Howdy Tweeters,
I spent the weekend in the Port Townsend area and got to do some birding.
We found Purple Martins in 3 spots. One colony of 6 pairs was at the Port
Ludlow marina using nest boxes and one flicker hole. We found 3 more birds
in lower Hadlock across from the Ajax Cafe. There was a nest box or 2 but we
couldn't tell if they were using any. Another spot was the train dock in
Port Townsend, right beside the ferry terminal. We saw and heard maybe 4 or
so birds. There is a trail on the old train track right of way that runs SW
from town. Its called the Larry Scott Memorial Trail and is not marked from
the main road. Its a right hand turn from the light at the Safeway and you
park at the marina behind the boat yard. The trail runs at least 2 miles
(which is as far as we got walking). There is a marsh on one side and a
large mud flat. We had Least and Western Sandpipers in the area and a rather
rare coastal Vesper Sparrow using the dry shrub habitat beside the trail.
My birding buddy was David Fraser who is the Endangered Species Specialist
for the Province. He said the coastal Vesper Sparrow is in big trouble up in
BC because of lack of habitat. Its only found in a couple spots in the
province. I'm not sure if anyone is managing that trail area for wildlife
but it sure needs a good broom pull. Anyway its an interesting walk to do
with Kai Tai Lagoon thats across the road. We saw Virginia Rail, Ruddy Duck,
Pintail, Shoveler,Hooded Merganser, Spotted, Least and Western Sandpiper at
the lagoon. By the by, Dave also said the Purple Martin are making a major
comeback in B.C. (and it looks like in Washington). He said its in a big
part to the nest box program. They went from a low of 3-6 pairs to I think
over 100 this year.

Tracee Geernaert
International Pacific Halibut Commission
PO Box 95009
Seattle, WA 98145-2009
206: 634-1838 ext 208
http://www.iphc.washington.edu:80/pages/iphc/staff/tracee/tracee.htm