Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Purple Martin (Progne subis)

–  —

Abundance: Fairly Common during spring, summer, and early fall; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional population is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident.

Regional High Count: 40,000+ (2 August 2008; Lillydale, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman, Edmund K. LeGrand et al.); SBC/SBB High Count: 295 (3 May 2011; White County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 1 (23 September 2006; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; Winston A. Walden, Michael P. O'Rourke, Thomas M. Saya).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 20 March; fall departure largely complete by 1 September.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). 

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 8 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 32 (of 206 possible) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Very Uncommon and Fairly Common, respectively; the former YardWatch frequency classification is rather inconsistent with the Regional abundance classification, but the latter YardWatch frequency classification is reasonably consistent with the Regional abundance classification; reasons for this disparity are not clear.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: During the years in the period from 2005 to 2012 one of the most spectacular avian events of the year was the annual mustering of tens of thousands of Purple Martins at Lillydale, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee. From mid-July through mid-August the martin numbers at this site increase and then remain stable for about two weeks, after which a mass exodus leaves few martins at the site by the end of August. So many martins were in this roost that it showed up on radar screens at dawn and dusk.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited