Purple martins have begun returning to Shockoe Bottom.
Each night at dusk, the birds swoop into a row of Bradford pear trees on North 17th Street just north of the Farmers' Market.
They spend the night in the trees and take off at sunrise.
About 75 of the birds showed up Sunday. About 100 flew in yesterday.
The birds will build their numbers before taking off in August for Brazil, where they will spend the winter.
The number of martins should grow to 8,000 or more by late July or early August.
A purple-martin festival, "Gone to the Birds," is scheduled July 25 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Bottom.
It's unclear when the flights to Richmond began, but people first reported seeing the martins in large numbers in 2007.
It's unusual for martins to roost in large numbers in an urban area. -- Rex Springston
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