The Punctual and Playful Purple Martin

Pre-COVID times, my family and I would vacation annually in Corolla, one of the northern most seaside towns in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Elaborate, three-story mansions act as surrogate homes for traveling families who ache for a salty, languid retreat amidst a fast-paced, technologically pressurized world. Among these houses, there were a few that sat along the beach which, in particular, displayed similarly elaborate upright structures constructed of white “gourds” arranged on spokes laterally around a central hub. Flitting in and out of the circular doorways, their liquid song spilling into the ocean air, Purple Martins would greet our crew as we shuffled to the beach. Collectively, we found them charming and soon they became a welcomed symbol of our time together in the Outer Banks. Imagine my surprise several years later when I’d find myself at Pleasant Run, face-to-face with some of the most well-designed Purple Martin houses I’d ever seen - and right here in New Jersey!

As it turns out, our own Rich Hesselein has been an avid landlord of Purple Martins for many years - and an excellent one, at that! According to Carl, though, his efforts were anything but simple. Carl admits to having vivid memories of warm summer breezes being pierced with deafeningly loud purple martin song, played via CD in a boombox, on a loop and at the highest possible decibel, in an attempt to attract passing Purple Martins.  It only took close to two decades for the Purple Martins to make themselves official summer tenants at Pleasant Run, and it’s likely that the CD recording of their own song assisted in their arrival. Landlording for Purple Martins is not for the faint of heart, the lazy, or the unmotivated: landlording for Purple Martins means understanding nature’s rhythms, becoming a protector, and providing a safe, healthy environment for your bird tenants.

Purple Martins (Progne subis) are one of the only synanthropic North American bird species known, meaning they depend specifically on their relationships with human beings and anticipate their apartments being ready each and every year at the same time. This means cleaned, swept, free of debris, and most importantly, free of invasive bird species that cause strife to Purple Martin communities, namely European starlings and house sparrows.

Indigenous peoples were the first collectors of Purple Martins, hanging dried out gourds from stripped trees as nesting sites for the birds, which helped to keep insect populations low in growing fields, and helped to deter crows and blackbirds from bothering food crops. This method of housing, although commercialized, is still used today, although much more elaborate structures exist thanks to the innovations of the J. Warren Jacobs Company.  In 1883, the first house-like nesting structure was built, complete with railings, porches, and ornate windows. The structures received such acclaim following an exhibition at the World’s Fair, eventually claiming patronage from notable figures such as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Contemporarily known as the Jacobs Birdhouse Company, these folks put Purple Martin houses on the map.  Purple Martins are very clean birds, as can be witnessed by their incessant preening the second they're not in flight, but their dietary habits require sanitary water sources nearby. These water sources are critical to the success of the Purple Martins, who rely heavily on water-dwelling insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, and mosquitos for sustenance (the former two being particular favorites - sorry dragonfly lovers!)

Even after they’d finally showed up, Purple Martins didn’t immediately call Pleasant Run their summer home. For three years, Richard waited patiently for his first Martins to show up after installing his first apartment structure: a multi-gourd contraption that still exists in our office garden today (best to keep in mind these three years confounded on top of the many prior years of blasting Purple Martin birdsong through boombox speakers). With time, more Purple Martins discovered our growing collection of bird complexes, and now revisit each year, returning in mid-April from their overwintering trip to South America. Typically, the adult birds appear first and set up shop in their summer homes, followed several weeks later by the sub-adults, which can usually be distinguished by a patchy greyish coloration to their chest. They’re not to be confused with the females, who are much less vibrant and have more typical swallow-like coloration. By mid-May, our picnic area is filled with the cheery chortles of the iridescent purple-black birds, diving and looping about the immediate airspace above our heads to pluck unsuspecting insects from the sky mid-flight. Sometimes, if weather is less than ideal or flying insect populations are low, the Martins will take to the ground to hunt for food. Their true passion, however, is flying - if you watch them for a while, you can tell how much fun they’re having, and that they much prefer being in the air to being grounded.

You’ll rarely see Purple Martins in trees, and in fact, they require quite a bit of open space around their nesting sites - at least 40 feet from tall trees and within 30 to 120 feet from buildings. Believe it or not, they actually prefer to be closer to human structures. They commonly congregate nearby bodies of water, meaning that a carefully curated rain or wetland garden could be dually beneficial, both jazzing up the landscape and also inviting necessary facultative wetland insect populations that sustain the appetites of hungry Purple Martins. Preferring smaller trees and shrubs to large shade trees, creating a Purple-Martin-friendly garden requires some mindfully selected plant material. Below are some rain and wetland garden selections that are perfect for incorporating into your Purple Martin habitat:

PLANTS FOR PURPLE MARTINS

Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’ | serviceberry

Cephalanthus occidentalis ‘Sugar Shack’ | buttonbush

Chionanthus virginicus | fringetree

Cornus florida ‘Kay’s Appalachian Mist’ | flowering dogwood

Gymnocladus dioicus | Kentucky coffee tree

Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’ | winterberry

Matteuccia struthiopteris | ostrich fern

Mimulus ringens | Allegheny monkeyflower

Prunus virginiana ‘Canada Red’ | chokecherry

Rhus glabra ‘Laciniata’ | sumac

Rosa palustris | swamp rose

Sambucus canadensis ‘Adams’ | elderberry

Taxodium distichum ‘Shawnee Brave’ | baldcypress

Interested in becoming a landlord for Purple Martins? The Purple Martin Conservation Association is here to help!

Founded in 1987 as a citizen-scientist nonprofit organization focused on sustaining Purple Martin populations, they are truly the experts when it comes to purple martin proliferation. Their website is loaded with information about how to attract and care for Purple Martins, as well as troubleshooting advice should things go awry.