Where have the Martin Roosts Gone?

My wife Elaine and I cannot figure out why we don't know where any martin roosts are right now in this county. Called a pre-migratory nocturnal roost, this is where Purple Martins seasonally congregate by the tens of thousands on the eve of their flight to South America.

Early mornings over patio coffee we see martins swooping into this south Pharr neighborhood from some elusive roost.

What we need are outposts or spies. We have had no reports from neighbors this year. Longtime neighbor and amigo Jack Cawood decamped to San Antonio, and we retired from 24 enjoyable years of martins when we moved to nearby Pharr.

On cloudless mornings I check Doppler radar for the telltale donut shape at www.srh.noaa.gov, a technique I learned from the Purple Martin Conservation Association.

Last evening Elaine and I drove by previous years' roost sites: the big apartment complex in south McAllen that Cawood's property-management company ran; the nearby Kmart; even Outback Steakhouse, where trees have since been severely pruned back because of the seasonal roosts. Lotsa local publicity Outback received from the martins musta not helped.

An article I once wrote about the big Outback roost for PMCA's magazine might be found here: http://purplemartin.org

FrankBirkhead
Pharr, Texas
Febirkhead@aol.com


Birkhead, 74, of adjacent Pharr is a retired McAllen city official and a Valley resident of 48 years. He was named McAllen Chamber’s Volunteer of the Year in 2006.