Tulsa, OK Roost
Dick Sherry
Tulsa, OK
Martins have established premigration roosts in or near downtown Tulsa every year since the late 1980's. 2004 has been different than the past years due to the birds shifting the roost location every few weeks, and using multiple locations at the same time. The downtown area is very close to the Arkansas River and there are several large lakes within 20 to 30 miles that provide good feeding and resting areas for the martins during the day.
As of early August, the martins have primarily used trees on the north side of the Convention Center and the west side of the adjoining parking garage. This location is on the west side of the downtown area and is east of Houston Ave. between 3rd and 7th Streets. The roost trees form an “L” shape.
There are probably 50,000 to 100,000 martins using the roost each night and most have light bellies. There are very few ASY males. The numbers will start dropping quickly in late August and early September, but some martins may be found at the roost until late September. The latest a martin has been seen at the local roost is the first few days of October.
