How to Attract Purple Martins to Your Garden

Purple martins (Progne subis) are a North American bird species and member of the swallow family. With a wingspan of up to sixteen inches, they are the largest swallow in North America. Adult male purple martins have iridescent black feathers with a blue tint. Adult females have brown feathers with a blue tint.

During the breeding season, purple martins live in North America. After incubation and hatching, young purple martins feed and learn to fly. When late summer arrives, the migrating birds make their way to South America, ending up mostly in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. During the nesting season, they flock to backyard birdhouses in eastern North America. Occasionally, they will nest in natural cavities like woodpecker holes and cacti as well.

In western North America, purple martins make their homes in natural cavities such as old woodpecker holes in trees and cacti. However, in eastern North America, where competition among migrating species makes it hard to find housing during the nesting season, purple martins flock to backyard birdhouses. A few will make their homes in nature, but the convenience of birdhouses has made purple martins almost entirely dependent on humans. Once purple martins have a successful nesting season in your backyard birdhouse, they will likely return year after year.

Purple martins are aerial foragers that feed on flying insects. They eat mosquitos, dragonflies, wasps, and moths. Since purple martins are insectivores with diets consisting entirely of bugs, you don't need to provide a bird feeder. No need for a birdbath either—they prefer to bathe in natural water sources such as ponds, rivers, and lakes. Providing a nesting site for purple martins to roost in your backyard is a great way to keep invasive bugs at bay and enjoy the birds’ entertaining aerobatics all summer long.

Learn how to create the right conditions for a purple martin colony in your own backyard.

1. 1. Construct housing in an open area. As wild birds, purple martins are more likely to nest in an area that isn’t too close to human housing. Keep purple martin nests in an open space, between forty and 120 feet away from any nearby residences.
2. 2. Install housing on a telescoping pole. Setting your nesting box up high gives you the best chance of attracting purple martins. Anchor a telescoping pole in concrete and attach the birdhouse on top. The pole should be between ten and twenty feet tall. The telescoping feature will give you easy access in the off-season for cleaning and repairs.
3. 3. Keep predators at bay. Install predator guards on the pole to keep raccoons, snakes, and squirrels away. Stovepipe baffles work well to prevent any predators from climbing up the pole.
4. 4. Deter other bird species. Purple martin nests are attractive to several other bird species, including house sparrows and European starlings. Deter other types of birds by keeping your nesting boxes closed until purple martins arrive in your area.
5. 5. Use a little trickery. Some birders have discovered creative ways of enticing purple martins to their birdhouses. Purple martin decoys give the appearance of happy residents, drawing curious purple martins to the birdhouse. Playing recordings of the purple martin's dawn song can help lure in potential residents as well, but be sure to stop the recordings once purple martins start to nest in your birdhouse.

A couple of structures are ideal for purple martins.

• Nest boxes: A nest box is a birdhouse with a single nesting compartment. Several entrance holes allow the birds to come and go with ease. Consider giving your purple martins a head start by providing nesting material inside their new housing. Paint the nest box white to reflect the sun's harsh rays and keep nestlings cool. A box with porches is especially helpful for fledglings, young birds still learning to fly.
• Gourd houses: Plastic gourd-shaped houses are another popular accommodation for purple martins; however, the tradition of providing gourd-shaped houses for purple martins is based on speculation. Some ornithologists believe that Native Americans hung hollowed-out gourds on wooden snags to attract purple martins. Whether or not this is entirely true is unknown, but gourd-shaped birdhouses have proven to be successful at attracting purple martins.

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