Purple martins are the largest member of the swallow family in North America. They are admired for their speed and agility in flight and their beautiful, iridescent purple plumage. Many people enjoy seeing these aerial acrobats swooping through the skies over open fields, lakes, and parks. To attract purple martins to your yard, you’ll need to put in some time and effort. But the sight of a colony of martins expertly catching insects on the wing is well worth it.
Why Attract Purple Martins?
There are several benefits to attracting purple martins to your property:
- Natural pest control – Purple martins are voracious consumers of flying insects like mosquitoes, moths, beetles, flies, midges, and more. A colony can consume thousands of insects each day, helping to naturally reduce annoying pests in your yard.
- Entertainment value – Martins provide free “aerial shows” with their speed, agility, and group flying behaviors. Watching them swoop and dive is fun for people of all ages.
- Help native species – Purple martin populations have declined in some areas due to habitat loss and competition from invasive bird species. Providing nest sites helps support native purple martin populations.
What Do Purple Martins Need?
To attract breeding martins that will return year after year, you’ll need to provide the following:
- Appropriately designed housing – Martins are cavity nesters, naturally nesting in holes in dead trees. Today they rely heavily on human-provided nest boxes. Multi-compartment houses mounted up high work best.
- Open flyways – Martins need generous open flying spaces to hunt insects, with little access for predators. Large yards, open fields, or lakesides are ideal.
- Nearby water source – Easy access to fresh water for drinking and bathing is key. A bird bath, fountain, or pond within a quarter mile is best.
- Proximity to other martins – Martins are highly social and prefer to nest in colonies. It helps to have other active martin houses within sight.
When to Put Up Housing
Purple martins migrate north to their breeding grounds beginning in late winter and early spring. The timing depends on your location:
- Southern states like Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi: February – March
- Mid Atlantic, Gulf states, southern Midwest: March – early April
- Northern states and Canada: mid April – early May
Martins start scouting for nest sites about 4-6 weeks before they actually start nesting and laying eggs. It’s ideal to have nest boxes up and ready about a month before martins arrive in your area.
Tips for Timing
- In the first year, put houses up on the early side of expected arrival dates to allow scouts to discover them.
- In following years, observe when your colony arrives and aim to have nest boxes ready about 4 weeks prior.
- Make sure to have houses cleaned, repaired, and ready before martins return. They can be particular about nest site quality.
Attracting Scouts
Your odds of attracting an initial colony are improved by getting the attention of “scout” martins checking out nesting sites:
- Mount houses on taller poles, at least 15-20 ft high, for higher visibility.
- Place nest boxes in open areas scout martins are likely to fly over.
- Use a martin decoy house with fake/stuffed martins on the porch to show activity.
- Broadcast recorded martin dawn song to mimic an active colony.
- Leave porch lights on at dawn when scouts are actively searching.
Allowing Time for Discovery
It can understandably take more than one season for martins to discover and populate your new housing. Here are some general timeframes:
- Year 1: You may get scouts checking it out but no nesting pairs. Don’t lose hope!
- Year 2 or 3: A pair or small group may start nesting.
- Year 4+: Word spreads and your colony grows as pairs return and recruit others.
With excellent housing in an ideal location, a new site *might* attract residents the first year. But be prepared for the process to take 2-4 seasons. Keep monitoring and making small improvements until you get takers!
Maximizing Nest Site Appeal
To maximize your odds of attracting martins, pay close attention to nest house details:
- Have compartments that offer the interior space martins prefer (at least 6×6 inches).
- Paint houses white to reflect heat and keep interiors cooler.
- Ensure air ventilation and drainage to prevent overheating.
- Have detachable porches for easy cleaning between seasons.
- Include sturdy predator guards below entrance holes.
- Before the season, completely clean out old nests and sanitize the interior.
Monitoring and tweaking nest site details each season will create housing purple martins find increasingly attractive.
Presence of Other Cavity Nesters
Purple martins prefer to nest alongside other cavity nesting birds like tree swallows. Seeing tree swallows occupy some compartments can help martins feel that a site is suitable and predator-safe:
- Put up some gourd houses or smaller compartments tree swallows can use.
- Install tree swallow nest boxes on poles near your martin house.
- If tree swallows move in first, martins may follow.
A mixed colony with these native species benefits all the birds.
Deterring House Sparrows and Starlings
The non-native house sparrow and European starling can be major competitors for nest sites. Prevent these species from occupying sites by:
- Designing martin house porches to discourage sparrows.
- Blocking off compartments sparrows have already claimed.
- Trapping and removing individual intruders.
- Frequent monitoring and rapid response to unwanted occupants.
Quick action is key to keeping your housing desirable for martins rather than invasive species.
Preventing Hawk and Owl Predation
Accipiter hawks and owls can be a threat to purple martins around the nest site. Reduce losses by:
- Using predator guards on the entrance holes.
- Pruning nearby trees to reduce perches for hawks and owls.
- Mounting houses on a metal pole that predators can’t grip.
- Siting houses in open areas away from woodland edges.
Predation is a fact of life but can be minimized with some precautions.
Supplemental Feeding
Providing supplemental food like dried mealworms can help attract and sustain martins:
- Offer mealworms from tray or hopper feeders early in the season.
- This provides an easy food source as martins arrive and establish territories.
- Once natural insect supplies increase, taper off supplemental feeding.
Just take care not to provide so much supplemental food that martins lose interest in natural foraging.
Climate Factors
Weather and seasonal timing can affect how readily martins take up residence:
- Cooler spring temperatures may delay nest site selection and egg laying.
- Abundant natural food supplies allow for quicker nesting and colony growth.
- Severe storms may interrupt nesting, requiring pairs to re-lay eggs.
- Drought can reduce insect prey populations and natural foraging.
Monitor how weather affects your colony’s nesting success and adapt supplemental feeding as needed.
Ongoing Nest Site Improvements
Don’t stop at just putting up a simple martin house – improve and customize it yearly:
- Experiment with different house heights, locations, orientations.
- Add more compartments as the colony grows.
- Try different pole mounting configurations.
- Landscape to improve flying spaces and access points.
Your colony will reward you with higher rates of return each season.
Be Patient and Persistent
It takes most people 2-4 years of continuously monitoring and improving their setup to build up a thriving purple martin colony. Some key points:
- Don’t get discouraged if your first year is unsuccessful.
- Commit to improving your site’s features each season.
- Respond rapidly to any unwanted occupants or predators.
- Enjoy the process and learn as you go each year.
With dedication and care, your martin housing will start paying off!
Conclusion
Attracting beautiful, insect-eating purple martins to your yard is a rewarding process. But it takes knowledge, patience, and persistence. Presume it may take at least 2-4 seasons before martins fully take up residence. In the meantime, tend carefully to nest site details that appeal to martins over competitors. Monitor frequently and make ongoing improvements. With diligence, you can look forward to spectacular aerial shows from “your” colony of martins for years to come!