Enormous Pre-migratory Purple Martin Roost In Shreveport

[Steve Kroenke]

Enormous Pre-migratory Purple Martin Roost In Shreveport

On July 31, 2005, Johnny Gerber, Bob Bozeman and I visited one of the wonders of the natural world: a gigantic pre-migratory purple martin roost. This roost is located at the Schumpert medical complex in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana. The number of martins at this roost is conservatively around 100,000 and they are sleeping in a group of Bradford pear trees located near the emergency room building. The trees are about 20 feet tall and the martins are covering the tops and even inner branches. Last year, Bob and I visited this roost and the martins were sleeping in several live oak trees located about 100 yards down the street. We did not see any martins at this old roost and someone had placed a fake great horned owl in one of the oaks!

The martins slowly began to appear and we saw some around 7:30 pm when we arrived. Then between 8:00 and 8:30 pm more arrived and they came from all directions and began to coalesce in the sky. The sky was black with them and as they prepared to dive down they almost take the shape of a feathered tornado. Around 8:30 pm the martins started swarming down in waves to fill the tops of the Bradford pears. Thousands and thousands of martins, mainly hatchlings, but some ASYs and SYs, dropped from the heavens and fluttered around the tree canopies as they tried to find a place to roost. The tree tops looked alive as they were so many martins hovering around the area.

The vocalizations of the martins preparing to roost sound like escaping steam or the downpour of a heavy rain. There is very little of the typical martin vocalizations we hear during the breeding season, though you will hear some chirruping.

Underneath the Bradford pears, including the nearby streets, there are huge amounts of martin droppings which create a powerful stench. It will almost take your breath away and it is probably unhealthy to breathe in the fumes for a long time. As more of the droppings accumulate under the trees, the vegetation may begin to die as it did last year at the previous roost site.

We found the parts of dead martins on the road and under the trees. These martins may have died of natural causes in the roost, been injured by flying into one another or nearby power lines, or could have been hit by cars. We did not see anyone bothering the martins.

Johnny took a number of great pictures of the roost and I have attached one. This picture shows a flock of martins pouring into the Bradford pears right in front of the emergency room building of the Schumpert medical facility. Thousands of martins had already filled some of the trees and thousands were still circling overhead. You would have to be there to appreciate this awesome spectacle of nature.

I hope everyone has a chance to experience the awesome majesty of an enormous purple martin pre-migratory roost. You will never forget it.

Steve

[Steve Kroenke]

I updated this post with a picture taken by Johnny Gerber.

Steve

[Laverne]

That's a great photo, Steve. I can see the martins in the distance as well as the ones dropping into the trees.

I went to Project MartinRoost and didn't find a suspected roost in Shreveport. If you haven't already done so, please go to the PMCA's project MartinRoost page and report this roost.

Thank you for letting everybody know about it and thanks for the photo.

Once again, it looks alot like mine. I'm beginning to think most roosts look the same... interesting...

[J Getting]

I assure you that I'm a PM lover like everyone else on this forum, BUT what do the people think that live around these Martin roost???? It's got to be pretty messy and stinky in those neighborhoods.
Jim

[Steve Kroenke]

Hey Laverne,

Thanks for commenting. Yes, I have posted the Shreveport roost on the PMCA site. I believe it may take a few days before the information is available for viewing.

Steve

Hey Jim,

When martins congregate in huge numbers in urban areas or around businesses, then there may be conflicts with people. We martin fans, including myself, are more tolerant of this roosting behavior. However, other folks which have to deal with it directly may not. At the Shreveport roost, the martin fecal droppings are covering the vegetation under the Bradford pears and the nearby side roads. It does create a smell and as more droppings accumulate the odor may get worse, particularly if we have no rain to wash the feces away. You can definitely smell the odor when you approach the trees. However, the stench does not diffuse out into nearby neighborhoods; the smell appears to be largely confined to the immediate area of the roost. But the immediate area is a medical facility and the roost is close by the emergency room! That does complicate matters!

In 2003, Schumpert tried to ?discourage? the martins by hiring a bird removal business. This business used fireworks and even long poles to scare the martins from the trees. Some martins were killed. This created bad publicity for Schumpert and the martins were no longer harassed.

In 2004, the martins continued to roost at Schumpert and Bob and I visited the site in early August. The martins were roosting in several live oak trees about one hundred yards from the current site. Just like now, the martin droppings created an odor. On the evening of July 31, 2005 I did notice a fake great horned owl placed in the 2004 roost trees and the martins were no longer using this site. Whether the ?owl? was successful or not, I just don?t know.

But from what we have seen so far in 2005, the martins are not being harassed though I am sure that the Schumpert administrators would like for the birds to leave. The martins are usually gone by mid-August I believe. I want the martins to have a safe place to roost and I can understand the concerns of Schumpert. It is a most difficult situation at times.

Steve