Last Friday, around 200 spectators gathered to watch thousands of birds flock to the Round Rock Crossing shopping center to roost. The Purple Martin Parties, hosted by Travis Audubon, are set to happen every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through August 9.
The purple martins migrate from South America to North America to breed twice a year. Onlookers set up lawn chairs and blankets in the center’s Discount Tire. Many bring umbrellas to protect from feathers and droppings.
“It's not like you have to be a birder or even have noticed birds to come out and think that this is amazing,” Shelia Hargis, a volunteer with Travis Audubon, said. “It's just really a spectacle of nature in this really urban shopping center parking lot, so it's kind of weird in that way.”
