Attracting Purple Martins

Purple martins are a kind of swallow that live around humans. Mary Schmidt from Lichterman Nature Center talks about how to attract these insect eating birds to your yard. Purple martins are colony nesters and will come back to the same colony every year during the summer. In the winter they live in Brazil. East of the Mississippi River in the United States they live exclusively in man-made structures. Purple martins can be attracted to your yard if the habitat is right. They need a large open area where they can catch insects. You will also need to provide housing for the birds. There are three choices: natural gourds, plastic gourds, and multi compartment houses, and Mary talks about each option. She also talks about add-ons to the housing that help protect the birds from predators and some of the basics of maintenance of the nesting containers. Mary talked about the Purple Martin Conservation Association. Their website is here.

Related Resources:
Purple Martins
Attracting Purple Martins
Attracting Purple Martins to Your Property