Purple Martins in the Wildlife Garden © 2010 Carole A. Brown
It is at this time of year that you will begin to see huge flocks of Purple Martins, and you know that Fall is close at hand.
Creating rest stops for migratory birds in your wildlife garden is a wonderful way to support these birds on their long journeys.
At the end of the breeding season these birds gather into very large flocks, often over open water. Several towns have annual Purple Martin festivals where you can go at dusk to see the flocks come in to roost. If you live close to one of these gathering points, it is well worth the trip to see the sky full of these swirling, diving birds.
The Purple Martin collects all of its food and water on the wing, consuming large quantities of flying insects. They are definitely a good friend to farmers, eating many pest species.
In fact, it was for this reason that Native Americans began hanging gourds near their camps to attract these birds to their living spaces so that they would eat the insects who were eating their crops.
Purple Martins are the largest members of the Swallow family, and a popular resident of backyard nest boxes. In fact, in the Eastern US, these birds have nested almost exclusively in nest boxes for almost 100 years, while in the Western US the birds still use natural cavities, including Saguaro Cactus.
The Purple Martin is a communal nester and can be attracted to nest boxes with multiple compartments.
In the Spring some Purple Martins will return to their nest box early, but these are not “scouts” checking to see if it is safe for the others to return. These are older birds who have successfully made this journey before. They will soon be joined by the rest of the flock including last season’s young, who will also be breeding this year.
The Purple Martin migrates every year from its wintering grounds across South America to its breeding range which covers a large portion of North America.
Find out how to attract Purple Martins to your beautiful wildlife garden at the Purple Martin Conservation Association.
Carole Sevilla Brown lives in Philadelphia, PA, and she travels the country speaking about Ecosystem Gardening for Wildlife. Check out her new free online course Ecosystem Gardening Essentials, 15 free lessons delivered to your inbox every week.
© 2010 – 2012, Carole Sevilla Brown. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Carole Sevilla Brown
Hooray for this wonderful post! We’ve just found a discarded Purple Martin house in perfect condition and will clean it up to erect early next spring. It gives us time to prepare the site just to their liking and study up on them a bit…then we’ll watch and hope!
Beautiful photos, Carole!
Lisa, that’s so cool that you’re reclaiming a discarded Martin house. That Purple Martin Conservation Association link I gave above has lots of great information about how to attract Purple Martins, how to site the house, how to maintain the house, etc. A true font of information.
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Carole, Ditto what Lisa said! Hooray for a great post. I haven’t the open space the martins need, but I love seeing the local elementary school’s martin “condo units” on the edges of the playground. gail
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Purple martins are 100% dependent on man to provide their nesting habitat, so it’s important that people like you spread the word. Great job.
Good information — Thank you!
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Thanks for this post Carole! I have been considering building a Martin House, after hearing that they were a beneficial species, but haven’t taken the time to research the why’s. Thanks to your links I have no excuses, HA!
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Scott–toasting to “no excuses” LOL
Gail–I don’t have the open space either, which is a good excuse to go and visit my friends with active Martin houses. They are beautiful birds for sure!
Carole recently posted..Beautiful Wildlife Garden- Chris McLaughlin
I have always wanted a Purple Martin house in my beautiful wildlife garden. My fellow writers, you always have the most wonderful inspirations for me.
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I was fortunate enough recently to see one of these huge roosting sites! I manage a PM house in my backyard but nothing is quite like seeing a huge flock of them coming in to roost. I wrote about it on my blog if interested – here’s the link: http://www.birdsnsuch.com/2010/08/purple-martins-of-manns-harbor.html
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I’ve never seen gourds grouped like that. They make a are much more attractive home for purple martins than the big birdhouses.
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If you want to build your own house (or your own gourd rack for that matter) Visit http://purplemartins-r-us.com/free-martin-house-plans-t-14.html . Yes, those plans are 100% free. And good luck building!
Great post !