Guide

Go seeBirds

The purple martin colony at Long Pasture's accessible trail

April to August

Purple martins in Massachusetts nest only in multi-room houses or hanging gourds that people put up, and Mass Audubon's Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary keeps gourd racks right along its All Persons Trail. In spring and summer, the trail guide says dozens of martins can be seen filling the sky there; listen for their chirps and rattles as they catch insects in flight.

Why this time of year

The sanctuary's trail guide says you may hear the colony between April and August, with eggs laid by mid-May and the colony starting to leave for South America by late August. Mass Audubon's atlas account says martins arrive in April and generally leave Massachusetts during August.

How to notice it

  1. On the All Persons Trail at Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, stop at the Purple Martins marker and look up at the gourds hung about 20 feet in the air on metal racks, and watch for martins gliding and circling above them.
  2. Listen for the martins' chirps and rattles, then follow one bird as it twists to catch an insect in midair.
  3. In early summer, watch which gourds the adults keep flying back to. The guide says both parents feed the young until they fledge at 26 to 32 days old.
  4. Feel the real gourd at the tactile display, which holds replica martin eggs and the kind of nesting material martins use.

Try this with kids: How many martins can you count in the air above the gourds at one time?

Word to know: A “colony” is many pairs nesting close together.

Safety

  • Mass Audubon lists short steeper pitches on this loop: the final segment has a 12% slope for 10 feet and a 10% slope for 30 feet, and two other sections have a 10% slope for 30 feet. Keep a firm grip on a stroller there.

Sources

  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon, Long Pasture accessibility page (landowner, primary): 'The All Persons Trail at Long Pasture is largely flat, surfaced with a hard-packed, stone dust mixture, and is designed to accommodate wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility devices'; loop 1,900 feet; slope figures quoted in safety_notes. (read 2026-11-10)
  • massaudubon.orgLong Pasture All Persons Trail tour booklet (landowner, primary; PDF created 2024-07-18): 'Between April and August, you may hear the chirps of the Purple Martin colony'; 'During the spring and summer months, dozens of Purple Martins can be seen filling the sky'; gourds 'hung 20 feet in the air'; eggs laid by mid-May; young fledge at 26-32 days; 'By late August, the colony begins to depart for South America'; colony 'as many as 24 pairs.' (read 2026-11-10)
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Breeding Bird Atlas 1 account, Purple Martin (data 1975-1979): 'begin to arrive in April'; 'They nest exclusively in multichambered nest boxes or hanging gourds'; 'Egg laying typically occurs in early June'; 'Martins depart early from Massachusetts, generally during August.' (read 2026-11-10)
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Wellfleet Bay news, 2023-08-21: 'Purple Martins also have a colony at Long Pasture in Barnstable'; '76 eggs laid in the sanctuary's two gourd racks, 62 eggs hatched, and 47 chicks fledged.' (read 2026-11-10)

Checked against these sources on November 10, 2026.

In the guide for April, May, June, July, August

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