Purple Martins nesting in Skagit County is big news. Last time I checked we
have only 7-8 records in the last two decades, virtually all of migrants
(May & Sept chiefly). Older literature indicates they were at one time
common nesters, for example, at Mt. Vernon, before the arrival of starlings.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com


>From: stan Kostka lynn Schmidt <lynnandstan at earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: lynnandstan at earthlink.net
>To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>Subject: Re: Purple Martins in Anacortes (and Whatcom County)
>Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 07:51:30 -0700
>
>Hi Gary,
>
>Ive seen martins carry food around a colony site for a long time, nearly an
>hour, and then swallow it. I have no idea why they do this. Apparently
>that female was up to the same thing, since there are no nestlings yet. I
>checked the site yesterday and found four nests lined with green leaves, so
>there should be eggs soon. Egg laying generally occurs later at new
>breeding sites compared to where martins have bred in past years.
>
>Also, yesterday evening I watched an apparent subadult pair settle into a
>nestbox on the north shore of Bellingham Bay, which indicates they may
>breed there also this year.
>
>If the weather cooperates through the season, there seems to be a good
>chance there will be Purple Martins observed breeding in Skagit and Whatcom
>counties for the first time in many years.
>
>Stan Kostka
>lynnandstan at earthlink.net
>Arlington WA
>
>original message:
>Subject: Purple Martins in Anacortes
>From: Gary Bletsch <garybletsch AT yahoo.com>
>Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 22:59:16 -0700 (PDT)
>Recent efforts to establish a Purple Martin colony in Anacortes (Skagit
>County) have succeeded. On June 16, I saw at least seven of them at the
>ferry landing (a location also known as Ship Harbor). There are bird boxes
>out on the pilings, visible to the right of the ferry slip about two
>hundred yards. One female was carrying food, so there may be nestlings. To
>view these birds, park at the five-dollar lot, cross the lines of cars
>waiting to go aboard, and look
>out at the pilings across the water.
>

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