BIRDS: We’ve heard from lots of bird watchers over the years, who have sent us photos of the beauties they have captured and we’re grateful for all of them.

It’s always neat when we see pictures of feathered friends that tend to be infrequent visitors, or just camera shy.

Remember the frenzy a few years back with the snowy owl?

We don’t see a lot of purple martins.

The population of the pretty little songbirds has declined by 24.1% over the last 55 years, says the Purple Martin Conservation Association. ‘These declines can be partially attributed to habitat loss and competition with non-native, invasive species like the English house sparrow and European starling.

‘Purple martins are aerial insectivores which means they eat insects while in flight. Studies have shown purple martins eat around 262 billion insects each year. Many of these insects are both human and agricultural pest species.

‘Purple martins rely almost exclusively on human-provided housing east of the Rocky Mountains. That means if people did not put up specialized housing for this bird, they may cease to exist on the entire east coast of North America.

‘Purple martins make great neighbors with their social chatter, engaging flight acrobatics, and insect-eating habits. Once martins take residence in your yard, they return year after year — it’s called ‘site fidelity.’ ‘Purple martins have a wide range and prefer an open area for their housing. You should have a clear area for martin housing — at least 40 feet from any tall trees and within 30 to 120 feet of human housing. Placing the martin housing too far from human structures will actually discourage martins from using it!’

The site purplemartin. org offers suggestions about how to pick a spot and which housing the birds like best.

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