Subject: Tramp Harbor/Vashon Island purple martins
Date: Aug 20 16:04:46 1998
From: "Li, Kevin" - Kevin.Li at METROKC.GOV


Hi Tweets,

While collecting shellfish at Tramp Harbor on the east side of Vashon Island
this morning for bacterial testing, Cathy Laetz and I were inundated with a
couple of dozen purple martins. They were from the nest boxes on the pilings
just to the south side of the public fishing pier; some had not yet fledged
while many others were noisily wheeling around us. The area was bustling
with activity the entire time we were working there, from 10am until
12:30pm. We also visited the boxes a couple of hundred yards to the North,
but no activity was observed in the brief time we spent there. The glare
from the morning sunlight made viewing a bit challenging, and afternoons
might be better. The martins can be expected to leave the area within the
next couple of weeks, so time is short for viewing them here.

Thanks to whoever put up and maintains those nest boxes, apparently the
martins are doing quite well there. It made our work so much more pleasant,
although the sight of them could also be construed as a bit of a distraction
from the clams! A green backed heron also paid us a close visit, approaching
to within yards of us for perhaps 15 minutes.

By the way, recreational clam diggers should be sure to call the Dept of
Health Paralytic Shellfish Poison hotline at 1-800-562-5632; it provides
current information on closures due to PSP.


Check out our lakes web page!
http://splash.metrokc.gov/wlr/waterres/lakes/index.htm

Kevin Li
King County Environmental Lab
322 W. Ewing St.
Seattle, WA 98119-1507