In early 2024, we noticed lots of purple martins flying about, catching insects, skimming the surface of the water around the boats, and being acrobats. I remembered them from my Grandfather's farm, when I was a kid. Grandpa had put up bird houses for them, and there were lots! They're fun to watch, and amazing insect control.
Back around 1994, my oldest son built a martin house. It was an apartment style, with 12 homes in one unit. Being communal birds, they love it. It was stored away in our attic. I found it, assembled and painted a mast, and took it to the lake.
We installed it onto a riser at the end of our dock, and the birds instantly loved it. Each year, beginning in 2024, more return and move in. We're created with the happy "chittering" of them in the morning (they are very 'people friendly'. They fly about all day, singing and catching insects. They're very clean birds, only pooping over the water while in flight, and cleaning the baby poop from the nest frequently. We sit on out front porch every night, insect free!
