Richmond, Virginia's annual homage to purple martins, "Gone to the Birds," has been rescheduled for Aug. 24, simply because the birds, uh, aren't cooperating, organizers say.

Richmond's annual festival celebrating the arrival of thousands of purple martins is being pushed back because the birds aren't showing up as usual.

The "Gone to the Birds" event is now scheduled for Aug. 24, three weeks later than originally planned.

Thousands of the birds usually fly into trees in the city's Shockoe Bottom area during July evenings as they stop over on their migration to Brazil.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that now organizers say one or two-dozen birds are showing up at dusk before flying off somewhere else.

Organizers believe cool, wet weather delayed the birds' breeding, and they hope more martins will show up in the next few weeks.

More at: http://gonetothebirdsrva.com