The PMCA put geolocators on a few purple martins from Pennsylvania and Texas, and their migration south and back north the following year were tracked. The PMCA learned the exact routes the martins took, the time spent at certain locations, etc. From the little information that Louise Chambers has disclosed on Facebook, martins from both Texas and Pennsylvania spend time in the Yucatan peninsula going north and south.
Also what got my attention was that martins migrating south for the winter takes six weeks to get to the Yucatan peninsula, and martins flying north in the spring only takes two weeks. This was true for both Texas and Pennsylvania martins.
This is just the opposite of what I thought, as I was always under the impression it would take them longer to fly north because of climate, but that is not true.
The PMCA plans on publishing this information in the winter issue of the PM Update. It should be fascinating.
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