Project MartinRoost expands to South America

[Pat Kramer]

Project MartinRoost expands to South America:
Nocturnal roosts are important in the annual life cycle of the Purple Martin. Between their migratory roosts in North American and their winter roosts in South America, martins spend half or more their year using communal roosts at night. Through PMCA?s Project MartinRoost http://www.purplemartin.org/roost/, PMCA members and other volunteers are locating and documenting martin roosts in North America. Good information is accumulating, and Project MartinRoost is increasing people?s awareness and appreciation of martin roosts in North America.

In South America, less is known about the number, distribution and status of martin roosts. PMCA staff members have traveled to Brazil and documented 5 roosts in the Sao Paulo state of Brazil, but it is impractical to do this on a scale as large as the Amazonian region of South America where Purple Martins winter. As in North America, enlisting individuals and organizations at the local level will be essential to a successful survey of roosts in South America. To facilitate this, PMCA has modified and expanded Project MartinRoost to enable the reporting of martin roosts in South America. Making people in South America aware of Project MartinRoost is challenging, but as word spreads, we are hopeful that many useful and interesting reports will be forthcoming.

Currently (as of 12/21/05) there are only two roosts south of USA, in Sao Paulo State in Brazil based on the PMCA's trip to Brazil in 2004. To go directly to them: http://www.purplemartin.org/roost/index.php?C=BR&S=SP I plan to add all of the roost we found during that trip to the website in the coming days.

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

It would be nice to have more information on the martins while in their winter home. An accurate report on their movements down there and on when they start migrating north to the U.S. would be helpfull to landlords here. Thank you for your work on this.

[Pat Kramer]

I have added three more Brazilian winter roosts to the Project Roostwatch site. You can view them at http://www.purplemartin.org/roost/index.php?C=BR&S=SP