I Am a Landlord Now, that is what they call you when you put up a Purple Martin House for the birds. We use to have a house for them when I was a child. My grandfather built one and we always had birds in it. So my husband put this one up for me 3 days ago and we are already getting visitors.

According to my research, having a Martin house is like being a land lord. You have to make sure no other birds try to nest in it. It has to be in the right location and the right height to attract them. In the spring this breed of bird sends out scouts to roam the landscapes looking for houses for the colony. Over the years these birds have figured out that they want their houses to be close to human houses. Because humans keep predators away, like racoons, cats, larger birds.

Usually two will come by and check out the house and the location. So yesterday our first two came by for a visit and today they came back for a second look around. One sat up on top surveying the landscape.

The other one was peaking inside the apartments to see if they were up to par. They are particular about their housing units. They like a 6x6x12 room, ours are 6x6x6. We will see if they want to rent the apartments or not, it is free rent for them. 🙂

They are such a pretty bird and they eat lots of bugs. We will set up a second house once they start living here. In the fall one has to take the house down and clean it and have it ready for them again next year.

by Sandra J