How to Raise Young Purple Martins

In Birdhouses

• 1

  Find a birdhouse or gourd to serve as the cavity for the nests. Purple martins prefer entrances that are between 2 and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. The cavity should be at least 6-by-6 inches on the floor and at least 4 inches tall.

• 2

  Paint the gourd or house white. White nests attract purple martins far more than other colors.

• 3

  Choose a location in the middle of open areas at least 30 feet from houses and 60 feet from any tall trees. Remove all vines and brush around this chosen spot.

• 4

  Hang the birdhouse just before the purple martins reach your area. A few purple martins will come up to four weeks before the majority of the rest of the migration pack. These scouts will not use your house, so you should wait until the bulk of the birds enter the area.

• 5

  Observe and enjoy having purple martins in your yard. Purple martins are fast and strong fliers.

• 6

  Keep your house open and untouched through August. Most young purple martins will hatch in June, and look for the next year's potential nesting sites in August.

• 7

  Remove the house in September, clean it thoroughly, and store it or remount it with the entrance blocked until the purple martins return the next year.

Birds on the Ground

• 8

  Check for visible injuries, such as blood, asymmetrical wings, or lots of parasites.

• 9

  Return all healthy nestlings to the appropriate nest. Purple martins, like most birds, cannot smell that you have intervened. Step away from the nest but watch for an hour to see if the parents return. If the parents do not return, the nest has been abandoned.

• 10

  Check for starvation by noting if you can feel the chest bones are protruding or the area is lacking the fullness of developed pectoral muscles.

• 11

  Check the feet for a temperature estimate. If they are cool to the touch, the bird is hypothermic or in shock.

• 12

  Punch holes in a box that is larger than the injured, sick, or abandoned bird.

• 13

  Place a cloth and the bird in a box, and secure the lid with tape.

• 14

  Place the box in a warm, quiet place in your house.

• 15

  Take the box back outside when you hear fluttering or after 45 minutes.

• 16

  Open the box. If the bird flies out, it has recovered. If it does not, cover the bird in a second cloth and replace the lid. Call a wildlife rehabilitator, state wildlife agency or a veterinarian.

• 17

  Follow all instructions from the experts, and do not try to feed the bird unless expressly told to do so.