Livin' the High Life in Chicago
After looking at 38 apartments over a 10 day period in early May, we were very
excited when we found our 15th floor, corner aerie in a high-rise building with views of Lake Michigan, Montrose Harbor and Chicago's north side.
Then we found an even better location; a cluster of high-rise housing right next to
the water, the Harbor, and with amazing views of the city. These perches are available to a select group of birds, Purple Martins to be exact, and I like the mix of shapes and sizes which makes for a visually interesting architectural arrangement.
According to information near the nesting site, Martins arrive in Chicago around
April 15th, apparently just in time for tax day. By August, the city plays host to tens of thousands of purple martins who are having a field day feasting on a variety of insects along the shores of Lake Michigan. Fine dining and a view - nice. As summer winds down, the martins leave their lake adjacent nest boxes, and head to the warmer climes of Bolivia and Brazil for the winter. And, you thought all snow birds went to Florida for the season.
Once they reach the Gulf of Mexico, the martins fly non-stop for 600 miles which takes
about 33 hours to complete. We drove 2600 miles from LA to Chicago in 30 hours, but stopped twice to spend the night, before heading out the next day.
We hope to visit the martin's community often. And although we envy the spectacular
location of their high-rise nesting site, we're happy to at least be in the neighborhood, and look forward to creating a home in our new nest in the sky.
Posted by designslinger at 6/18/2009 1:50 AM 
Categories: Ephemera
Tags: Montrose Harbor Purple Martin birds Lake Michigan
Categories: Ephemera
Tags: Montrose Harbor Purple Martin birds Lake Michigan
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