How to Attract a Purple Martin to a Birdhouse

Purple martins belong to the swallow family and are the largest member of this family found in North America. These martins send out scouts before their colony arrives; therefore, providing proper housing is essential in attracting these scouting martins since improper housing arrangements are the leading failure of successful nesting. Two common competing birds, the house sparrows and European starlings, can be a nuisance by nesting in your prepared martin housing or chasing existing martins away, so be prepared to fend them off until the martins settle in.

Things You'll Need

  • White or light pastel paint
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Instructions

    • 1

      Paint the martin house or gourd white or a light pastel color. Examine the martin housing and make sure that the entrance holes are 2 1/8 inches in diameter and located 1 inch from the compartment floors.

    • 2

      Measure the compartment heights, which should be 5 to 7 inches, with the compartment floor dimensions preferably measuring 7 by 12 inches. Clean out the housing completely of any other types of nesting materials used by other bird species if the housing was previously used.

    • 3

      Find an open spot free of trees and any other tall objects within a 60-foot diameter. Place the birdhouse pole in the center of the open area, with the pole height between 10 and 20 feet. Make sure to place the martin habitat 30 to 120 feet from human housing.

    • 4

      Check the martin housing weekly for any signs of predators such as owl feathers, martin feathers (a sign of attack) and missing eggs. Use pole guards and owl guards so that animals cannot climb the pole and owls will be deterred from attacking the purple martins.