There are Purple Martin Roosts in other cites across the country that are in
serious trouble similar to what the roost in Richmond was before the Gone To
The Birds Festival on July 26th. Up until Steve Osberger and Jon Balilles
organized the festival the city would not commit to leave the trees for the
birds to roost in. They had possibly put cutting the trees off temporally
because of all the letters, emails and phone calls they had to be receiving
from
bird lovers across the country. We never will know how big the threat was but
the festival appears to have removed any concerns the city may have had that
the roost was a problem and we believe they now consider it an asset.
Sue Ridd told me today that an estimated 3300 hundred people have visited
the site since the middle of July many of which have spent money with the
merchants to wine and dine while in the Bottom to watch the birds go to roost.
It
is absolutely amazing what at first seemed to be a festival that would not
draw more than a hundred people in the end resulted in turning a potential
disaster into a Hugh success and no doubt saved the trees for the birds.
Another part of the success of this story is the fact that it has spread
to roost sites in other parts of the country and individuals and government
officials have taken notice of how the Richmond site went from a near
disaster to the success that we see in it today. Educating the public while
they are
enjoying watching the birds go to roost has other cities considering doing
the same thing. There is a site on private corporate property in Houston, TX.
that was about to be destroyed but after hearing about how the Richmond Site
became a Hugh success they decided to leave the trees for the birds to roost
in. There is talk of a festival in Tulsa OK. next year as a result of the
success of the festival in Richmond.
Everyone that played a part in making the roost in Richmond a successful
and viable part of both the cities commerce and its wildlife deserve a lot
of credit. It just goes to show that where there is a will there is a way and
never give up on things that you believe in. Lets hope that we can make this
roost a home for the birds to use for many years to come and can entice the
city to plant a row of Bradford Pear Trees near by for them to use when the
existing trees die.
Your Friend,
Jimmy Fitzgerald
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