Michael Brown wrote:

> Is it unusual for them to nest *over* water?


Michael,

The western race of Purple Martin prefers to nest over water. I know of no
Purple Martins currently nesting away from water in western Washington at
least. Several years ago a pair bred in down town Seattle in a building.

Are Purple Martins becoming more common in western WA? With Michaels
colony, I now know of the following breeding sites:

Titlo Park, Tacoma
Gig Harbor boat basin
Silverdale bay (north end)
Quilcene boat basin
Olympia boat basin
Lake Samamish (north end) Is this population still around?
Fort Lewis

I know there are others that I can't think of at the moment.











Scott Ray
Yakima, WA
scray at wolfe.net