Somehow, it is already that time of year again. August brings with it roosting colonies of Purple martins to downtown Nashville numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Each year, these remarkable birds amass in and around downtown for several weeks before pushing south through Central and into South America where they will spend their winter. According to Warner Park B.I.R.D. program, this year’s roost has reached its peak size of an estimated 200,000 birds! So far this year, the best places to see the spectacle are the trees around Nissan Stadium, as well as at 3rd Ave. and Church St. Numbers may continue to increase through early August with birds remaining through September. For additional information, check out this article by the Nature Conservancy!
Huge Purple Martin Roost in Nashville
The huge Purple Martin roost that created quite a stir at the Nashville Symphony Center last year is back. Last September an estimated 150,000 Purple Martins turned the Symphony Center into a staging area roost in their fall migration and they have returned.
Purple Martins leave their colony nesting sites by mid-July and begin gathering in flocks before moving again to the next destination on their route. Eventually they will form huge roosts numbering in the hundreds of thousands along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida as they continue migration to their winter homes in Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina.
The roost will likely be present for another few weeks so make it a point to go see this amazing spectacle.
Warner Park may still be looking for volunteers to assist on a nightly basis to monitor and report observations. For more information visit
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4da5ac2da3f8c34-purple1