The Purple Martins Are Back

I'm just beginning to realize how many of the birds we see here are not year-round residents but may spend only one season of the year here. Birds that breed and nest further north in the summer may spend their winters here. And birds that breed and nest here in the summer may spend the winters further south. Some birds also move up and down in the landsacape at different seasons, preferring the mountains in the summer and the lowlands in the winter. The Purple Martin (Progne subis) pictured above probably returned two or three weeks ago from South America where he spent the winter. In the autumn he'll gather with others to make the long flight south again.