Purple martins used to nest in trees. But they've been using houses provided by people for hundreds or even thousands of years. Native Americans began a tradition that we're still enjoying.
Purple
martins started nesting in natural gourds hundreds or even thousands of years ago. (See How
it Started.)
Many purple martin landlords believe that the shape of
the gourds still appeals to the birds more strongly than any other type
of martin house.
The way the gourds jiggle when touched by a predator
such as an owl offers some protection. And competitors such as starlings
may not like the gourds so well.
But natural gourds are expensive to buy and laborious
to prepare. And it's hard to clean them out.
But now we have the SuperGourd.
The SuperGourd builds on everything the purple martins
love about natural gourds and improves on them. (It was designed and developed
by James R Hill, III, founder and Executive Director of the purple martin
Conservation Association.)
It's the right shape. It's also roomy enough to allow
the birds to rear a full brood of young with ease. And the young have
all the room they need to stretch out. Those factors result in more nesting
success for the purple martins.
Snug construction
The SuperGourd is blow-molded is one-piece. There are
no seams to leak, so the nest tends to stay nice and dray inside.
It has a threaded access port. You can easily look in
to check on the progress of the nesting. You can evict any starlings or
house sparrows that dare to try to move in. And you get in there and clean
out the old nest at the end of the season.
The SuperGourd has six 5/16" drainage holes. If
any water does get in, it can drain right out. That helps keep the baby
birds from getting damp and chilled.
The top of the neck contains a 1/4" hole in it to
pass a wire through from which to hang it by.
The SuperGourd also has a large, molded-in rain canopy
that doubles as a perching platform. You can't quite see them in the photo,
but the canopy has corduroy-like ribs on top to give martins a good grip.
And the canopy is placed so as to allow the perfect amount of head clearance
for martins who want to perch on the rim of the hole.
Round or crescent holes
If you have a lot of starlings around, you might want to get the SuperGourd Crescent. The crescent-shaped holes are hard for starlings to enter, and it discourages most of them from competing with purple martins for the housing.
The right size
Here is a nest really big enough for a family
of purple martins. Research proves that purple martins raise more and
healthier young in a compartment larger than 6" x 6" x 6"
that many purple martins offer. With the 10" diameter of this new
SuperGourd, the family has room to move around and if necessary, back
out of the way of a potential predator's reach.
The right color
All the authorities agree that purple martin houses should
be white or a very light pastel. The SuperGourd is manufactured in a white
(sun reflecting), opaque, high-density polyethylene plastic, with ultraviolet
inhibitors added for long life. The white reflects heat and helps keep
the inhabitants cooler.
Since the color is molded right in, you never have to
paint it.
The right shape
This one's easy. It's shaped like a gourd. The features are softly blended together giving a gentle
transition of shape without any sharp edges or points for the adult birds,
their young or the landlord to get hurt on.
The right weight
The SuperGourd weighs 29 ounces, about the same as a
natural gourd its size, so not only does it look like a natural gourd
to a purple martin, but it also has the feel of one, too.
You can reach inside
The SuperGourd has an access port molded directly
onto it. This access port is covered by a standard 120mm threaded cap.
This port is 4 & 1/4" in diameter, large enough to admit a human
hand even while holding a fat nestling or a handful of wood shavings.
The cap has a liner that renders it and the access port totally watertight
when in place. A landlord merely twists the cap off to do nest checks,
nest replacement or end-of-season cleanouts. The access port's high 45
degree viewing angle gives easy viewing of nest contents during nest checks.
How to Succeed as a Purple Martin Landlord
How it all began
Deluxe Gourd Rack
The Pole and Winch
The Alamo martin house
When to Put up Purple Martin Housing
Purple Martin Conservation Association
© 2008 Diane Porter
