Purple Martin Bird Houses

Home sweet home for this recurring visitor

If you want to dress up your garden and provide a living space for some rare visitors, purple martin bird houses will cover all your bases. Purple martins are the largest species of swallow in North America. They are considered to be a very special species and many people each year look forward to them returning and nesting in houses built for them all over the continent. How do you recognize a purple martin? You can identify one by its beautiful steel-blue feathers. Females are a little lighter with a more mottled brown color.

Purple martin houses are made specifically for that species of bird, so if you are looking to buy or build one, then you need to make sure that the house has certain characteristics. The entry holes should be around 2¼ to 2½ inches in diameter and positioned one inch off the floor of the house. The interior of the house should be 6 by 6 by 6 inches, with the ceiling being 5 to 7 inches, to allow for enough room for nesting. Even the exterior must look a certain way - purple martin houses should be painted white. Make sure that there are no sharp edges and that the house is fairly lightweight, to minimize possible tipping.

Position your martin house at least 30 feet away from any structure or trees in your yard. The house should be higher than the highest point within 40 feet in your yard and placed in the center of an open space. Mount the house at least 10 to 20 feet up on a collapsible pole so that you can monitor and clean the house after the birds have migrated for the winter. Take down your martin house in the winter to prevent sparrows and starlings from moving in and keeping the martins out. Starlings may try to move in anyway and evict the martins or prevent them from coming back. You can stop the starlings from taking over by decreasing the size of the hole.

Have the house clean and ready for when the martins come back in April and enjoy seeing your martins start a family and grow! Remember that not all martins will return. Be patient and prepare the martin house to their specifications and you'll have a better chance of enticing your martins to stay, or others to come.