To help educate the public and generate love for this superstar bird, local conservationist, photographer, and filmmaker, Zach Steinhauser, has been working on a Purple Martin documentary – appropriately named “Purple Haze”– over the last four years. It gives me hope that humans and wildlife can live side by side in our ever-developing world. For me, it’s almost as satisfying to see and hear adults react like excited children as it is to see such a marvelous natural spectacle. When you’re out there, take note too, of the reactions of people in boats around you. It’s awe inspiring, freeing, and provides one of those rare moments in life that makes you feel you're a part of something wild and more expansive than the very human world we’ve created, which can sometimes make us feel a bit confined and restricted. If you’ve never seen the Purple Martin roost on Lake Murray I strongly urge you to do it.
These roosts can contain tens or hundreds of thousands of birds, and can be quite breathtaking, especially when combined with a sunset that is equally as breathtaking. In late summer, the adults and newborns create huge flocks and roosts, typically around isolated and safe areas, such as islands with thick understory, just like Bomb Island provides. What a sight! Isn’t it amazing that all those memories were created because of a bird? That is just one example of the power of nature, and our much-needed connection to it. It reminds me of boat-created summer breezes, orange Chek soda, and those unforgettable and unbeatable Lake Murray Sunsets (which are indeed, fyi, totally worthy of capital letters.) And then, of course, I’m reminded of the frenetic bird tornado the Purple Martins create when they congregate each evening at Bomb Island. It reminds me of all the small things you don’t know are special when you’re young, like taking the folding chairs out to the boat (the only permanent chair on our pontoon boat, which we named “Tin Can,” was my father’s “Captain’s” chair.) It reminds me of mom’s snack mix loaded with nuts and those slightly burnt bits of rice Chex that were lucky enough to soak up some of the butter in which they were cooked.
“Wanna go see the Martins?” That’s a question I loved to hear my dad ask during the summer while growing up on the south side of Lake Murray.
0 kommentar(er)
