Southernmost Purple Martin House In The Continental USA

Florida City, Florida

This is not as amazing a claim as it may first appear -- okay, it's not really that amazing, period -- as this is about as far south as its possible to get in the lower 48 states. It could just as easily have been named the Southernmost BIRD House in the Continental USA, and it would probably still have been right. The Purple Martin, a swallow found in a wide swath from southern Texas over to the mid-Atlantic states, enjoy congregating in these multi-floor dwellings on posts.

The "Southern Most" boast is proclaimed on a banner, drawing attention to the adjacent fruit stand.

We've been to the Purple Martin Capital of the World in Griggsville, Illinois, and these two birdhouses pose no threat to the title. Still, Purple Martins are known for their ability to eat mosquitoes, and so we hope that the people of Florida will continue to build Purple Martin houses, if not quite as far south.