Huge Number of Martins at the Tulsa Roost Now

[Dick Sherry]

Last week brought a big storm and the loss of some martins, but Saturday night there were possibly more martins at the roost, which is spread over a much bigger area, than I have seen in the 25 years they have had a roost in or near the downtown area.

The largest concentration is still near the Doubletree Hotel on 7th St. just east of Houston. They are using trees on the north side of the parking garage, a tree that is in a median between the hotel and the Convention Center, and in large trees on the north side of 6th Street about 2 blocks east of the hotel.

Another large concentration is in trees on the west side of Denver Ave. just south of 4th St. This is on the grounds of the Central Library. The birds were spilling over to a tree on the east side of Denver across from the the Library's trees. They were also going into trees just north of the Library, on the north side of 4th St. which is on the grounds of the Federal Building. The Federal Bldg. has noise makers playing distress calls, but it doesn't seem to bother the martins.

There were two red-tailed hawks that kept making passes at the birds, and one near the hotel caught something and was perched on the edge of the roof of the Convention Center eating its catch while several martins buzzed it.

I don't know where these birds have come from because there seemed to be fewer martins in the Tulsa area this season. So my guess is that they are from north of here. I don't know how long they will stick around, but for now this is an incredible sight, and can probably be best seen by car cruising the area between two main locations, or from the roof of the hotel's parking garage.

[DornCounty]

wouldn't surprise me Dick.. I've been searching for a martin roost up this way for the last two seasons, and can not find one. They have to be going to Tulsa or Wichita. We know Geolocator studies have shown that a short 90mile flight would be a piece of cake for a martin to accomplish in an hour or tow.

[akp]

I am north of Tulsa on the Wash/Tulsa Co. line. We had more martins here than ever before. I had a very good year. I really need to get down there and see this.

Where would you recommend that I park downtown? Is it a hassle to try to get into the Doubletree parking garage?

[Dick Sherry]

There are a couple of options. One is to park in the parking garage and drive up to either the top level, or the one right below if you want to minimize the number of droppings that will hit your vehicle. I believe the sytem they have now requires you to pay at all times. There is a pay facility near the stairway/elevator area on one of the lower floors. I am not sure if you can pay by credit card at the exit gate.

The other option is to park in a parking lot to the west of the garage and then take the elevator to the top level. The elevators are in the northeast part of the building, and you can walk to them on the ground floor level.

The Tulsa Audubon Society is sponsoring a Roost Watch event on Saturday, August 10th. People are encouraged to come eat dinner at the hotel's restaurant before going up to see the birds come in. The service is sometimes a little slow, so if coming for dinner, you should probably be there a little after 6 PM. The martins start coming in around 8, and it continues until it is dark. Last night it was nearly 9 PM, and there were still clouds of martins wanting to come into the roost trees. You can see the roost any night that you would want - I expect they will be here in large numbers for 3 or 4 weeks more.

I am glad you had a good year. It was mixed results for us, and was the first season that I have had snake problems. I will be better prepared next year.

[Louise Chambers]

Roost watch event sounds great, Dick - I remember how much fun it was to watch the martins coming in, that's the only urban roost I've visited, and it's a great one. I hope there will be a good turnout and skies filled with martins.

[Dick Sherry]

Thanks, Louise. This past Wed. evening I was checking on the martin numbers, and there was a group of cyclists that ride every Wed. night on the parking garage roof enjoying the spectacle of the martins, so more people are becoming aware of the roost.