Tweeters,

Wilson Cady posted a trip report on a Clark County birding a trip a few days
ago in which Ellen and I participated. In that report I think he understed
his own efforts on Purple Martin recovery. As I scan various Audubon chapter
websites, it's obvious lots of folks in Washington are helping in martin
recovery I see great strides in Kitsap County, Vashon Island, Seattle, the
San Juans, and northwest Washington. No doubt, Purple Martins owe lots to
Kevin Li (who passed away a few years ago in a diving accident) who put
recovery of the martin a top priority project. I find Kevin's work
inspirational. I think others have, too. Anyways, here's a few paragraphs
from my trip report from last weekend on Purple Martin recovery in
Washington.

PURPLE MARTINS ARE RETURNING! 12 AUGUST 2007. Purple Martins had eluded us
this year so I asked southwestern Washington expert Wilson Cady about their
status in his area. He was the right guy to ask as he's spearheading a nest
box program on Steigerwald NWR east of Washougal. We agreed to meet early in
the morning out at the refuge to view the martins and the boxes, actually
plastic gourds. Wilson has set up the gourds on poles hung from a "T." About
six gourds hang from each of these, thus a "six-plex." We were pleased to
see lots of birds still about, the majority young birds or females, but a
few shiny blackish males. Some pairs have even completed two broods. It was
a great opportunity to study and admire these beautiful birds, both perched
and in flight as they called "churr" persistently. These were our very best
studies of this scarce and localized bird that we've had in Washington. Why
plastic gourds? Starlings apparently don't like these and prefer wood
boxes.So far this year the 48 Purple Martins have fledged on the refuge. All
gourds set out are being used by the martins. Wilson says the birds "wait in
line" to occupy the gourds as soon as they are put up. I call that a
successful program! He also related (below, in italics) this site is one of
only four in the state where martins use also natural cavities:

1. Steigerwald NWR

2. A number of Purple Martins were seen nesting in snags pocked with
woodpecker holes off Big Hanaford Road near the Centralia Steam Plant in
Lewis County this summer.

3. A couple of pair in snags on the island in Goose Lake, Skamania
County.This is at about the 4,000' elevation in the Gifford Pinchot National
Forest.

4. In natural and man-created snags and nest holes on Ft. Lewis. Five snag
nesting locations were documented in 2005 during a brief one day search
based on previous observations and reports, and random examination of
suitable habitat, seven cavities being used, three in Wier prairie. Martins
observed interacting with snags within the artillery impact area early in
season, but access to this area restricted, so breeding there could not be
confirmed during the search.

The most recent estimate for total numbers of Purple Martins in Washington
is 600 in Puget Sound and 200 along the Columbia River. If accurate, we saw
a good number of the Columbia River population. No doubt, because of effort
by folks like Wilson and others of the Purple Martin Working Group and
Purple Martin Society, numbers of these beautiful birds are increasing in
Washington, Oregon, and California! We spent three hours at Steigerwald,
watching the colonies of martins in both his gourds and those in cottonwood
snags. The gourds are right off the dike trail west of Gate 5 but snag
colony is not as yet readily accessible to the public. One can gain distant
views from SR-14 at Milepost 18.5. Wilson related to us a soon-to-be-built
trail will access some fine areas of marsh, field, and riparian habitat
soon. Besides the Purple Martin nest box project, Wilson is also active in
habitat restoration on the refuge. This big project aims to restore large
expanses of old agricultural fields to native floodplain vegetation with
thousands of shrubs and grasses of a variety of species. I was impressed by
Wilson's enthusiasm and passion for refuge work and the world of birds. It
would be great if all national wildlife refuges had such dedicated
volunteers! Of course, for an active birder restoration efforts will lead to
a greater diversity and number of birds and other wildlife so the rewards
for Wilson and other volunteers will be great.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
steppie at nwinfo.net