In the middle of Omaha, a bird-watching spectacular takes flight

[Omaha Steve]

X post in GD

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/in-the-middle-of-omaha-a-bird-watching-spectacular-takes/article_f3b57754-bcae-561b-b97a-9e5839829c94.html



KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD
Purple Martins swarm over the trees near 44th and Farnam on their annual migration through the Midwest on Aug. 31, 2009.


POSTED: MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015 12:30 AM | UPDATED: 12:36 AM, MON AUG 17, 2015.
By Nancy Gaarder / World-Herald staff writer

Babs and Loren Padelford have traveled to South and Central America as well as England to go bird-watching.

So it might be surprising to know that an inconspicuous corner in central Omaha is on the Bellevue couple’s top 10 list.

Each evening in late summer, a row of ash trees along 44th Street at the Nebraska Medical Center draws tens of thousands of purple martins and a lesser number of grackles and starlings. For the birds, it’s apparently a perfect spot to bed down for the night.

Roosts such as these are scattered across the country, each drawing birds from miles around. What makes them a spectacle is how the birds swirl and swarm en masse before settling down. On Saturday evening, the Padelfords were among several dozen spectators, including the Omaha Youth Birding Group.

FULL story at link.



JAMES R. BURNETT/THE WORLD-HERALD

A young purple martin at the roost. Purple martins, grackles and starlings flock to roosts at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

[elleng]

1. Very exciting!