Gone to the Birds 2011

Thursday, August 04, 2011: It was a clear cool night with a slight breeze. Tonight, Jan Frye and Nick Flanders counted 26,300 Purple Martins flying into the Pear trees on 17th Street in Shockoe Bottom. For the record, Jan Frye was the counter of Sunday night’s number (27, 500 birds).

Victoria Cooper, who has been measuring the sound of the Purple Martins since last year, measured an 80 (A and C) at 8:41 pm tonight. Last year’s high was 65 (A and C). The numbers rise exponentially (for those of us who are not mathematicians or electrical engineers). We are attempting to count birds by using sound.

One gentleman got a photograph of the Peregrine Falcon capturing a Purple Martin in mid-air!

Thanks go to the Steering Committee for picking the correct date! Adele Maclean, Lou Verner, Wyn Price, Jan Frye, Adolph White, and Karin Cundiff picked Aug. 6th in late January of this year.

Thanks go to the City of Richmond, Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association, Purple Martin Conservation Association, National Audubon Society, Virginia Society of Ornithology, and DeLuca Gelato for sponsoring this event. (Note if you want a small cup of free gelato, get a blue ticket in the Farmers’ Market! After 1000 cups, a nominal price will be charged.)

Come early and eat supper in Shockoe Bottom. Check out the restaurants using Google.

-Sue Ridd
Volunteer Coordinator
Gone to the Birds 2011 Festival

“Come get a raffle ticket for a free Purple Martin birdhouse! Jimmy Fitzgerald has assembled information about raising Purple Martins and has some wonderful prizes that he will raffle off!!

Many other conservation organizations will be present to answer your questions from the Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries, VSO, Audubon, Sierra Club, MAPS, and Coastal Virginia Bird Observatory to the Master Naturalists, Yardbirds and Carl Zeiss Optics!

Purple Pals will have something for every child to do while DeLuca Gelato will have purple gelato for your favorite spouse! This family event is sponsored by the City of Richmond, and the Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association.

Bring your lawn chair and watch as thousands of Purple Martins descend into the 20 Pear Trees on 17th Street. We expect over 10,000 birds on August 6th so don’t be late! Come see us, buy a raffle ticket or a T-shirt and see one of the coolest sights you’ll ever see!”

Here is some video of about 10,000 Purple Martins landing in the Pear Trees in  Shockoe Bottom.

I spent most of a day down in Richmond with my mother and my girlfriend to see the Purple Martin roost and try to see Peregrine Falcons. We first went to the VA Bazaar, which was alright, but not great, and then we looked around downtown Richmond until we met Mrs. Ridd at 4. I would like to thank Mrs. Ridd for taking her time to try to show us the Peregrines.

We stood and walked around for a while at the intersection of Canal and Eighth Streets and even on the median of the bridge a bit. We didn’t see any Peregrines, but we did see about 6 Osprey, and a couple of BLack and Turkey Vultures, a downy, grackles, pigeons, a possible but unconfirmed peregrine, house sparrows, starlings, and this person who stopped their car on the side of
the road, got out and asked us if we were looking at Eagles. We weren’t but we showed her the Osprey.

WE went to 17the Street to look for Peregrines on the Monroe building, but
were told that they weren’t likely to show up until 8 o’clock so we left
there to go to try to see the Eagle nest in the middle on the river, but the
view was obscured by trees and leaves, but we did see some Osprey. Then the
break for dinner.

Now for the main event:

So at about 7:30, I think it was, we went back to 17th Street to wait for
the Peregrines and the Martins. Right in front of us right near the last
Bradford Pear there was an injured female Purple Martin!!! I got out and
immediately tried to catch it. Thanks to Mr. Atwood’s banding trips I knew
how to correctly grip the bird. I figured that one of the wings was broken,
as it turned out to be, and took it to my care until Mrs. Ridd showed up
again, then we hoped to get it to a rehabber. She was relatively calm most
of the time. She did escape my grip a couple of times, but for a while we
just sat down and waited and she was calm and even began to close her eyes
as if to sleep. I couldn’t help but pet it and take some photos. My
girlfriend was even bold enough to hold it for a few moments, until we saw
some lice near the eye, then she gave it back to me. We tried to blow the
lice away and were successful for a couple of them (there were about 4). The
martins started to show up and there was much ruckus with a Cooper’s Hawk
that decided to show up, A Great Egret flew over and I think was almost
about to be chased by a Martin, because a Martin went after it for a sec but
soon left it alone.

Shortly later a Red-tailed Hawk showed up and began to be mobbed by a crow.
The martin started to get nervous again or something right around when the
trains came because she wouldn’t stop wiggling. and she was even kind enough
to leave my camera and part of my hand a nice little present. Mrs. Ridd came
at around eight or shortly after and we put the martin in the box and began
to get in touch with some people to get the bird to a rehabber. The
peregrine came shortly thereafter, as did another egret. We immediately put
the scopes on the falcon and got some great looks and some crummy photos.
Some people even came over and took a look at the falcon. By this time the
martins were gathering in large numbers now. The kept gathering and circling
for a time until near nine when they started to fly to the roost. The first
wave flew into the roost, but then became immediately flushed out and they
zipped by us. Then my girlfriend and I went over to the Alfred Hitchcock
view point in the east side and I tell you, it was spectacular! We were
afraid of being pooped on and we could even hear their droppings hit the
ground, but they didn’t get us. We briefly saw a peregrine zip by over our
heads while we waited for the next wave to fly in. I think that delayed
them, but shortly after we saw them we looked up and they disappeared; then,
out of nowhere, I look down and saw them coming right toward us. I was
great. I was glad we went there because my mother said she didn’t see much
of the martins from the west side. When the martins finished we went back
and saw the peregrine, the female, hadn’t moved so the other peregrine must
have been the male. It was a spectacular sight and a great end to a great
day.

Thanks Mrs. Ridd for taking her time to show us the birds, my mother for
driving us down, my girlfriend for coming, and Mrs. Ridd and Mrs. Johnson
for giving me help and directions that made this day possible.

God bless,
Jacob Barkett,
Woodbridge, VA