As Fred points, his suggestion that some of these martin roosts might be
2nd or 3rd "stopovers" is speculation on his part, but may be close to the
truth; it certainly is that way with blackbird roosts, as evidenced by our
banding studies over more than 15 years.
Such roosts begin with local birds, having completed their nesting, form
local roosts. In turn, these attract birds migrating into the area. In our
studies, if the population in the roost exceeds the "perch" capacity of
that site, the entire population will more to a site that accommodates the
larger numbers; this may not apply to martins, however.
Band returns and band recoveries confirmed that we had turnovers in our
roost population in some years, usually associated with appearance of
severe cold front; this obviously would not apply to martins.
Why do martins choose these suburban sites? The several suggestions listed
in these discussions are all plausible. However, consider this: where does
the vast majority of martins live and reproduce? Could this not also be a
factor in roost site selection?
Returning to Fred's hypothesis on "stopovers", that can only be confirmed
by either recapture or recovery of banded birds or ( in this time of
satellites) by tracking radio-tagged birds. I recall that a study of martin
roosts took place some years back, but I'm not certain the study considered
this topic.
Keith Arnold
Bryan/TAMU
On Aug 31, 2016 10:07 AM, "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" <
FCollins@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
The Austin martins can stay only so long in Austin for fear of turning
Blue, so move on to Harris County which of course is Red, thereby
maintaining their Purple ;-)
Actually Houston and Harris County being on the coastal plain and built on
wet prairies and swamps likely holds far more food this time of the year
for insectivores. I also suspect that many or most of these birds here this
late are actually from farther north and staging a second or third time
before jumping to South America. This is speculation on my part and I
suspect someone can answer with a bit more documentation.
Fred Collins, Director
Kleb Woods Nature Center
20303 Draper Road,Tomball TX 77377
281-357-5324
Harris County Precinct 3
Steve Radack Commissioner
www.pct3.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Dora Smith [mailto:villandra@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2016 9:27 AM
To: kekingdon@xxxxxxx; bobwhitebsacbc@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3) <FCollins@xxxxxxxx>;
dmarc-noreply-modpost@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [texbirds] Re: Roost Rings over NW Houston
Why do purple martins in Houston migrate a month later than purple martins
in Austin? In Austin purple martins stage in July, and there aren't any
left by August.
Dora
-----Original Message-----
From: KEITH KINGDON
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2016 6:04 AM
To: bobwhitebsacbc@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: FCollins@xxxxxxxx ; dmarc-noreply-modpost@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ;
texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [texbirds] Re: Roost Rings over NW Houston
It looks like the martins agree with you. They moved to the short trees in
the courtyard in front of the AMC Willowbrook theater. Immediate area is
pedestrian traffic only.
Keith Kingdon
Willowbrook area Houston
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 29, 2016, at 2:44 PM, Bob White <bobwhitebsacbc@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I'm curious about roost mortality. I guess some is to be expected. I
round that corner from 249 to Gessner each morning about 8:15. I'm always
saddened to see numbers of flattened birds in the street, with several more
on the sidewalk. One morning in early August I think there were more than
two dozen on the pavement with perhaps twice as many more on the sidewalk.
Wouldn't they choose a place with fewer cars?
Bob White
Spring, TX
On Aug 29, 2016, at 1:13 PM, Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)27Aug2016rdvl.gif.
<FCollins@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kevin,
This is the site of the Houston Audubon's annual Purple Martin
Migration Madness Party that they hold several Saturday nights each
August. The last of the season was this past Saturday. It is quite a
site. Mary Ann Weber has shared many pictures of the spectacle.
Fred Collins, Director
Kleb Woods Nature Center
20303 Draper Road,Tomball TX 77377
281-357-5324
Harris County Precinct 3
Steve Radack Commissioner
www.pct3.com
-----Original Message-----
From: texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Kevin Smith
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2016 7:57 AM
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [texbirds] Roost Rings over NW Houston
All,
For the month of August I have been noticing most mornings on the NOAA
weather radar a persistent "roost ring" located in northwest Houston
in the vicinity of the Willowbrook Mall. The ring appears between
6:30 and
6:45 am and grows until around 7:15 or so. Early in the month the
ring was centered somewhat east of the mall and by this morning has
moved a few miles west southwest of the mall. A particularly textbook
example occurred on 27 Aug and I have uploaded to my server a
composite image of the event.
http://www.lessmiths.com/~kjsmith/birds/27Aug2016comp.jpg. In
addition I have uploaded to the same directory two animated gif's of
the base reflectivity and radial velocity: 27Aug2016base.gif and
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
I am assuming that I am seeing a signature of Martins but obviously do
not know for sure. Must be an interesting sight from the ground
around 6:15 - 6:30. Has anyone noted this before?
Kevin Smith
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