WICHITA, Kan. _ Outdoorsman Daniel Smith knows the wildlife riches of Kansas. He's seen the huge flocks of geese and sandhill cranes at Cheyenne Bottoms, and knows of remote places where coyotes, golden eagles and prairie dogs seldom see a human face.
Last Wednesday he shared what he thinks may be the best wildlife show in Kansas with four of his kids.
He took them to the parking lot at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis, where the annual purple martin show had again begun.
The Smiths stood beneath a twirling mass of 10,000 acrobatic birds, some passing within a few feet in crack-the-whip flight patterns around, over, and eventually into the trees nearby.
"This is such a unique phenomena and so close, I felt we about had to come," Smith said as the last of the thousands of purple martins gathered in the trees at near the hospital for the evening. "It's so close to home and this is just such a great place to see it, too."
After a four-year absence, the purple martins, gathering before migrating to Brazil for the winter, are roosting in a line of ornamental trees east of the hospital, along Santa Fe Street.
Mark Schuyler, a local purple martin expert, first saw the birds in the trees last Sunday evening. Most years, he said, the birds begin to gather around July 20-25. Past experience tells him their numbers will soon increase.
"We probably have 10,000, maybe a few more, now but that should double next week and then double again the week after that," said Schuyler, who expects the roost to peak at up to 50,000 purple martins this summer.
He's glad the birds have returned to the Via Christi parking lot, in a show he refers to as "a National Geographic moment."
Sherry Hausmann, Via Christi regional president, said both the birds and those who like to watch them are welcome.
Things haven't always gone so smoothly for the gathering birds, or those who like to watch them at dusk.
