Last night, 8/12/11, two counters averaged 21,400 Martins going into the
Shockoe Bottom roost in Richmond, VA. This was up by thousands from 8/11,
perhaps due to smoke from the Great Dismal fire out at the Pamunkey Roost?
There was Peregrine Falcon activity, and a Cooper's Hawk left at about 8:23.
The birds are beginning to enter the trees by about 8:10 most nights and
finishing by about 8:26. Arriving by 7:45 allows time to see the beautiful
flight activity as the numbers increase, plus the raptor activity is always
fascinating. Here is the link for maps and GPS:
http://www.richmondgov.com/FarmersMarket/ . You will know you are in the
right place when you see a couple of hundred people looking at the thousands
of birds overhead.
Jan
Richmond, VA
