Kevin Barker of Franklin, Tennessee, will speak on Attracting Purple Martins to Your Landscape at the Gardening Partners of Dickson County monthly meeting Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at Tennessee College of Applied Technology (same old place, new name), 740 Highway 46, Dickson.
Kevin will address all aspects of attracting and caring for purple martins, beginning with information about the birds, how to properly maintain a colony, and resource materials available to anyone interested in starting a purple martin colony. He will discuss building your own martin house from growing the gourds through construction and installation of the house.
Kevin is a member of the Purple Martin Conservation Association and gives talks and workshops about the birds in the middle Tennessee area. He and his wife Tammy are looking forward to MartinFest, a purple martin festival held in Finger, Tennessee, every June.
Adult female scout on the top house, adult male poking his head out of the bottom house.
Late winter is an excellent time of year to get a martin house ready for the year. In our area the scouts (older adult birds who are the first to return from South America) are expected to arrive by the beginning of March. New houses should open their doors in late March to first week of April.
Looking inside the gourd.
Gardening Partners 
