By Courtney Rousseau
Purple martins are a native songbird species feeding solely on insects they catch in flight. They raise one brood of nestlings in North America in spring and summer, and migrate to Brazil and surrounding areas for the winter. They have nested colonially in man-made multi-room purple martin houses and gourd racks for hundreds of years.
Indigenous people were known to have hung gourds for these birds to encourage them to eat insect pests and to keep crows away from their crops. Today, the purple martin is almost 100% dependent on man to provide housing for them, as natural cavities in suitable spots are rare. You can find them nesting in purple martin houses and gourd racks 12-16 feet high in open fields, although they are not as common as they once were. According to the PMCA (Purple Martin Conservation Association), martins across North America have suffered a net population loss of 4.3 million between 1970 and today, making their conservation an important issue.
In 2013, NC Purple Martin Society president Courtney Rousseau found out that the town had acquired the Sugg Farm property, and was informed by Wake Audubon members that there was an old purple martin gourd rack present, with martins nearby. Courtney, along with former member Tim Francis, took a trip down to the farm to assess the situation. They found a homemade gourd rack, fashioned from an old light pole and wheel with rotted natural gourds hanging from it, which was no longer suitable to safely house martins. There was no way to lower the rack to make repairs. After consulting with park staff, a cherry picker truck was utilized to remove the old rack, and a new manageable pole and eight gourd rack (purchased by the NC Purple Martin Society) was placed on the property in February 2014. However, it took a while to attract martins to the new rack. The first pair moved in to the gourd rack in 2019. By the end of that first martin season, the park had two pairs of purple martins fledging their young. In 2020, all eight gourds were occupied with martin pairs, and in 2021, eight more gourds were added. Thirteen pairs of martins utilized the gourd rack for the 2021 season, and signage was added on nearby fencing so that visitors could read about the martins.
Volunteers of the NC Purple Martin Society continue to manage the housing during the season (February—July) and keep records of the number of nests and young raised in the gourd rack. This purple martin colony site is a conservation success story for the town of Holly Springs, and park visitors can enjoy seeing them fly and chatter over the park during the martin season.
You can read more about purple martins by visiting the NC Purple Martin Society website: www.ncpurplemartin.org.
