Nashville Symphony cuts trees in anticipation of purple martin invasion

In anticipation of another purple martin invasion this summer, the Nashville Symphony’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center removed trees from its plaza on Tuesday.

In mere seconds, industrial mulchers pulverized chunks of the roughly 25-foot lacebark elm trees that were planted nearly two decades ago around the center.

Downtown passersby watched as workers chopped up branches and tipped over trunks.

Purple martins caused a $100,000 mess

Alan Schmierer Flickr

Purple martins are migratory birds and aerial insectivores, a group of birds that is in decline.

Purple martins are small, purplish birds that sing, eat bugs and occasionally inhabit human-dense areas. They live across the eastern half of the U.S. and begin migrating in massive flocks on their way to South America each summer.

During this migration, the iridescent birds pick a roost to set up camp for weeks or months. In 2020, one flock chose the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Thousands of birds dived downtown and caused significant damage to the center’s trees and building. They returned, in greater number, the next year.

These two visits left the symphony with a smelly, $100,000 mess and a threat to future performances — as guiding guests through a spray of bird droppings was not considered an option.

During the pandemic, the organization ultimately lost more than $8 million in revenue, according to COO Jonathan Marx. He estimated that another bird-related shutdown would cost $4 million in lost revenue, plus additional cleaning costs and potential building restoration.

“The cleanup was so expensive because we had to power wash the entire Schermerhorn Symphony Center building,” Nashville Symphony CEO Alan Valentine said in March.

Caroline Eggers WPLN News

Workers removed about 30 elm trees from downtown Nashville on May 17, 2022.

This is why the symphony decided to remove its trees, to encourage the roost to find another migratory stopping point.

The original plan was to remove all 41 trees in the plaza. But after word got out about the symphony’s plans, the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps became involved in the process and helped craft a more canopy-friendly plan — which safeguards the 10 public trees on the symphony’s campus and involves planting 150 new trees around town.

The symphony will monitor those 10 public trees this summer. Before purple martins choose a place to nest during migration, they send “scouts” to ensure the area is safe. If there is any indication that the roost will return, the symphony plans to remove the remaining trees.

The Nashville Symphony collaborated with multiple conservation organizations to develop its plan and released a joint statement Friday with the Office of Mayor John Cooper, the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps and The Nature Conservancy: “Conservation of Nashville’s greenery, protecting our city’s environment and cultural assets, and making decisions that put sustainability and resiliency at the forefront are fundamental values shared by each of our organizations.”