Found Staging Area AND Its Roost Site!!!

AvianStewardess · Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:20 am

Thank you Laverne, Don Troha, and Louise for the help the last couple of days about radar and roost behavior, and to the many who have put up posts about the radar! Last night I found a roost! Here is a link to the pictures I took:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 760d38fdb5

The "address" is 8450 Kingston Landing Road/Easton, MD/Talbot County. I picked this address after comparing the location of the radar rings to Google Maps. While the roost is on private property, it adjoins a public boat ramp. Don't let the condition of the house fool you: Do not trespass; stern-faced man is very quick to point out where his land starts. I didn't know the public boat ramp was there; completely lucked out. I also expected to find the birds roosting across the river; thought I was picking out a good bird watching spot to narrow down the search in future nights.

I focused my pictures mostly on the one willow oak tree (an oak that thrives on the brackish tidal shorelines here) but the birds were roosting there, in a bank of trees about 500' one direction and another bank of trees about 1000' in the other...farmland is on the third side and the Choptank River on the fourth.

There were multiple "flocks" of starlings; you can see some perched in the tree, and I took pictures of them, too. I also heard/saw a few other birds: red-wing black birds, Eastern kingbirds, green herons. I heard a number of songs I did not recognize. Every time the martins flushed and returned to the tree, more and more of the other bird species would leave it...including the starlings.

I don't know how to estimate the number of birds or judge the quality of the site. I found it an awesome experience in any case. I am going to try the "process" I used for this to find the next one closest to me. If it is repeatable, I will document it. I used nothing but the internet to find this roost...I never thought technology would lead me to such magnificent nature.

Thanks again PMCA forum contributors and members! This has been a great first year!

~Ray~Gingerich · Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:33 am

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing

Louise Chambers · Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:36 am

Congrats, Michelle - good work! I am impressed - you managed to find the signal with radar and then tracked it down. Please file a report on the Project MartinRoost page, too:
http://www.purplemartin.org/roost/roostform.php

There are no confirmed roosts in MD as yet so that link will take you to the form for reporting a new roost.

Don Troha · Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:39 am

Cool! Nice work tracking down that roost and thanks for sharing pics.

AvianStewardess · Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:36 pm

Thank you for the link, Louise. I am thinking it would be best for me to go back to observe them during that "sleepy time" period, just to be really, really sure about the site. I really thought last night would not be as productive as it was, but could not have stayed out that late anyways. We left the site at 8:50 PM (hour drive back home) - there were waves of birds coming in from every direction. Given their very secluded site, I dreaded spooking them when we left. Reading the link, comparing staging to roosting, sounds like a newbie could be tricked...

Will we spook them if we leave after they've roosted?

Laverne · Fri Jul 20, 2012 3:42 pm

Spectacular photos, Michelle.

My question is: Did you stay until dark? I don't believe you should be concerned about spooking them. The roosts I have seen at shopping malls in the big city next to busy freeways don't spook easily. You know, you have to squirt them with giant blasts of water from firehoses before you will scare them away...

But, to be sure you are seeing a roost and not "just" a staging area, you need to stay until dark. If this is a staging area, then the roost itself may not be too far away. That "stern-faced man" may soften considerably when asked to talk about the Purple Martins. He should know if they are staying all night.

Whatever you decide to do, have fun... and let us know what happens...

AvianStewardess · Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:23 am

Captain's Log Night 2

We got stuck on US 50 with a car accident so didn't get over to the site until 9:20 PM. BUT all was not lost. Seems the public dock there is a favorite fishing hole for a friendly gent. Did you see any birds flying around here? "Yep, but they're roosting now." Here? "No, don't think so, they left." What time? "Right at dark." Which way did they go? "Down river." Back to the Google Maps I go.

I previously dismissed a bridge crossing the Choptank River about five miles down river from this STAGING AREA

but Laverne's mini-lesson has me thinking this is the next place to observe.

(PS The friendly gent now knows that the birds are Purple Martins...)

hardyfarm · Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:37 am

Michelle, The photos are excellent! We have a roost here in NC and I have yet to get shots that good. When you find the roost, don't worry one bit about spooking them. Like Laverne said, they are not easily spooked and even if you do spook them, they'll fly up and then right back down in almost the same spot. Another thing to try is locating other staging areas that may be near the roost. I have noticed that there are staging areas on all sides of the roost here. Some small and some very large such as the one you found. Since it was so late before they left, I think you're on the right track and not far from the actual roost. Good luck!
Donna

AvianStewardess · Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:07 am

Donna: Thanks for the encouragement!

Last's night adventure took us to the Route 331 bridge over the Choptank River. It is under construction. I Googled that fact and it appears there is a huge push to have the bridge replaced. All of the "official" letters have this year's date, leading me to believe the construction we saw is just a band-aid to get them through. It made observing a little challenging as the three "parking" areas were off limits. While I didn't see where they roosted, I know they did not roost at the bridge. It was covered with workers doing sand blasting.

The landscape around the bridge is very marshy with large clumps of grasses. There were at least as many purple martins "milling about" in this area as the staging area I observed the other night. I'm sure they are roosting somewhere close by but we've tried all of the roads that get us anywhere close, and none give the line of sight needed (darn flat land!).

Next step: the Google search on the construction leads me to believe the bridge is still tended. I'll be over in that area on Thursday and will see if it is...maybe the bridge tender can give me some hints as to where the birds are or have gone. I'm gonna find them!

Louise Chambers · Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:24 am

You are doing a good job of tracking them down - roost sites include trees, under bridges, clumps of vegetation such as cattails and other aquatic plants - also shrubs if in dense clumps.

AvianStewardess · Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:21 am

After re-running the radar for the last two weeks, I decided that the bridge construction had caused the purple martins to roost elsewhere...anywhere. The rings on the radar have become very scattered: if I hadn't seen it so well formed in the first place, I wouldn't have thought it was a roost at all.

We found another road that offered parking and a decent observation. This spot also had more-friendly land-owners. Neither lady seemed to pay any attention to the birds...but there's sooooo many around here I can see how one could become numb to it over the years.

So...

The "address" is 20553 Hogs Island Rd, Preston, MD/Caroline County. There is a property just before this having a substantially large deck. The Stop Work Order leads me to believe it is illegally erected. The property has the deck, a small building, and three barn lights. There were hundreds of birds roosting on the deck. Across the river is a huge wetland...and a healthy one at that! This is where I saw the vast majority of the birds roosting. Still don't know how one estimates the numbers.

So...

Now that the newbie witnessed with her own eyes the purple martins going sleepy times I can say Maryland has its first confirmed roost! Woo hoo! Next year's goal: track down the others for which there are nicely formed radar rings!

hardyfarm · Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:50 am

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! So exciting!!! Good job!'

~Ray~Gingerich · Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:28 pm

Congratulations on finding Maryland's first roost site!

AvianStewardess · Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:23 pm

Thank you for the congrats! Couldn't have done it without Don Troha, Laverne, and Louise. I'm addicted to that radar now!

Matt F. · Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:55 am

Great work Michelle!
You conducted some excellent recon!

Guest · Sun Jul 29, 2012 3:41 pm

Where is the roost in N.E. Okla.? Is it around Bartelsville? I live in Ketchum N.E. Okla. Have been to the one in Tulsa. Would love to check this one out. Thanks Carol

AvianStewardess · Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:35 am

Hello, Carol. Other than the ring in Tulsa I am not seeing any in N.E. Oklahoma. I'll check again in a few days; the area sure does seem promising with the rivers and bridges...

Guest · Mon Jul 30, 2012 9:35 am

Thanks so much, let me know. Carol

DornCounty · Mon Jul 30, 2012 9:52 am

cj I have been watching that area pretty regularly... out side of Tulsa,

Coffeyville,kS & joplin, MO seem to be the closest roost sites, along with one near Springdale, AR. Radar was really noisy the past 3 days so it was pretty useless. The joplin and Coffeyville roosts only show up about once a week or so and not nearly as strong as Tulsa's. Distance from radar has to be a big issue. The springdale roost shows up about 75% of the days.

On this loop you can see Joplin and Springdale very well.... you can see part of coffeyville, but it is very faint.. http://vortex.plymouth.edu/gen_nids.cgi ... 95&center=

Coffeyville is showing up here a little better: http://vortex.plymouth.edu/gen_nids.cgi ... 95&center=

Let me know if you find it.