FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Re: mobs of martins

[OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 8/1/2006 5:18:42 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
jreese5@xxxxxxx writes:
went to  a purple martin site that requested
that "new" roosts be reported, but  since there was one already reported on
a golf course a short distance  away, I thought this may be the same or an
overflow. Any opinions on  whether this could be a separate roost? Should  be
reported?



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 
 
Small Purple Martin roosts appear and disappear especially during  early 
migration and may be just temporary staging areas. The larger  historic roosts 
and 
this year even huge numbers at places not previously noted  as roosting sites 
have formed earlier than ever. One new roost in AR was hosting  many-many 
thousands of Martins well over a month ago. There is much speculation  that the 
hurricanes probably destroyed a lot of Purple Martin housing to our  south and 
these birds moved up looking for nest sites but finding most already  taken by 
birds faithful to their regular sites and finding very few natural  sites 
they probably did not nest. 
 
A few even nest in gas station signs along I-55 in Mississippi, building  
coffer dams of mud in the open letters to keep the nest from falling out. I've  
found them in Shell, Mapco and a Citgo Stations over the past years:o)
 
The big roosts on the coast, Dauphin Island and Lake Pontchartrain, formed  
earlier this year than in previous years. The large roosts here in the 
mid-south  have been showing up on radar each morning for over a month. The 
monster 
one on  the Mississippi River in TN has grown and shrunk a couple of times but 
seems to  have leveled out now. Evidently the birds were moving in, staying a 
while and  moving on south. There are also roosts as noted near Jackson, TN, 
Grenada and  Sardis Lakes in MS and Wheeler area in Alabama. These all show 
well 
on  Nexrad around 5:30 in the morning. 
 
If you have the opportunity to see one of these roost as the birds arrive  in 
the late afternoon, do so. I've taken a lot of people to witness such and  
they all come away talking about the masses so thick above you that the sky is  
almost blocked from view. It is a spectacle only surpassed by a TORNADO FUNNEL 
 of swallows, now that is really breath taking!  

Good Birding  !!!

Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN  38135




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