Editor's note: This is an occasional series from the Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge. Landlords, it's time to get the houses ready for the purple martins making their way here.

GRAND HAVEN — The last pair of purple martins nesting in the gourds at Grand Haven State Park may have a tough time getting their young ready in time for the flight south to the Amazon rainforest.

My old aluminum purple martin house has supported generations of purple martin families — but not in the last few years. I’m not sure why the old house lost its appeal to the birds. The house was ...