Increase your chances of attracting purple martins by deploying some of these life-sized, highly-detailed, purple martin decoys. Establishing a new colony is often difficult because Purple Martins are social or colonial nesters. Martins prefer the company of other martins and are reluctant to be the first to settle at a new site. Decoys are believed to increase the chances of attracting breeding purple martins by helping to create the illusion of genuine colony-site activity, giving investigating martins the confidence to stay and nest. Decoys are thought to be especially effective when used in combination with martin vocalization tapes (for example, a Purple Martin Dawn Song CD). These decoys are seven inches long and molded in very dark blue HDPE plastic. They were adapted from on an original Purple Martin carving by World Class bird carver Joe Zalik of Erie, Pennsylvania. These decoys come with instructions and all hardware necessary for mounting on a variety of different types of housing including gourds and traditional wood and aluminum martin houses.
