purple martin houses - wooden, metal, & gourds

Over one million North Americans put up housing for Purple Martins. Unfortunately, many of these folks are unable to attract breeding martins. Once martins nest at your location, they will come back every year if you manage the site properly. Landlords who lose their entire colony from one year to the next often suspect their 'flock' died in a storm during migration or was poisoned by pesticides on their wintering grounds. These scenarios are unlikely; the martins that share a breeding site do not migrate or overwinter as a group. The reason for total colony loss is most often the result of something that happened in the landlord's own back yard during the nesting season. Good management practices can prevent or minimize most of these problems.