Thousands of purple martins roost downtown each summer

EVAN WILLIAMS / FLORIDA WEEKLY Greg Biolchini stood watching the orange sky over Hendry Street and Main Street in downtown Fort Myers fill blizzard like with birds. Thousands of purple martins, a type of swallow, swirled down "like a tornado" and dropped "like raisins" into a one-block row of mahogany trees.

Mr. Biolchini, a handsome, 61-year-old painter, was with a group of birdwatchers outside The Bar Association, an eatery, bar and lounge. It's across the street from where the roost happens between 8 and 9 p.m. every night between mid-June and mid-August.

"They planted the (mahogany) trees the day I moved in to the Richards (Building) studio next door 31 years ago," said Mr. Biolchini. "Actually, to the day. They planted them that day I was moving in."

Mr. Biolchini moved out of that building last year and the city had decided to cut down the trees for various reasons, including concerns about bird feces on the sidewalk. But those plans have been put on hold — at least temporarily — because of renewed interest in the yearly roosting.

Mr. Biolchini estimated the huge flock of martins has used these specific mahogany trees for as many as 10 years; although by other anecdotes, the martins have been coming to the area since before it was settled. The birds like the spot downtown.

"It's the right combination where you've got the (Caloosahatchee) river, the food source and the trees downtown that meet their criteria for roosting," said Lee County Land Stewardship Manager Roger Clark. "They like those trees even though those trees have been pruned and they're struggling."

Bar Association owner Ron Kopko is celebrating this summer-happening with nightly Purple Martin drinks (champagne and pomegranate juice), martinthemed desserts and bird-shaped whistles. It will culminate in Fort Myers first ever Purple Martin Festival July 31. That same night, Mr. Clark will lead an "urban bird watching tour" through downtown, looking for other city birds including kingbirds, chimney swifts, Cooper's hawks and house sparrows.

Mr. Kopko said he was alarmed by the spectacle of birds after opening The Bar Association 4 ½ years ago.

"I thought they were bats," he said. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, where did I open a bar?'"

As it turned out, people gathered nearby to watch — and they brought their friends downtown to see it. Mr. Kopko protested when the city planned to replace the mahogany trees with palm trees this summer, which would have ended the event.

"They really wanted the continuity of the palm trees," Mr. Kopko said. "They finally caved for us when we told them we'd have a Purple Martin Festival. It was like an 11th-hour, 12th-hour decision."

The martins summer roosting habits have resulted in festivals elsewhere in North America. Richmond, Va. has "Gone to the Birds." And in Cumberland County, N.J. there is "The Purple Martin Migration Spectacular."

Mr. Kopko enjoys the martins each evening.

"It looks like an IMAX Theatre or a scene out of 'The Birds,' an (Alfred) Hitchcock movie," he said.

About our summer guests

Purple martins are about 7½-inches long, weigh 2 ounces and are naturally acrobatic from going after insects all day long, said Louise Chambers, a magazine editor for the Purple Martin Conservation Association.

The birds fly from South America and the Caribbean to North American locations to nest. And on their way back home to places like Brazil and the Caribbean, they spend a few months on vacation, predominately in the southern United States.

"They use this roost to gain some rest and relaxation," Ms. Chambers said. "They put on weight. The fledglings learn to feed. The roosts are definitely an endof the season, pre-migration phenomenon."

She added, "Roosts seem to be in cities, surrounded by people. It's warmer at night in the city, all the heat that's absorbed by concrete buildings and streets so it may save them some energy. The lights keep away predators — at least that's the theory, but I've seen hawks picking them off."

One of the largest summer martin roosts is in Lake Murray, S.C., where boat tours are held to see as many as 750,000 purple martins descend each night. Estimates on the number of Martins that roost in the mahogany trees in Fort Myers range from 2,000 and up.

"There are thousands of them," said Mr. Clark. "It's really hard (to estimate). Being able to say there's 2,000 or 3,000, that's tough because viewing is a little limited because of the view of the buildings and the skyline."

Splat: An 'unloading zone'

"It says loading zone," joked a man who stood on the sidewalk watching the purple martins come in over the streets. "It should say unloading zone."

Carol Newcomb-Jones, president of Audubon of Southwest Florida, knows what he means. She parked her car under the mahogany trees one summer evening about four years ago.

"I was clueless to know I was parked under such special, special trees," she said.

Ms. Newcomb-Jones says the inconveniences, like washing the sidewalks or your car, are minor.

"We should really make this a wonderful feature of downtown Fort Myers," she said. "Like, wow, look what we have right in our midst."

For his part, bar owner Mr. Kopko is even offering a free drink to customers treated discourteously by the martins. And he plans to work with a local car wash to have "poop-on coupons" ready for people to get a discount car wash if the birds target their automobile.

"The birds are certainly a sign of the health of the ecosystem — there are a lot of insects (for them to feed on) — and they're helping to control the insects," noted land manger Mr. Clark. "If we didn't see the birds, that would be a real cause for concern because the environment would perhaps not be healthy enough to support them."

As they prepare for sleep, the birds sound like cocktail party chatter or something else.

"If you cup your ears, it's usually described as hissing steam," Ms. Chambers said.

Liz Badillo, 24, works as a parking attendant by the mahogany trees. Sitting in her booth across from The Bar Association, she noticed that although there still appear to be thousands of birds each night, some may have already left downtown.

"It was so amazing when they came down here about a month and a half ago," she said last Saturday. "There were so many more of them."

if you go

>>What: Purple Martin Festival & Downtown Field Trip >>When and Where: The festival begins July 31, at 6 p.m. at The Courtyard Shops at 1611 Hendry Street. The urban bird watching Field Trip hosted by Roger Clark begins at 7 p.m. at the Uncommon Friends statue in Centennial Park and ends at 8:30 p.m. >>Details on the Field Trip: bring binoculars, water and a camera. Call 433-5909 for more information. >>Cost: Free. A $5 donation to Audubon of Southwest Florida is accepted for the Field Trip.