> From: moorepat at sprynet.com[SMTP:moorepat at sprynet.com]
> Reply To: moorepat at sprynet.com
> Sent: Friday, June 25, 1999 9:17 AM
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: purple martins
>
> Has anyone seen purple martins in North Seattle?
>
Yes, I saw a purple martin fly over Pt Wells near Richmond Beach on June 15.

Ballard (6321 Seaview Ave) has 2 pairs or more that have taken to nest
boxes on pilings south of Shilshole; a pair are in the box on the far left,
and in the upper of the two boxes on a single piling. One or two of the
birds are banded. I checked one of the boxes yesterday, no eggs were present
yet. Tree swallows are nesting in a box to the far right. River otters were
present a few days ago, as well as marbled murrelets.

Yesterday at the fishing pier at McAllister Creek at Nisqually, Kris Baker
and I saw 5 pairs among the many other swallows. They were extremely
tolerant of people, allowing me to photograph them from just a few feet
away. Martins were using a variety of nest cavities, such as the Jack Davis
style boxes, the WDFW boxes, and the natural gourd provided by Diann MacRae.
Tree swallows are nesting in a box so close to the pier that an egg is
visible.

At mid day Kris and I visited Woodard Bay, but martins were apparently out
foraging, and only one was seen between 2 and 4 pm. At dusk I would expect
to see 60 pairs, and thousands of bats. But we did see a reddish fox on the
beach, harassed by crows, and then seen running with what appeared to be a
rock dove in its mouth. Later we heard a short squawk from the woods behind
us, and upon investigation Kris regretfully flushed a cooper's hawk or
sharpie. A bald eagle was also seen, flushing a dozen herons from their
rookery. Kris counted at least 170 harbor seals on the log booms.

On June 14 I found 2 dozen or more pairs of martins nesting in the boxes at
Tramp Harbor on Vashon Island; one of the island residents has done a
remarkable job of getting martins around Vashon, with 28 pairs last year.
I'm sure he has many more this year. This spring we collaborated on putting
boxes on the lower Duwamish, and are still waiting to see activity.

Kevin Li
King County Environmental Lab
322 West Ewing St.
Seattle, WA 98119

(206) 684-2344

Visit our Lakes website:
http://splash.metrokc.gov/wlr/waterres/lakes/index.htm



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