The ideal spot for a Martin house would be a large, flat, open area, approximately feet or less from your own house and near water source. Martins are strictly insect eaters and need open spaces to spot and dive for prey. The next consideration in attracting and maintaining martins is providing housing that will accommodate the colony. Most Martin houses either come with a pole or you can purchase a pole specifically made for the house you choose.
Martins will also use plastic gourds to nest in. Click to see Purple Martins nesting in gourds on YouTube. Duncraft offers an excellent selection of Martin houses and pole options that are time-tested to be attractive to martins, are easy to clean and maintain with pole options that make accessing houses a breeze. And Duncraft also offers a pre-assembled Martin house.
Most houses are equipped with door plugs to keep out invasive House Sparrows and starlings that arrive earlier in spring than martins do. It will tell you when the birds are arriving in your area so you can remove the door plugs from the house.
Often it takes a few years for the right colony to find your house and settle in. Some people try Purple Martin decoys placed on the house to help create the appearance of a nesting colony which may help attract new martins.
But once martins begin to nest in your house, they will be back year after year. Definitely in an area where Martins exist.
Back yard has four gourds…….. I live 1 mile from two lakes…….. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Related Articles.
Article Summary. Method 1. Stay within feet Over time, Purple Martins have come to view humans as protectors because the birds are less often harmed by predators when humans are nearby. Pick an open area. Purple Martins are aerial feeders, meaning they need open air space in order to find insects to eat.
Because of this, they tend to live around meadows, fields, and farmland. Put the housing at least 40 feet Areas with a lot of trees, such as mountain tops, repel Purple Martins. Purple Martins will only feel safe living 40 feet Choose a location with access to water.
Purple Martins prefer large natural water sources to smaller man-made ones, such as birdbaths. If possible, set up your Purple Martin housing near a pond, lake, or stream to improve your chances of attracting them. Method 2. Buy martin houses for an easy solution that Purple Martins like. You can also choose to build a conventional martin house. This will require more work, but less money.
Build gourd houses for an affordable option that the birds enjoy. They also enjoy gourd houses, so offering an assortment of houses in a clustered area will encourage large colonies. Taking steps to deter predators, like using baffles on birdhouse poles, will also make your backyard more attractive to Purple Martins.
For nesting, they prefer twigs, grass clippings and leaves. There is a pond about feet from the location of the houses. Around the garden is a fescue field that is put up for hay each year.
There are trees in the area, but none are closer … Read more ». Sorry to hear about your experience with the baby birds, John. It can be difficult to get into the mind of a bird to determine why they may select or reject a given location, huh?
The conditions that you describe sound nearly perfect, but maybe you can do some tinkering to see if you have better luck next year. Here are a few things to consider: The gourds themselves may be lacking- are they water-tight, painted in a reflective light color, with properly placed and sized entry holes? You said you had success in the past with a barn-style house- … Read more ». I have 9 multifamily condos all store bought. I had martins for at least 10 years in a row until 2 years ago — none in the summers of and I live on about 5 acres, there is a retention pond very close and there are lots of insects.
I am in central Iowa, in the Des Moines area. Any ideas how to persuade them to come back? I really missed them the past 2 summers. Unfortunately martin numbers continue to be on the decline in many areas.
Installing the condos in a slightly different orientation from prior years may throw them off, or the colony that once frequented your yard may have outgrown the space. Changes in local weather patterns and the presence of predators as well as access to food may all play a role as well, though it sounds like you have insect and water availability covered.
Walnut … Read more ». This is a good and helpful article. The photos are great! I am seeking permission to do a small chalk artwork based on the photo of the hungry babies in the gourd. Thank You and … Read more ». Sounds like a wonderful project, Tammy! This is a stock image by Jean Faucett that we have license to use.
Wondering why there are no purple martins in West Pensacola? All the houses in this area are empty. We live on Perdido Bay, and put up our first house March 1, Even tried playing dawn song in am. Where are they? Couple of things come to mind…. No trees or structures nearby?
Also, here in Austin, the scouts come in mid-February, so we have to have our houses cleaned up and put up by that time. Hello Connie, I am in Lillian. We had Martins for years but this year sparrows moved in. We have only two pairs of Martins in our twelve-room Martin house. If you succeed with your Martin house, never let sparrows winter in it.
Good advice, Iris. My husband usually goes out there in late winter and cleans out all the sparrow nests. Alternatively, you can just take them down after the martins have flown south. I saw a beautiful video of the purple martin migration in Nashville this weekend- a flock of over ,!
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