NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tens of thousands of Purple Martins have landed in Nashville as they migrate from as far north as Canada all the way to South America.

"The sky is just absolutely full of them," Jess Tremblay, a naturalist with Metro Parks, told News 2. "Some people describe them as kind of a bird tornado."

Tremblay said this yearly pit stop in Music City is an opportunity for the birds to rest and refuel. Every morning, Tremblay said the birds will disperse at the same time to forage for food, which actually show up like microbursts on weather radars.

As the sun sets, the birds swoop lower and lower in the sky to return to the trees, which makes for a fascinating sight at night.

"It is absolutely amazing to watch all of the birds circling up in the sky and come down all around the same time,” Tremblay added.

Aside from seeing these birds in real life, a tell-tale sign thy may have been in the area is lots of bird poop, which can typically be seen around the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

Tremblay said the purple martins tend to pick roosts near water that have a lot of light, making Nashville's neon lights and proximity to the Cumberland River a perfect pit stop on their way down south before winter comes.

"A good portion of the roost are first-year birds, so essentially baby birds that are just old enough now to be able to make the flight,” Tremblay explained.

Tremblay added that having a good roost helps ensure a safe flight. The Warner Parks Nature Center has even put GPS tracking on some of the birds. Their data shows purple martins end up all over South America by September in places like Costa Rica and Brazil.

If you are interested, you can watch the birds from 7-9 p.m. Tuesday night in downtown Nashville at the Walk of Fame Park.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/purple-martins-2025/