Roost Info Website

Guest · Tue Aug 09, 2005 11:04 am

I don't know if anyone ever posted the URL for it before, but I happened to come across a website that gives some roost locations. I don't know if any of them are different from the ones lists on the PMCA website but thought I'd post this for anyone interested:
http://wingsinflight.com/txroosts.html
They're mostly all in Texas, of course. It's not like I'll ever get there, but I know there are pretty many Texans on this forum and thought maybe someone would like to see this roost website.

CUL Lou~Mich · Tue Aug 09, 2005 1:04 pm

Cathy. Oh wow. This even gives directions to them. I'll bet there are a bunch of Texans printing this off. CUL Lou

Guest · Tue Aug 09, 2005 3:04 pm

Lou, Yeah, I thought it was pretty neat too.

I don't even remember how I found the website anymore.

I hope it helps someone. Too bad you and I are so far away from these roosts. I know I'd go if they'd be closer, but TN was enough of a drive for me for one year!

I'd love to be able to get in a boat and go right out to where the martins are where they're at on islands, but I'm not driving any great distance again. Btw, I will repeat that it was great to finally meet you this year!

Laverne · Tue Aug 09, 2005 3:42 pm

http://www.purplemartin.org/roost/index.php?request=PA

Hey, Cathy.

Here's a link to the PMCA's Project MartinRoost for Pennsylvania. Maybe there is a roost close to you. In the most recent issue of the Update, there is a map showing all suspected roost locations in the entire breeding range. I noticed an interesting concentration of PM roosts across the middle of the country. But, there were seven spotted on radar in PA.

Hope you get to see one - you will love it!

Al Denton · Tue Aug 09, 2005 3:59 pm

Cathy, I'm not driving great distances either. I didn't even go to Mann's Harbor this past weekend right here in NC. Actually, I would have been there but was busy cooking a hog (my family reunion was short a willing and able body)....Anyway, to my point..You have chimney swifts right? Have you ever looked around your area for a communal roost? I discovered one by accident early one morning last week just by looking up at an elementary school chimney a half mile from my house. I've found two more since then. One of them is a whopper at my daughter's high school of all places. I was out there last night at dusk to witness them dive into this giant freestanding chimney one by one.(1,000 or so swifts) No, it's not like a martin roost, but still it's quite a sight if you haven't seen one. So, if you run out of things to do

you might check it out. Check out large chimneys in your area(schools, hospitals, industry etc.) Or check out chimneyswifts.org and look for "A Swifts Night Out" You can look for past records for locations in PA. Shoot, you might have one right down the road. Al

Guest · Tue Aug 09, 2005 4:01 pm

Hey Laverne, Thanks for the roost info. I actually knew about the page but hadn't looked recently and see that one has been added. It's in the county to the north of mine. I can't imagine that a whole lot of birds would be at it, but I guess even one would be more than I saw all summer (excluding Martinfest). I'm just surprised that there's one so close to me. Now if I'd just understand coordinates, maybe I'd be able to figure out how to find it. lol I actually wouldn't know the first thing about trying to find one unless I actually would happen to run into someone who'd know the exact location of one. At the price of gas, I don't think I'm up to trying to locate it myself, if it's even easily accessible. I wish I knew who posted that roost info for Union County! I'm in Snyder County, which is directly south of Union County.

Louise Chambers · Tue Aug 09, 2005 4:59 pm

Cathy, did you look at the maps? I just use those to view possible locations - here is the map for the roost site in Union County...

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?zo ... =-76.92812

there is a link for maps next to each possible roost location, a google map or mapquest - so no one has to look up the coordinates, etc, to try and find the locations - and we hope everyone will try to locate a roost near them and file a report on the Project MartinRoost page -

Louise

Guest · Tue Aug 09, 2005 6:41 pm

Oh geez, Louise....I didn't even notice those at the far right on that page.

I think I'll go hide now!

Thank you VERY much for pointing that out. Sometimes I can't see the forest for the trees, I guess. I'll have to look into this one. I don't mind doing a little searching, but I think I'd get in trouble with hubby if I'd spend $500 in gas running around looking for birds.

I can at least look sometime...don't know if I'll come up with anything though, especially if that location might not be used anymore. Thanks again! =)

Guest · Tue Aug 09, 2005 8:52 pm

Al, Sorry I didn't notice your reply before. I've been missing a lot of stuff lately!

I hope you had fun at your reunion. That was nice of you to help out there. Yep, I have swifts here every year and never really thought about a chimney swift roost, but that's something to consider doing now too! Lucky you to have found that one so easily!

I think a thousand birds in one spot would be impressive! I'll also go check that other website too! Thanks bunches!

Al Denton · Wed Aug 10, 2005 7:11 am

OK Cathy, I hope you can find one close to home. Like I said, it's not a roost of martins, but even a few hundred swifts is really quite impressive. I find it interesting that chimney swifts nest usually one family per residential chimney and roost in the biggest darn thing they can find. I'm becoming a big fan of the chimney swift. Al

Guest · Wed Aug 10, 2005 10:48 am

Al, You're just like me then because I really like the chimney swifts a lot. I remember when we lived downtown I'd always here a certain type of bird and it's hard to forget that twittering sound that they make. I didn't know what they were at the time. I wasn't even that old...we moved from down there when I was 8 years old, but I remember those birds, which I came to know later as chimney swifts. Those same birds (well, their descendents) still fly around downtown. I never saw hundreds of them but probably a dozen or two dozen at a time. I always did like to hear them and watching them flying around. Ever since we started getting them in our chimney here I became even more interested in them. They'll always be welcome in our chimney.

Al Denton · Thu Aug 11, 2005 11:13 am

Cathy, I always saw these little birds flying around downtown when I was just a kid. I didn't know what they were either, but always enjoyed having them flying around. Yep, my chimney is always open just in case they want in. Al

Laverne · Thu Aug 11, 2005 11:51 am

OK, Cathy and Al - y'all got my curiosity up and I googled "chimney swifts"

I found a great site for them with a lot of info about the little guys.

http://www.chimneyswifts.org

I have been seeing the flying cigars (as CUL Lou described them to me several years ago) all my life. Just like you guys, I didn't know what they were - but, I found them intriguing.

I believe I'm going to be adding a Chimney Swift Tower to my yard... because I don't have a fire place. Maybe they would enjoy a big Chiminea style tower that I plan for my deck.

Al Denton · Thu Aug 11, 2005 2:28 pm

Cool Laverne

I found chimneyswift.org last week and have had lots of fun with it along with some local swift roosts. What started out another martinless season quickly turned rewarding with a pair of BB's and now all the buzz with the chimney swifts. Good luck with the tower. Al

Guest · Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:13 pm

Laverne,

I'm glad you found that website about chimney swifts. I've been going on it for several years already, as I became interested in those birds when I first noticed them going in our chimney one year. I think I always remember hearing them flying around our place. Heck, for all I know, they might have been here for years already and I didn't even notice! You know what they say sometimes about being in the pursuit of something for so long, i.e. martins, that you might miss other things along the way if you keep concentrating on that one other thing that you might not ever get. So I'm no longer focused on PMs to such a degree that I miss other things that might be right in front of my nose. The swifts are really nice to have, and they eat bugs. No one bird species should be singled out as being any better than the other; that's my belief. I think maybe because it's been so hard for me to get martins and I wanted them so much, it just blinded me to other things...it's hard to explain, but I'd like to think that my eyes have been opened now.

Oh, if you look on that website, you will find that I posted my first chimney swift sighting of the year this spring. Click on "Spring Sightings" and then skim down the list to April 29 (PA). On the map, I would be the top blue square near the middle of the state.

I'm glad to hear you're getting into the chimney swift thing, as they also need our help. I just wish more than one pair would nest in a chimney.
One of these days (not this year anymore) I'm going to take a picture of one going down the chimney. I had tried several times, but it's not easy to get it...I'll do it though! That's great that you want to add a CS tower at your place! I hope it doesn't take you long to get them. They are so fun to watch! Oh, we don't have a fireplace either...the chimney (regular red bricks) is for our oil furnace. I assume you found directions how to build one then....I know I remember seeing some already. Good luck with that; it sounds like a fun project!