The Bridge of the Purple Martins
Friday, July 25 2008
by Frank Stasio and Susan Davis
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100,000 purple martins roost on “Old Manns Harbor Bridge" in the Outer Banks. www.purplemartinroost.com
The William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge spans from mainland Dare County to Roanoke Island. During the summer it's home to 100,000 purple martins. If you drive across the bridge on your way to the Outer Banks this summer, you'll have to slow down to avoid the birds and to obey the law. The hundreds of thousands of purple martins living east of the Rockies depend on human structures for their roosts. The birds that don't live under the bridge live in specially designed houses in yards and fields. Alisa Esposito, chair of The Coastal Carolina Purple Martin Society, joins host Frank Stasio to talk about being a "Martin Landlord," and life under the bridge.
