Hey everyone -
there was* tremendous* action on this matter yesterday, by multiple
parties, and appears to be well under control. The Symphony is committed to
protecting the Martins - it was generally a misunderstanding that they were
dealing with Starlings - and multiple agencies and organizations are
stepping in to help shoulder the burden of cleanup. I expect to hear more
about it, and ways that we may pitch in and help - but thanks to all the
concerned birders who voiced their concerns, especially Kim and others who
were on sight two nights ago to prevent a disaster and who spread the word.
Thanks!
Many of the folks with the Symphony and the city spent all day yesterday
responding to complaints. It was a clear success, but further calls and
emails at the moment aren't needed. An update should have been posted here
sooner (if it was, I missed it).
Graham Gerdeman
Nashville.
On Thu, Aug 27, 2020 at 8:07 AM roy mcgraw <rmcgraw06@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kim and all on this email distribution:
I sent an email to the mayors office and copied the city legal office this
morning requesting an immediate end to this action.
I encourage everyone to do something similar .
Thanks!
Roy McGraw
Franklin, TN
On Aug 25, 2020, at 9:57 PM, Kim Bailey <kimhbailey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Tonight at the Purple Martin roost in downtown Nashville, John Noel
discovered an Animal Pro truck parked in the symphony plaza was waiting to
"fog" the trees holding the purple martins. They had been hired by the
symphony because they claimed it was a public health issue. The small group
of birders present (John, Melinda Welton, Mary Glynn Williamson, Ann Paine,
Kim Matthews and myself) began to frantically make phone calls. I talked to
the two people in the truck and told them the birds were protected by the
Migratory Bird Treaty and they did not have the necessary authority to
continue with their plans. I was able to reach Matt Norman of TWRA who
agreed to contact the company and tell them they could not proceed tonight.
They said they would work on a new plan. I have asked Matt Norman to follow
up with them tomorrow and let them know they cannot be harassed. If any of
you have contacts at the symphony or the mayor's office, please lend your
voice so that we can educate the city about the importance of protecting
these birds. We aren't convinced they are out of the woods yet.
Kim Bailey
Nashville
------------------------------
*From:* tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on
behalf of Graham <grahamgerdeman@xxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 19, 2020 9:23 PM
*To:* tn-bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* [TN-Bird] Purple Martins - downtown Nashville
8/19/20 - Davidson County
It takes a heck of a lot for me to venture into the Country-covid theme
park of downtown Nashville, but I went to see the Purple Martins coming
into roost downtown in Nashville this evening, and it was *spectacular*.
It was very nice to run into Melinda Welton and Laura Cook and her family
down there. As reported elsewhere (including on the local news),
the Martins are staging all along the river in the area of the pedestrian
bridge by late evening, descending to the trees in front of and around the
Schermerhorn Symphony center by around 8pm. I suspect the trees around the
Titans Stadium and Cumberland Park may also be full to capacity with them.
It's simply impossible to try to count these kinds of numbers, but I did
attempt it, by first isolating 100 birds on the wires in my binoculars,
then with naked eye counting in blocks of 100, then by 1000. My comfortable
estimate for eBird was 150,000 birds, but if there is a more scientific
count made, I'm fairly sure the actual number is several times higher. I
wasn't sure if I should guess 100k or a million. I would feel confident I
was seeing 50,000 birds, and then I would turn to look over another part of
the city and they were like flying ants over the skyscrapers. It was like
standing in a Nashville skyline, Purple Martin 'Snow Globe' that someone
was shaking. Truly exceptional. Best (and only) reason I can think of to go
downtown.
Graham Gerdeman
Nashville
