Purple Martins in 2023 Our Journey

by Gene
(Douglas County, Kansas)

Wow! it's been 17 years (it's now 2024) since the Wild-Bird-Watching Purple Martin setup was first established.

I began with a 12-unit S&K plastic martin house and for 2 years nothing happened. In the third year, an un-mated also known as "Second Year" male began coming around.

Still, nothing happened until the 4th season. That's when that same male returned as a full-grown Male Purple Martin.

He attracted a mate and raised 6 young and I was thrilled, to say the least.

The following year was the same, 1 pair and 6 young raised again.

Fast forward to 2023 and I had 9 pair with young that should be fledging in a couple of weeks.

Trees have encroached and reduced the number who nest here. In the image above the tree to the left wasn't there when I started.

These birds don't like trees too close as they know predators use them to hide.

My highest count was 18 pairs (36 adult birds) and I felt that was plenty to monitor.

The setup now is a multi-gourd rack from S&K with 24 gourds that are mostly from S&K but I also have a couple known as Troyer Horizontals.

An established Purple Martin colony is one of the great joys of backyard birding and I encourage anyone interested to give it a try.




Here is some information about Attracting Purple Martins

If you have a couple of open flyways clear of trees and buildings and other trees 60 or more feet away, you might be able to attract these birds to your yard.

Of course, living east of the Rockies is a must for this species. West of the Rockies is a whole other game.

Update

It's now May 2024, and it looks like we'll be hosting about 10 pairs of martins this season.


September 2024

Well, the 10 pairs did a fine job and are probably in Brazil by now, the 26th.

We average about 4 babies for per pair of Martins and all lived to fledge.

There was a problem with the first fledglings. As some of you know, unmated (sub-adults) can be a handful at fledging time.

They will pull the young birds out before they are ready to fly, and that's what happened with the first nest.

Three birds were pulled out and fell to the ground. Purple Martins are good fliers only if they make it into the air.

I was able to catch each and launch them into the air where they took off like they had been flying forever.

Other than that, there were no issues to speak of. Early in the season a pair of House Sparrows tried to nest but I was able to stop that.

No hawks, snakes, or other predator problems were had.

Now they're gone for the winter and it's gourd clean-up time. But before you know it, March will be here and they'll start arriving and the fun will begin all over again.

So use this time to learn what you need to know to attract them to nest in your backyard. You'll be glad you did.

Happy birding!