Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Purple Martin Bird House Plans

Purple martins nest in colonies. Over 1 million people put up martin houses, but many fail to attract any birds because of poor placement.

Story Purple Martin Bird House Plans
You can always add a second story to these plans or as many as you think you need depending on how big the purple martin population is in your area. Photo of plans courtesy of Ohio Department of Natural Resources.


Note About How House Sparrows and Starlings Have Affected Purple Martin Populations
House sparrows and European starlings are purple martins greatest threat. In fact, some biologists had estimated that today's purple martin population is only 1/10 of what it was during the mid-1800s before these species were introduced. Purple martin house plans have been now designed in a way to maximize nesting discouragement of house sparrows and starlings.

How to Build a Purple Martin Bird House
Here is a video that gives some general information about Purple Martins as well as the types of houses they are attracted to nest in:


The Purple Martin Conservation Association
This is a great starter page for information about attracting and managing purple martins. Includes info on location, timing, competition, housing dimensions, competitors & predators.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Cleaning house!

Winter is here at The Mason-Dixon Historical Park and our Purple Martins are enjoying the warmer climate of South America.  With no one home, that allows us here at the park to do some house cleaning and painting.  Hope the martins appreciate the efforts when they return this spring.





All Finished.  I sure hope they like their remodeled home.