More information about the recovery of the Purple Martin population in
Vancouver.

This week, attempts were made to band some of the young Purple Martins at
Maplewood Flats in North Vancouver. During the process, carried out by one
of the top banding permit holders in the lower mainland, five active nests
were discovered. This is double the number that was thought to be there!

Earlier in the week, one of the individuals involved in the banding was
surveying a Great Blue Heron nesting site in North Burnaby that is threatned
by development. While doing this, he found two more active Purple Martin
nests in the Port Moody area.

So, the Burrard Inlet area that had no Purple Martin records for about 25
years prior to 1991/2 now has at least seven breeding pairs.




Eric Greenwood
Vancouver, B.C.
egreenw at intranet.bc.ca