Purple Martins

During our recent visit to Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area in Crosby/Ironton, MN  we came across a unique bird that neither of us had seen before: Purple Martin.  I had never even heard of these birds before.  Apparently they are rather rare in Minnesota.  We drove in to the Portsmouth Campground just to check it out and were surprised to see two large bird condos on one end of the campground.  The condos were absolutely loaded with birds.  An interpretive sign said they were Purple Martins, which migrate to Minnesota from Brazil.  There was a large hill behind the condos that was mowed and the birds were constantly flying back and forth from their condos to the mowed hill.  It appeared as though they were hunting dragonflies.  I captured the flight shot as one of the Martins was returning to its condo.  The vocalizations of these birds were super interesting.  They sure were a lot of fun to watch and listen to!