Now is the time to prepare for Purple Martin scouts to arrive! Purple martins are aerial insectivores; like insectivore bats, they catch insects from the air. The birds are agile hunters and eat many annoying flying insects including flies, stinkbugs, midges and wasps.
The purple martin (Progne subis) is the largest of the North American swallows. Our eastern purple martins are dependent on artificial martin houses. The houses do require some maintenance, as European starlings and house sparrows compete with martins as cavity-nesters, and will fight with martins over nest sites. You can find more information at the The Purple Martin Conservation Association’s website.
White’s has several houses and poles for them available! The houses have to be on a pole 10-20′ tall and placed in an open area at least 30′ away from your house, and with and no trees within 30′ that are taller than the Martin house. Boat docks are perfect! Stop in and pick up a house today!