Purple Martin Bird Houses
Purple martins are the largest species of swallow and are immensely enjoyable to watch. They depend completely on humans for their shelter needs and humans gladly accept this responsibility. Purple martins live and nest in large colonies and they will return to an appropriately constructed bird house year after year; indeed, this dedication to their constructed nesting location has led the humans that put out these houses to be called “landlords.”
Landlords raise their purple martin bird houses in late January, as this is the time that the birds began their migration into the US. If you’re interested in housing a colony, though, make sure to wait until you see martins to raise the house; if you open the house too soon, some unwanted guests may take up residence. In exchange for the precious gift of shelter, martins can actually keep your outdoor area free of most flying insects, as they can consume large quantities of these animals.
Since purple martins live in colonies, bird houses constructed for them are actually divided into units. You can purchase bird houses that come with 8 units, while others come with 28 units. You can also get them in an enormous variety of styles and materials, though they are often made out of aluminum or other types of material that are light and stay cool, such as polymerized plastic and wood.
You can find bird houses in a variety of designs, including structures that look like cottages or barns; you can also find free purple martin bird house patterns so you can construct your own. They often come with door stoppers and starling resistant entrances so that other birds don’t take up residence in the house while the martins are in their winter range. Check out discount purple martin bird house offers to find beautiful bird houses at affordable prices.
Landlords used to make purple martin houses out of real gourds that were dried out and hollowed, though nowadays many synthetic gourds are on the market; synthetic gourds will have the added benefits of perches, an easier cleaning mechanism and inspection holes. Gourd racks are available on which to mount multiple gourds to make an adequate home for your purple martin population. The gourd racks can be lowered and raised when you need to clean out your gourds.
Actually, no matter what kind of purple martin bird house you choose, most bird houses are mounted on poles that are easy and safe to manipulate, as you need to check and care for houses regularly. Telescoping poles for purple martin bird houses, lanyards or winch systems are often included, so that even the largest of houses can be moved, lowered, and maintained with relative ease; removable nest trays also make your maintenance job easier. You should also take steps to protect your birds from predators; use pole guards so animals can’t climb up to the house and deep rooms so purple martins can hide from raptors.
