Martin Peeking Out

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Are you a Purple Martin Landlord or Trying to be One? Share your story with all of us. What type of housing are you using? What state do you live in? How many pairs of Martins are using your site. Give us all the details. Most of all, Show us your best picture of your housing, gourds, or favorite Purple Martin Picture!

See What Other Visitors Have Said.

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Black Beauties 
My first attempt was a HIT!! My second attempt was an even bigger HIT! I currently have 12 pairs in my second year with plastic gourd houses!

I ...

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This is the city Purple Martin setup by Wild-Bird-Watching.com

It consist of Two S&K 12 Family Best House Martin Houses. Four S&K Big Bo Gourds and ...

Purple Martin Set Up 2009  Not rated yet
This is/was the Wild-Bird-Watching.com Purple Martin Set Up for 2009.

Two S&K Best Houses converted to 6 large rooms each. We added 8 of the new S&K ...

Proper Housing  Not rated yet
I first purchased a house with 12 units 1 1/2 yrs ago. I saw a male and female explore the unit for a few days and then they left and never returned.

This ...

Better Each Year  Not rated yet
I put up this gourd mount for the martins four years ago. The day I put it up they found it and have been returning each year.

I have since changed ...