Purple martins find a safe haven on trip to Brazil
Stopover in Lewisville offers break for birds bound for winter home

BYLINE: Bill Thomas
COLUMN: A Reader Writes

Lewisville has quietly become well-known as a safe haven for purple martins, a federally protected species of migratory birds. Every spring, more people are putting up the traditional white "condos" in hopes of attracting these delightful creatures. If they’re lucky, they are soon treated to amazing flight demonstrations, “house inspections” and comical nest-building antics.  In four to five weeks, the birds are feeding their babies, and within a mon tb, they’re teaching them to fly.

The birds appear to enjoy sharing their amusing characteristics with people. And, once a colony is established, the birds return year after year, pairs sometimes selecting the same cubicle for their summer home.

For at least nine summers, thousands of martins have also chosen Lewisville for their pre-migratory roost. Beginning in July, they have selected neighborhoods - not always in the same area - to spend their nights prior to returning to their winter home in Brazil. When the first flying insects of the next spring return in mid-February, the martins will begin arriving for their six-month stay.

A growing number of citizens and businesses have welcomed these zany birds with open arms.      Martins need a place to rest peacefully while storing up energy for their long flight to South America.

Unfortunately, migratory birds haven’t been so welcomed in other Texas and Louisiana cities in recent years. In some cases, birds and their nesting areas were destroyed. In others, thousands of purple martins were shot point-blank while perched in their roosts. In stark contrast, Lewisville's relationship with its martin population has not gone unnoticed.

On a recent Saturday evening, 30 members of the Purple Martin Landlords of North Texas gathered at the birds’ current roasting site. For the third year, the birds are roosting in trees in the shopping center parking lot at West Main and Old Orchard streets. Altogether, there were at least 100 people there, including many out-of-town families, to witness the hour-long spectacle of the birds swarming overhead and then settling into the tees promptly at 9p.m.

Gisela Fregoe, president  of the Grand Prairie based Purple Martin Landlords of North Texas, described the organization’s visit:  “We were so very impressed with the size of the roost estimated at 50,000 birds. And we appreciate so much the pleasant reception these precious birds have received in Lewisvllle.” She also recently called Lewisville Mayor Gene Carey to express her organization's appreciation for our city’s successful history of hosting the birds’ annual visit. 

"I could tell Mayor Carey is well aware of the martins' value and their vulnerabilities, and I was impressed that the city has taken steps to protect and support them,” she said.

To find out about welcoming purple martins to your yard, contact Mrs. Fregoe at giselaf@earthlink.net or visit http://purplemartins.com/northeastern/ and also http://purplemartins.com.

Purple Marlin Landlords of North Texas meet Thursday nights, January through July, at the Betty Warmack Library, 760 Bardln Road in Grand Prairie, TX.