When locating your birdhouse don’t place it near to tall trees or high vegetation. Purple Martins like open space and unusually seem to like to nest in areas where humans are present, ideally within 50 feet from your home.

Ideally your Purple Martin birdhouse should be mounted on a pole between 13 and 20 feet high (any higher and there maybe problems with wind) in an area clear of predators and in view of the house or a building. The main predators to a Purple Martin are squirrels, raccoons and snakes. Avoid attaching wires to your birdhouses that would allow them to climb in and consider using baffles or oil on the pole to deter predators from climbing.

If your area has a large population of starlings, it maybe worth buying birdhouses with Starling proof entrances. Starlings will stop the Purple Martins nesting in your box and may even attack the birds.

Purple Martins tend to return to the same birdhouses year after year, so you may need to be patient and wait a while before your first ‘family’ nests there. However once they do you will have Purple Martins nesting there as long as your birdhouses are available for them to visit.