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Posted by Bryant Roberts on 21:36:24 08/07/07
In the summer of 2004 I first noticed a large concentration of Purple Martins in the afternoon and early evening around a lake north of my home. The next summer I located the main night roost in the trees in front of the Race Trac gas station on the west side of Davie Road (SW 64th Avenue) a little less than half a mile south of I-595. The roost trees survived Hurricane Wilma and the Martins returned in 2006. This year I was determined to keep closer track of the roost by making at least weekly visits and recording my observations.
My first indication that the roost was becoming active this year was on May 27 when I noticed a few Martins over my house late in the afternoon. A check of the lake confirmed that there were large numbers of Martins in the area and a visit to the main roost shortly after sunset showed that about two thousand Martins were coming in that evening.
By June 3 the number of Martins arriving each evening had risen to close to ten thousand and by the tenth there were even more using the roost. On June 11, Brennan Mulrooney reported seeing Purple Martins migrating south out of the Keys.
The numbers of Martins arriving each night at the roost continued to increase through June and peaked in early July when I estimated that well over ten thousand were coming in. During this period, the roost was truly spectacular and there was a regular group who set up lawn chairs each evening to watch the show. The Martins would begin appearing overhead at about 8:15 and by 8:30 they would fill the sky. At about 8:40 they would be swooping in close to the roost trees and a few minutes later they would begin pouring into the trees and landing on the nearby power lines. As it became dark only a few would still be flying around and the chattering birds were audible over the sound of traffic for two or three hundred yards.
The number of Martins dropped noticeably on July 10, and on the 13th only about five or six thousand came in. By the 16th, the number was down to three or four thousand and Martins were no longer congregating at the lake north of my house. The last date that that Martins were seen at the roost in any number was on July 22 when I saw about 1,500 birds. Kelli Whitney visited the roost on the evening of the 24th and saw no birds. I visited the roost on July 28 and found only one Martin flying around the roost trees and on August 6, I saw none.
Purple Martins should continue moving through the area for the rest of the fall and I will continue to check this roost but I doubt if there will be any more activity there this year. This is the southernmost regular post-breeding roost that I know of and it appears to form and dissipate earlier than roosts farther to the north.
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