Purple Martins and people have a long history. Native Americans started a practice of providing homes for the birds, which was copied by European colonizers. But those colonizers released invasive species and cleared habitats to the point that the species is entirely reliant on man-made housing. Tenijah talks to Kelly Applegate, Director of Natural Resources for the Mille-Lacs band of Ojibwe about the history of Purple Martins; Joe Siegrist, president of the Purple Martin Conservation Association about how we can help Purple Martins; and 8th grader Kieran MacDonald about why he was inspired to devote himself to these birds.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. 

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