Useful Hints

• The Purple Martin is a colony-nesting species, readily using nest boxes with multiple compartments (more common in the east) or individual hollowed gourds strung close together (more common in the west).
• Purple Martins compete with House Sparrows and European Starlings for nesting sites. By keeping compartments closed until Purple Martins return to their breeding habitat, you can help reduce this competition.
• The best place to install a martin house is in an open area near water.