My daughter who is at the University of Texas School of Pharmacy in Austin called me from the Highland Mall tonight. I had told her about the pm roost there and she drove over to see it. She said it was absolutely incredible. She really could not believe her eyes.
She called me the second time to say that she obviously got there early because when she called back, she appeared astounded.
She also said people would go under the trees and clap their hands and, of course, the birds would fly up. She was quite irritated about that.
Anyway, thought you all would like to hear about this.
Do you know the location of the roost? I know where Highland Mall is but was not sure if the Roost was really somewhere around the mall parking lot or just in the gereral area? Wanted to see it this year as I have heard about it before. We had a great Martin year and still have some babies being feed. Thanks
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July 10th - Lake LBJ
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Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Have you been to see a premigratory roost yet this year? They are so indescribably spectacular! If you haven't seen one - you just gotta go!
It's worth the trip and the effort. The swirling masses of Purple Martins darkening the evening sky lasts around 45 minutes. It begins with a few birds and just grows and grows until you are astounded by the numbers. Then suddenly, as if there is a Lead Martin who says "Go!", they all begin to drop into the roost. They just keep coming, dropping into these trees and you are just sure there is not enough room for all those birds in those little trees. And the noise is deafening. Purple Martins are noisy anyway - but, there's no describing this sound.
What time of day has the most activity around that Highland Mall Roost How long does the roost normally stay around before starting their return journey
I wanted to head over there to let the kids see the martins before they leave for the winter.
I was there Wednesday night and it had already started at 8:30. I'd say get there at about 8:15 and stay until at least 9 or 9:15. THere are 7 trees by the Foley's entrance on the East side of the mall. The trees are close to the building. The whole sky is peppered with them and in the end the trees are frosted in martins. Awesome.
I hear the martins will leave later in August. Anyone know for sure? This is my first year seeing them so I'm not sure.
Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Did Katherine answer your question? I thought I would respond with just a little more info for everyone who has never gone to a premigratory roost.
This is the reason roosts are sometimes so difficult to locate. There is absolutely "no" activity by Purple Martins in the area of a roost during the day. When they leave in the morning they disperse so quickly that their combined bodies can be seen on radar forming a donut shape that grows larger and larger until it disappears.
When you get to a roost site in the evening, say 8:00pm - you may not see a single Purple Martin in the sky. Then, you will spot one or three or six and then the frequency of these sitings will increase and then there will be a few more and then a lot more and they will begin to move together in mass swirling in large arcs over the roost site. There will be birds closer to the ground and birds higher up - like swirling in different levels in different directions and the numbers just continue to increase until the density is so thick you wonder how they can fly without bumping into each other. Then, the birds begin to drop into the selected roost site and this can be very spectacular (like a tornado almost) as the sky drains into the tree tops. 45 minutes to an hour and the entire spectacle is complete and now the trees look frosted with Purple Martins and there are no birds in the sky. Amazing...
How long does the roost normally stay around before starting their return journey