Scouts on the Way!

 

Purple Martin scouts are on the way. Generally, they arrive in mid-February in our area, searching for suitable nesting sites. Historically, purple martins nested in tree cavities, as do many birds. However, now they rely upon purple martin houses. If you have a martin house or plan to put up a martin house, now is the time to get serious about preparing for the incoming house hunters, as we tend to get scouts around Valentine's Day. I would think they would stay south another week, considering the cold front heading our way, but that's not always how it works out. You can track scout reports at the Purple Martin Conservation Association Scout Arrival Study page. You can see scouts have been reported very close to us already. The closest I see is Clyde, TX on 2 February.

If you have a martin house, it is time to clean it out to eliminate last year's parasites. A good scrub with soap and water is fine. Please do not spray insecticides in the nesting compartments. Then keep the house sparrows and the starlings out of the houses. You'll have to just pull out nesting materials as the birds attempt to build nests. Once the purple martins move in, a few sparrows or starlings are not as big a deal. But if the starlings and sparrows use up all the space, then no martins.

If you put up a new house, again, keep it cleaned out of unwanted neighbors until the martins find the house. You may or may not get martin guests the first year. Be sure the area has some open space for the birds to hunt insects.

Purple martins have a reputation for eating mosquitoes. This is largely a myth. If you want a good mosquito control, put up a bat house. Purple Martins catch some mosquitoes, but if you think about when and how purple martins hunt compared to mosquito activity, you can see why mosquitoes don't make up a large percentage of their diet. They eat many more dragonflies and spiders, although any flying insect works.

Purple martins are not quiet birds. They have a odd, robotic type chatter as they fly around, scooping up insects.

Obviously, if  you are going to try to attract martins, you need to be sure NOT to spray a bunch of insecticides in your yard. Low numbers of insects spell starvation for the young (and possibly the parents as well) and poisoned insects lead to poisoned birds.

With just a little bit of work, you too can enjoy these beautiful, active birds on your property.

Good birding!