Martin Roost - Northeast Ky 2026

[scottfreidhof]

Finally got out and located this roost yesterday, Aug. 23, 2026 after staring at it for weeks on radar. I'm sharing information about this new roost in northeast Kentucky just because the site was interesting (see map). This AK Steel property between Ashland and Russell on the Ohio River is private and there is no access. I had to watch the action with binoculars off the side of Route 23 (Country Music Highway).

The number of birds was not impressive (~1,000 martins plus 500-1,000 starlings) although the martins did put on a show with the swirling tornado followed by groups of birds diving straight down out of the bottom of the tornado and into the roost....whatever that roost substrate may have been. I could not see over the trees and structures along the outer edge of the industrial site from Route 23 to figure out whether the birds were roosting in trees or on one of the metal structures. I guesstimated the roost location on the map.

Action was brief. We noticed the first martins in the air around 8:10 pm. By 8:32 pm they had all dropped into the roost site. At least this location seems safe for the birds in that they are not bothering anyone. The last time we had a roost in northeast Ky the birds were not wanted unfortunately.