Purple martins setting up house in Cape Coral on annual migration

Volunteers Kathy McDonough and Jayne Narvesen carry clip boards, checking the 48 gourd birdhouses.

In early April, the houses, 12 each on four poles at Sirenia Vista Park in Cape Coral, remained empty, waiting for the thousands of purple martins to arrive on their annual migration north from South America.

The volunteers occasionally add pine needs to help start the nests.

Within a couple of weeks, the largest members of the swallow family had moved in, built their nests by adding leaves and twigs, and started laying their eggs.  

“There’s a difference in the numbers from one week to the next,” McDonough said. She’s participated for the past six years, having started when homeschooling her children.