Kelly, were those Spanaway martins nesting in a colonial situation? I take
your report as excellent news, giving hope to the many people I know who
lack marine waterfront but want to provide suitable nest cavities for our
largest swallows. Did the property owners have any tips for us? How long
have martins been nesting there? Recently I put up two posts and five boxes
on the Sammamish Slough, and my hopes are just a bit higher now.

In the last few days I've seen 3 or 4 martins on the lower Duwamish at
Terminal 105, but none around the boxes and gourds at Ballard or Pier 90 or
Laurelhurst (Lake WA) or Fremont or at the north end of Lake Sammamish.

I understand Liberty Bay in Kitsap County has a number of martins right now,
according to Jean Power.

Black swifts, violet green swallows, and tree swallows were on Lake
Sammamish this morning.

Kevin Li
Seattle, WA
e-mail: kevin.li at metrokc.gov