To continue Carol's Riddell's earlier post on purple martin sites, I would like to throw out that there are still many places that could use martin housing.

Last July I was at the Tokeland marina and a pair of martins were nesting in an old tire that was slung over a piling. I'll bet a couple of gourds would be snapped up. Last August I was at a wedding at the Fair Harbor Marina in Mason County (between Shelton and Belfair) and had purple martins overhead. I did not see any housing so I assume that they're making do with something.

There were 12,000 martins at a late summer roost at Green Lake in Seattle in the 1940s--wouldn't it be marvelous to have something like that again?

Mike Donahue
Seattle

Michael Donahue

47.33.08 N
122.13.15 W
441 ft