Purple Martin Parties

2023 Party Dates: July 14-15*, 21-22, 28-29, August 4-5, 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: La Frontera (currently roosting in trees near Old Navy)
Please note that we will be set up near Old Navy.

Free to attend, no registration required

*Special Meetup for Texas Master Naturalists on 7/14 and for Purple Martin Landlords on 7/15. Everyone is invited on these dates, but folks in these special groups can come to our table for a free Purple Martin sticker!

July 22 and August 5: Amy’s Ice Creams will be onsite selling Purple Martin-themed scoops! Dairy-free options available.

Travis Audubon will be hosting its Purple Martin Parties, where hundreds of people congregate to watch hundreds of thousands of Purple Martins “swirl” into their roosting site. Birders and non-birders alike will be entertained by the show, so bring your family, friends, and neighbors and join us for an evening of fun.

Purple Martins begin roosting together by the thousands in early summer, as soon as their chicks leave the nest, in preparation for their migration to South America, where they live during our winter.

After dining on insects during the day and prior to settling down for the night, these highly social birds put on a spectacular aerial acrobatics show before landing in roost trees.  Onlookers from previous performances described it as, “a hurricane of birds,” “way cool,” and “better than the bats!”

Binoculars are optional, but lawn chairs, cameras, and hats are highly recommended!
Please bring drinking water – it will be hot!

Want to learn more about Purple Martins? Check out the following resources:

Purple Martins w/ Shelia Hargis

Parking Lot Birding & Purple Martin Roost w/ Jennifer Bristol

Read and download our purple martin brochure here!

Check out and download our purple martin display here!

 

Photo Credit: Jeff Whitlock. For additional information see: Purple Martins at Highland Mall (TPWD), Purple Martin Land Lords (TPWD), Purple Martin Conservation Association’s website & Purple Martin web page

NEW MERCH: At the parties, you’ll be able to snag one of our brand new Purple Martin Parties shirts with a gorgeous illustration by local artists Alex Moreland and Kevin Urrutia-O’Reilly. Available in unisex sizes XS – 2XL and youth sizes S – L.