Purple Martin Conservation on Marco

The Purple Martin (Progne subis) is the largest in the swallow family in North America. Their coloration, according to experts, is “darker blackish-blue with an iridescent sheen, giving them a bright blue to navy blue or deep purple and even green color depending on the light.”

Each year, the Purple Martins migrate from South America to North America, reaching Florida around mid-January. In August, the Martins start heading back south. Along their migration route, they are facing increasing threats of diminished food sources due to the widespread presence of pesticides in the air and in the water. Fewer people are installing nest boxes, according to researchers.

Karol Tenace, a resident of Marco Island, has been providing housing for Purple Martins for about ten years and she refers to herself as a Purple Martin landlord. According to Karol, “I was lucky enough to attract the ‘Martins’ the first year I put up the houses and sometimes it can take up to a year or more to attract your first martin.”

Karol added, “Usually I start listening for their songs after January 15,” which she describes as “a low-pitched warble.” She may spot one Martin high in the sky and recognize their distinctive long, tapered wings and forked tail. These are usually the older male Martins returning to areas they’ve nested before, and the females usually arrive later. Pretty soon, the entire colony arrives.”

The practice of putting up Purple Martin houses and plastic gourds is nothing new. Back in 1831, James Audubon wrote, “Almost every country tavern has a Martin house,” and according to the Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA) more than a million people in the United States and Canada are Purple Martin “landlords,” today.

On Marco Island, we have four prominent Purple Martin “condominiums;” two are located in Leigh Plummer Park, one behind the bandshell at Veterans Community Park, and one at Mackle Park Lake. Samantha Malloy, Manager of Parks, Culture, and Recreation, confirmed that we have a handful of community members who check on the houses and clean the nests at the beginning of each season. Martha Montgomery, Supervisor of Facilities, was very excited that the Martins had come to the new housing facility at Veterans Community Park. 

According to PMCA, the Purple Martins used to nest in abandoned woodpeckers’ cavities until the Indigenous peoples of North America started hanging hollowed-out gourds to attract the birds, either for the joy of watching them or to keep insects away from their crops. Purple Martin experts are not sure when this shift to “human-dependent housing” happened. 

Do Purple Martins come back to the same location every year? According to the PMCA, many martins exhibit “site fidelity,” returning to the same nesting sites each year. Something landlords eagerly anticipate each year.

What do they eat? There is no evidence that they eat 2,000 mosquitos per day. 

They devour flying insects such as dragonflies, beetles, horseflies, wasps, cicadas, and some mosquitos, with a Martin typically consuming at least a thousand insects per day. A colony of martins nearby can provide natural pest control.

For Karol and the many Purple Martin landlords in the U.S., providing housing gives them a personal experience with these beautiful songbirds while playing a vital role in their conservation. 

In Marco, from early to mid-January, landlords start raising their housing units. Some also line the units with pre-nesting materials such as pine needles and will often leave clumps of pine needles nearby. Landlords can tell when the nest building is almost complete when the Martins start bringing in soft green leaves as the top layer before laying the eggs. 

Martins have had a long association with people and their landlords have been rewarded with their beautiful songs in the mornings and evenings and watched the chicks fledge each season. They’ve had a front-row vista of the Martin’s acrobatic show as they made sharp turns, hover, and catch food and drink while flying.

For the Martin landlords, the saddest part of their departure is the deafening silence they leave behind, but they are hopeful their Martin colonies will return each year!

To learn more about Purple Martin conservation, visit the Purple Martin Conservation Association website.