Purple Martins

It's probably America's most wanted bird. Yards across America have avian apartments on a pole, hoping purple martins will set up housekeeping. And once they move in, says Weldon Vickrey,"They come back every year...they come back to the same gourd." You can tell by Weldon Vickrey's yard that bird families turn into bird flocks over time. Seven years ago he had six pair spend the summer. "There's somewhere around 85 or 90 pair of martins here at this place," he smiles. Martins like to be near people...and a lot people like to be near them. Purple martins eat flying insects...like mosquitoes. Some say they can eat 2000 a day. Vickrey explains how they gather so much food. "They catch all the large insects in their mouth. And underneath each wing there's a V-shaped hairy pocket. And they glide through the air, we say they're vacuuming the sky." When they land they dig them from under their wings out to feed their young. To attract them to your yard, eight- and twelve-compartment houses are commerically available, but Vickrey says the short-neck gourd works well. "Start with the gourds," he suggests, "and paint them white because white gourds reflect sunlight." That helps keep the inside comfortable. And you want to keep them comfortable...and hungry!