Monthly Archives: September 2021

Purple Martin Memories

Purple Martins staging at LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana

Purple Martins staging at LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana (click to see the larger version)

Some of you may remember the hordes of Purple Martins that staged at Montrose in late summer in the 1970s and 1980s. It was quite a sight and quite a sound, as several thousand martins would roost in the tall cottonwoods and suddenly explode in noisy, excited flight. This spectacle is a thing of the past – most of the Purple Martins we see anymore are the nesting birds on the northwest side of the harbor, and they number less than 100. I took this photo of migrant Purple Martins staging at LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana in late August 2021. The photo reminds me of what we used to experience at Montrose.