![]() Keep the ground below martin housing clear.Īfter studying an unused martin house, you might decide to move it to a more open location. ![]() Place housing above short mowed grass, not in a landscaped flower bed or shrubby area with tall, dense vegetation. The height of the martin house or gourds should be 10 to 20 feet above the ground. However, martins sometimes nest with trees within 15-20 feet of the housing. Place martin housing as far away from trees as possible. Trees taller than martin housing within 40-60 feet of the housing are undesirable. If it's not, move the house to the most open site, preferably someplace 30 to 120 feet away from a human house. When evaluating the location of unused martin housing, check to see if the housing is sited in the most open spot available. Being birds of wide open spaces, martins usually prefer more rural areas to wooded, urban, and suburban areas. If there's a hawk around, martins want to be able to see it. They don't like air space and views obstructed by tall trees. Martins prefer to look out in all directions across long distances and observe everything that's going on near the colony. What conditions provide good nesting habitat? Do you have what martins need on your property? Martin colonies require lots of wide open air space so birds can maneuver. Second, houses and gourds must be placed at the site on your property that best suits the requirements of martins. Martins require open feeding habitat to capture flying insects within 1 or 2 miles of a colony. Both reasons involve location.įirst of all, martin houses and gourds should be placed on property that is located within or near already existing purple martin habitat. The last of the migrating subadult martins arrive by mid-May.Īccording to The Purple Martin Conservation Association (whose website at has a wealth of information on attracting martins) there are two main reasons people fail to attract martins. You have about two or three more weeks to evaluate your housing and make improvements to increase your chances of attracting martins. If you've tried to attract nesting martins but failed, don't give up too quickly. More than a million people put up housing for purple martins in North America.
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