| Basic Terminology |
| When reading and learning about purple martins, you will come across several terms common to purple martin landlords. By learning these basic purple martin terms you will soon be able to join in the conversations and understand this purple martin lingo.
BB: Bluebirds
Dawnsong: Purple Martin so...more |
| Purple Martin Basics |
| The Purple Martin also known as Blackish swallow, Golondrina Azulnegra, Golondrina grandenegruzca, Golondrina azul americana, Golondrina Purpúrea, Hirondellenoire, Andorinha-Azul, Andorinha-Púrpura.
Wherever you live and whatever you call one, you cannot deny the precious tie that binds this bi...more |
| Purple Martin Nest Requirements |
| Purple Martin Nest Requirements
Nesting requirements should be taken into consideration when selecting Purple Martin Housing. These requirements serve as a basic foundation to help increase the attractiveness of your martin houses so that you will be better able to attract purple martins to your ba...more |
| What you will need to host Purple Martins |
| There are a few things you will need to host purple martins in your backyard. What type of Purple Martin bird houses, purple martin gourds and purple martin pole you select for your birds is vital.
Types of Purple Martin Housing
1. Aluminum
2. Foam
3. Gourds
4. Plastic
5. ...more |
| 5 Steps for Attracting Purple Martins |
| 5 Basic Steps for Purple Martin "Newbies"There are 5 basic rules that you can employ which will improve your chances of attracting Purple Martins to nest in your yard.Proper Location for Martin housing. Purple Martin housing should be close to human housing or activity. The Purple Martins prefer to ...more |
| Purple Martin Housing Placement |
| A vital key to getting Purple Martins to select your site is LOCATION.Remember to be realistic about the locations you have in mind to place a martin house. Keep in mind that if you have a Homeowners Association, it may be more difficult for you. You may have to check with your HOA to see if having ...more |
| Owls:Protect your Purple Martins |
| Owl Protection
I strongly encourage all those that do not have predator protection in place to give it some thought. The work that Purple Martin Landlords go through to attract these birds is significant. The damage an Owl can do over the course of a few nights is devastating. Once an Owl discover...more |
| A Relaxing Hobby or An Active Endeavor? |
| What can you do to help the plight of the Purple Martin? Even if you are not an active Purple Martin Landlord you can help. If you do have Purple Martins, but don't actively manage your site, you can help even more and still enjoy a relaxing hobby.
Stop feeding cheap bird seed.
Stop fe...more |
| English House Sparrow I.D. |
| English House Sparrows and Native Look-Alikes
Correct identification of HOSP
Is it an English House Sparrow otherwise known as HOSP? If you are pulling nests or trapping, it is important that you are sure. It is amazing how many times even the most common of birds is misidentified. ...more |
| S&S Control Techniques |
| OK, so you are convinced. Your Purple Martins are outnumbered at best, “out-beaked” at worst. You have decided that all is fair in Love and War, and it’s WAR! You have gone through all this effort and as soon as you get martins to nest, the Starlings and English House Sparrows (S&a...more |
| Threats to your Purple Martins |
| Threats to Purple Martins
Snakes: Use predator guards and snake netting
Raccoons: Use predator guards
Hawks: Use decoys and alter their position every few days.
Owls: Use owl guards at a minimum. Read our Owl article for more.
Non native nest site competitors (European Starlings and English Ho...more |
| Black Flies |
| Article posted with the kind permission of the author, Bob Flamm.Hello folks,
The end of June and early July 2008 hit S.E. Iowa hard with a very above average emergence of black flies.
An area friend who has a large colony called me and told me about all his babies being killed (70-80) by the ...more |
| Starling Resistant Entrances Holes |
| Starling Resistant Entrance Holes or SREH have helped countless Purple Martins from falling victim to European Starlings. They are not without risks. Scroll down for a picture of wing entrapment. There are several entrance options available on the market today. Some of which are protected by patents...more |
| Purple Martin Gourd Weights |
| Follows is a partial list of Gourd weights. They are in order of weight, lightest to heaviest.Please do NOT choose a gourd on weight alone. Many things should be considered when choosing what kind of gourd you want to offer your Purple Martins. Such as accessibility, safety from predators, entrance ...more |
| Raccoons in our Midst |
| Raccoons are an amazing animal. Though wild, I am sure that had Native Americans wanted to domesticate it, they could have. Only Raccoons would serve no purpose. Wolves were domesticated to herd livestock. Their protective nature was a great advantage. Even cats that serve no functional purpose are ...more |
| Purple Martin Age/Sex Identification |
| ASY Male
As we all know, only the ASY or After Second Year Purple Martin bears the all over steely blue coloration. It always makes me wonder exactly why they called them "Purple" in the first place. It drives me crazy as an artist. If I paint them blue people will say, "That ain't no Purple...more |
| How to do a Nest Change for Purple Martins (video) |
| Make sure you check out our other article on ways to control purple martin nest parasites.
Click the small arrow on the lower left hand side of the purple video screen to start this video on how to perform a basic nest change for purple martins. Replacing purple martin nests is a useful and vital t...more |
| Nest Parasite Control for Purple Martins |
| The bird louse pictured above is one of several nest parasites that can infest your purple martins and their nests. Blow flies, mites, fleas and other insects can make their lives miserable and can kill nestlings. Even ants can swarm into a nest and cause huge problems. Be aware that some treatments...more |
| Preparing Egg Shells |
| Egg Shell Recipe
I am ashamed to call this a recipe. All cooking should be this easy. You purple martins however, will gobble these egg shells up as if they were feasting at a banquet.
Step one Rinse the eggs off to remove any bits of yolk or white. Step two Place egg shells on a cookie sheet in a...more |
| Hydration of Purple Martins |
| Please keep in mind that this information is NOT meant to be used in lieu of taking the purple martin to a Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator. It is designed to answer basic questions and prevent injury to the purple martins by any incorrect actions. It is also meant to buy time until the bird can be b...more |
| Emergency Feeding of Purple Martins |
| Please keep in mind that this information is not meant to be used in lieu of taking the purple martin to a Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator. It is designed to answer basic questions and prevent injury to the purple martins by any incorrect actions. It is also meant to buy time until the bird can be b...more |
| PMCA Emergency Feeding of ADULTS |
| Insects are not flying about in strong winds, cold temperatures and in persistent rain. When adverse weather conditions exist for more than a day or two, offering food is imperative. Without intervention, in the form of supplemental feedings, the purple martins will starve to death.
Supplemental f...more |
| Purple Martin Bird Houses |
| If you are interested in purple martins and have determined that your yard or location is a suitable habitat for purple martins, the next step is choosing what kind of purple martin bird house you want to provide for these wonderful purple birds. There are many different types of martin house out th...more |
| Martin houses |
| Realizing that you want purple martins to nest in your backyard is the first step in what can become a wonderful way to be an active part of conservation, get closer to nature and carry on an age old tradition of providing a place for purple martins to nest. If you live East of the Rocky mountains i...more |
| Is It A Purple Martin |
| Purple Martin Identification
Eager novice birders and novice purple martin enthusiasts often misidentify birds other common backyard birds to be purple martins.
By learning a few helpful hints, behavior and range, you will be able to more accurately identify a purple martin
from other bird...more |
| Purple Martins- Fact vs Fiction |
| Purple Martins are North America's largest swallow and have been "helped" by man in their reproductive success longer than any other bird. Yet there is a lot of false information on the web designed to separate you from your hard earned dollar. Getting purple martins to nest in your backyard is ofte...more |
| Purple Martin Nest Site Competitors |
| Purple Martin Nest Site Competitors
Purple Martin landlords can run across many different birds that will find nesting in a purple martin house or gourd an attractive option. If you are pulling nests or trapping, it is important that you are sure what birds you are dealing with. Remember, Non-nat...more |
| Purple Martin Decoys |
| Ask any duck hunter and they will tell you one of the tools they use to attract ducks is DECOYS. Let's face it, birds aren't geniuses. They may be evolutionary wonders. Granted, they are certainly marvels of diversity. But having evolved in a world free of such reality twisters such as windows and ...more |
| Tree Swallow/Blue Bird/Purple Martin INTERFERENCE |
| TREE SWALLOW ~ PURPLE MARTIN AND BLUE BIRD ~ PURPLE MARTIN I N T E R F E R E N C EIf you live where there are lots of tree swallows and/or blue birds, and you've been UNSUCCESSFUL AT ATTRACTING PURPLE MARTINS... READ ON:
THIS MAY BE AN EMERGENCY!
PRINCIPLES AND DISCLAI...more |
| Extreme Heat |
| Extreme heat in a nest can be challenging to combat but if not associated with drought or food shortages, are usually easy to remediate. By making sure all vents are open in nest compartments and gourds, air circulation can be increased which can help lower temps. Many artificial gourds have vents ...more |
