Encouraged by the many wonderful posts on Va-bird, I drove the 100-plus
miles from Northern Virginia to Richmond yesterday to watch the Purple
Martins come into roost in Shockoe Bottom. WOW!! It was sure worth the
trip. The area is quite easy to find, and parking was easy as well. I
noticed the first Martins about 7:40 or so. By 8 to 8:10 there were many
thousands flying, often in great clouds, high in the sky AND THEN: at about
8:20 SWOOSH, a thousand or more flew in close over our heads ( we were
standing in the small TECHEAD parking lot), and into the trees directly
across the small street. There just seemed to be Martins EVERYWHERE!! It
was ever so much like a blast of loose leaves blown by a strong Fall wind.
Meanwhile, there were still many thousands of Martins still high in the sky.
This little drama happened several more times, until about 8:40, or so, all
the birds were in the trees and chattering away. It was just amazing; I have
never seen anything quite like it. If you have not been there, THIS IS NOT
TO BE MISSED! The regulars told me maybe another week of this many birds.
If you have not yet gone: GO!! Mike Wilson, doing an official count, told
me he thought about 6,500 birds. My estimate would have been over 8,000;
but I was not carefully counting. WHAT A SHOW !!
After the birds were all in, I turned around and looked the other way from
the trees, and soon got a great view of Jupiter, and it's four moons, in the
early evening sky. What's not to like (unless it's he long and always
congested drive back north n I-95)?
A great evening all around! Do go, if you can!
--
Donald Sweig
Falls Church, Va.
