Purple Martins Majesty

Holly and I joined some old and new friends at the Purple Martin staging site near Willowbrook Mall in Northwest Houston this evening. The site is one of a handful in town where tens of thousands of PUMAs do their evening roosting ritual, which involves flying around in a huge, swirling cloud before diving into area trees for the night. It is quite a spectacle.

Hitchcock-ian!

A word to the wise about attending such an event... bring an umbrella. There is a good likelihood - as I found out... twice - that you will be pooped on. Ahhhh... nature. While we already had PUMA covered for the photo Big Year, it was still an awesome thing to behold. We did manage to add a bit to the list this weekend, netting four new birds on a swing to Bolivar-Anahuac-Trinity River. Adds included the elusive Clapper Rail and a life bird in the form of a Swallow-tailed Kite. More soon!