Lake Murray South Carolina Purple Martins
by Lisa Wooten
Title
Lake Murray South Carolina Purple Martins
Artist
Lisa Wooten
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
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Between the months of June and August, Lake Murray SC see's a huge rise in the purple martin population.Thousands of purple martins gather at sunset on Bomb,Bird,Lunch or Doolittle Island. (depending on who you ask) At sunrise they all leave at the same time to head out for the day. It is an amazing sight.Lake Murray is a reservoir in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is approximately 50,000 acres (200 km�) in size, and has roughly 500 miles (800 km) of shoreline. It was impounded in the late 1920s to provide hydroelectric power to the state of South Carolina. Lake Murray is fed by the Saluda River, which flows from upstate South Carolina near the North Carolina state line. The Saluda Dam (officially the Dreher Shoals Dam) was an engineering feat at the time of its construction. The dam, using the native red clay soil and bedrock, was the largest earthen dam in the world when it was completed in 1930. Lake Murray itself is named after the project's chief engineer, William S. Murray. The Saluda Dam is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and 220 feet (67 m) high. Lake Murray is 41 miles (66 km) long, and 14 miles (23 km) wide at its widest point. At the time when the lake was finished, it was the world's largest man-made reservoir.
Since its construction, Lake Murray has been the focal point of the region. Many different communities in four counties are all tied to the lake, and the local history has as much to do with the lake as the lake has to do with the local history. Considering Lake Murray now covers an area that was once populated, the story of what lies beneath its surface is the story of Lake Murray itself.
In addition to serving as a source of hydroelectric power for the region, the lake has become a recreational attraction, with fishing and boating being popular activities. Also, Dreher Island State Recreation Area, located in the Western part of the lake, provides multiple activities�all focused on the lake. The purple martin (Progne subis) is the largest North American swallow. These aerial acrobats have speed and agility in flight, and when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked. Purple martins are a kind of swallow, of the genus Progne. Like other members of this genus, they are larger than most of the other swallows. The average length from bill to tail is 20 cm (7.9 in). Adults have a slightly forked tail. Adult males are entirely black with glossy steel blue sheen, the only swallow in North America with such coloration. Adult females are dark on top with some steel blue sheen, and lighter underparts. Subadult females look similar to adult females minus the steel blue sheen and browner on the back. Subadult males look very much like females, but solid black feathers emerge on their chest in a blotchy, random pattern as they molt to their adult plumage.[2]
This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Hirundo subis.[3] The species of this genus are very closely related, and some view the purple martin, gray-breasted martin, snowy-bellied martin, and southern martin, as a superspecies. Wikipedia
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July 16th, 2019
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