Austin Izaak Walton League of America Chapter No. 10 gave a new purple martin project its approval Monday night.

In doing so, it signaled a commitment to helping the popular songbird’s population to increase beginning this spring.

Bob Goetz, a chapter officer, received the Ikes’ approval after a discussion of its cost and prospects for more similar projects to follow.

Goetz will receive $810 to construct a 14-unit purple martin nesting box and mount it on a pole.

The allocation also includes monies for educational materials to be shared with students and others.

Goetz, who has led the efforts to help restore the local purple martin population, said he wants to teach a new generation about the importance of taking care of the purple martin population, which has been in decline locally over the last several years.

Goetz said he hopes to enlist the aid of local 4-H club members to make nest checks at the various purple martin nesting boxes scattered on public lands in the city.

The educational materials would include signage at the public areas — East Side Lak, Horace Austin Park and Mill Pond Pathway — to help educate the public.

In addition, a DVD will be made to use when making presentations to local clubs and organizations.

Goetz and fellow Ikes chapter member Mark Owens are constructing a “T14” model nesting box. The number 14 refers to the nesting boxes capacity.

Cedar wood is being used to construct the box, while the pole will be aluminum.

The Village Cooperative has agreed to purchase one of the nesting boxes and poles for use in the Murphy Creek area in northwest Austin.

The other unit will be erected somewhere along the banks of East Side Lake.

Al Layman, the chapter’s treasurer and membership chairman, questioned the cost of the purple martin nesting project package.

Layman said funding assistance should be sought.

Goetz agreed and pointed out the new nesting box and pole had the latest predator technology to protect the birds’ eggs and hatchlings.

After the motion for approval was seconded, a vote was taken and it received unanimous approval from all the IWLA members.

Not only are purple martins a harbinger of spring, but an important member of the bird population.

They are expected to migrate northward and arrive in Austin sometime in late-April or early-May, when Goetz and Owens plan to have the new nesting boxes erected on poles.

The largest of the North American swallows, the purple martin is a popular tenant of backyard birdhouses.

For the uninitiated, they are a medium-sized songbird.

They make a series of musical chirps interspersed with raspy twitters.

Some populations are undergoing a long-term decline, that worries birders everywhere.

The IWLA’s Goetz recognized their declining numbers in Austin and began in earnest to resurrect the songbird’s numbers in Austin three years ago.