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Attracting and Caring for Purple Martins

The interaction between man and martin dates all the way back to the Native Americans. To this day, the bubbly personality and gurgling song of the Purple Martin is cherished by those that host them. Each spring brings on an excitement that only a Purple Martin landlord can experience as they anxiously anticipate the return of their beloved martins.

Acquiring martins can be very easy or very exasperating. Following are a few ideas on what it takes to attract, keep, protect and properly care for a colony of Purple Martins.

If you are establishing a new colony, wait for the arrival of the sub-adults who tend to arrive 3-6 weeks after the mature adult martins return to established breeding sites. Wait to open your housing to prevent problems with sparrows, starling and other birds. If birds other than Purple Martins try to nest in your house, lower the house and remove the nest – temporarily plugging the entry holes if necessary to keep them from returning.

Location of your house is very important because the martins are looking for safety and security. Raise the house the full extent of your pole (typically 10-15 feet) and keep the house at least 40 feet away from trees. Predators such as hawks find cover in trees taller than the housing that is in close proximity. Martins are aware of this and therefore, stay away from such situations. A location between 40-120 feet from your own home works well as does the center of an open spot or the edge of a pond or lake. They need very open and unobstructed flight paths. Martins actually want to be near you!

Use decoys – Martins are social and decoys create the appearance of site activity. Adult martins use “dawnsinging” to attract young martins to their colony site so the playing of the Dawn Song CD one or two hours before dawn is recommended but can be played any time of the day. If at first you don’t see martins, do not despair. Migration lasts through the end of June. Be diligent, and keep your house well maintained. Also, keep your house up through August. While this is too late to attract nesting pairs, this year’s fledglings will already be scouting for next season.

In the eastern U.S. and Canada they have become totally dependent on humans to supply them housing for nesting. Studies have shown a decline of martins in some areas so this is one more reason we need to help this beautiful native bird species by supplying them “proper” housing in which to raise their young. These birds are also protected and therefore, may not be harmed in any way. Unfortunately, many of the commercial houses are inadequate for martins. In many cases the house compartments are much too small and the materials used are much to flimsy. All housing should have a few minimum standard requirements. Briefly, here are a few starters.

All housing should be easily accessible for maintenance and nest checks. It should be easy to raise and lower vertically. Nesting compartments should be a minimum of 6”W x 6”H x10”D. Anything less is too small for martins to properly raise a brood of young and keep well out of the reach of talons of flying predators.

Housing should be painted white to reflect sun rays, keeping the house cooler. Dark colored housing is a full 10-15 degrees hotter. The heat factor is often the cause of young jumping from the nest early, seeking relief from the heat.

Do nest checks. It is very important to know what’s going on in your colony, and they are actually fun to do. Easy access into the compartments via hinged or removable panels is imperative. The landlord needs to have easy access to clean out old nests, remove unwanted pest bird nests, and do general maintenance.

An absolute must is good ventilation. A couple of ½ inch holes placed high in the front and rear walls of the compartments allows for air flow and the young birds will need this especially in the southern regions.

Because of the introduction of European Starlings into this country, all housing should contain starling resistant entrance holes (SREH). The new 1 3/16” high crescents openings have proven to effectively keep 99% of all starlings out of martin housing while at the same time, allowing martins easy access.

Check for insect pest infestation. Mites and blowflies are sometimes a major problem around martin sites. Learn how to identify them and what to do about them. A large infestation will easily kill young martin chicks. One solution for mites is ½ teaspoon of 5%Sevin dust sprinkled on only the nesting material. Changing out the affected nests once or twice during the season is about the best method for controlling blowfly larva. Never use spray insecticides in any kind of wild bird nests.

Martins seen to enjoy a pre-made bed of nesting material and readily accept these compartments over others that are empty. They like an ample amount of pine or wheat straw added to the nest, bringing the material right up to the bottom of the entrance hole. They have very short legs and this greatly helps in the exiting of the compartment or gourd. Sawdust or shavings of any kind are not a good base for a nest because they are not stable under foot and will soak up water, leaving the nest wet.

Purple Martins exclusively eat flying insects, taking them on the wing. Among the list of many are houseflies, moths, grasshoppers and their favorite, dragonflies. However, they will forage for food when the temperature climbs above 45 deg. They will also eat crushed egg shells and oyster shells providing them with calcium for stronger egg shells and they feed them to their young as grit to help digest their food. These can be supplied on a small raised platform set on top of a 4 or 5 foot high post.

Martins will not eat from a bird feeder nor will they drink from a birdbath. A source of good clean fresh water is a major advantage in attracting them to your home. However, if not available, they have been known to fly up to 1 or 2 miles for water.

All poles should be fitted with the proper predator guards. A simple tube guard, ten inches or more in diameter and 3 feet long mounted to the pole will stop most ground predation attempts. Occasionally accipiter hawks will discover your colony, but since they are protected, there really isn’t anything that can legally be done about them other than to be present around the colony as much as possible. This is why open flight paths are necessary around martin housing, making it more difficult for these raptors to launch their attacks.

Purple Martins are very friendly towards humans. If enough time is spent around their site, they soon begin to accept the landlord as part of the site and will soon ignore them entirely. In fact, it is well documented that the more human activity there is near a martin site, the more martins will show up. They actually seek out sites where there is abundant human activity.

Hosting a colony of Purple Martins can indeed be a joyful and rewarding hobby!

About the Author

Birding enthusiast for many years. Website author of:http/www.birdsdunrite.com trying to promote awareness of birds in nature.

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