I have been trying to locate a roost in Avon, Minnesota. There has been good Radar image's coming from there for last couple weeks. In the five trips I have made down there I have had no luck. I have seen a few land in the cattails on Spunk Lake. The area has so many little lakes and they all seem to have huge cattail beds which would make a great roost area. If someone living in the area could be watching the sky at 6:00 AM to make sure the Radar is picking up Martins it would be a great help. By the looks of the Radar image there should be thousands of birds. Lets find this roost.
Larry
Avon MN Roost?
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CUL Lou~Mich
Larry. A couple things I've picked up. First off, the birds don't show up on Doppler until they are a couple hundred feet off the ground. The birds themselves seem to be affected by winds. IE The radar echos will be downwind of the roost by the time it shows them. If you can get in the general area, try watching for PMs, either singles, or groups (Preferable), and see which way they are flying. Then go in that direction. Good Luck. CUL Lou
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Guest
What web site do you go to for viewing the radar? How can you tell that it is a Roost and not a storm?
Luke
Luke
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LarryL-MN
- Posts: 52
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 2:08 pm
- Location: Minnesota/Brainerd
- Martin Colony History: Built first house in 1972 and have had Martins ever since. Became an active landlord in 2002 after finding the PMCA web site.
Hi Luke
You can view it on www.wunderground.com Once you select a state you can zoom in on the area you want to see. Then set the control under the radar screen to 6 frames, fast and then hit the go button. You will see a large number of birds take off close to 6:00 AM each morning from the Avon area. A radar image will start as a small spot and over the next 20 minutes or more will grow in size and finally disperse. If there is a storm in the area you will not be to see it. Some evenings you can see them arrive on the radar also. Usually 7:30 to 8:00 PM. I was down there Saturday morning and sat at the Public Access to Lower Spunk Lake. I only seen a few martins. My guess is a possible roost would be on the West side of Middle Spunk Lake or South of the Interstate on Big Spunk Lake.
Larry
You can view it on www.wunderground.com Once you select a state you can zoom in on the area you want to see. Then set the control under the radar screen to 6 frames, fast and then hit the go button. You will see a large number of birds take off close to 6:00 AM each morning from the Avon area. A radar image will start as a small spot and over the next 20 minutes or more will grow in size and finally disperse. If there is a storm in the area you will not be to see it. Some evenings you can see them arrive on the radar also. Usually 7:30 to 8:00 PM. I was down there Saturday morning and sat at the Public Access to Lower Spunk Lake. I only seen a few martins. My guess is a possible roost would be on the West side of Middle Spunk Lake or South of the Interstate on Big Spunk Lake.
Larry