Subject: [Tweeters] Do nest box programs help establish Purple Martin pairs
Date: Nov 3 18:14:41 2008
From: Kelly McAllister - mcallisters4 at comcast.net


Prompted by an inquiry on the closest nesting Purple Martins to a new group of nesting birds south of Littlerock (Thurston County), I dove into the Tweeters archive to refresh my memory on what was observed around the Centralia Steam Plant in the last couple of breeding seasons. What I found was more than I remembered. Tim O'Brian, Ruth Sullivan, Paul Hicks, and Gary Wiles have all contributed to the knowledge base on this topic, all conveniently stored in the Tweeters archives.

Purple Martins have been found nesting in natural cavities at three localities (minimum) around the Centralia Steam Plant, along Teitzel Road, pond along Tono Road, and at the 90 degree bend near the end of Big Hanaford Road.

Fort Lewis is an example of a location where an ambitious nest box program was likely responsible for increasing numbers of Purple Martins and, eventually, producing birds that colonized natural cavities. I wondered if there was a similar pattern at the Centralia Steam Plant. I contacted Glenn Waugh, an Olympia-based federal employee who oversees surface mining in Washington State. Glenn supplied the following information about the nest box program at the steam plant:

I reviewed my files and found some historical numbers regarding the installation of bird boxes at the Centralia Mine.
On February 15, 1997, 241 volunteers from several environmental/outdoor organizations, Scout Troops and Centralia employees put in approximately 1,300 hours building and installing the following:
50 Hen Nests
20 Kestrel Boxes
30 Wood Duck Boxes
15 Bat Boxes
25 Bluebird Boxes
12 Goose Nesting Platforms

The following year, on February 21, 1998, approximately 200 volunteers built and installed the following:
100 Wood Duck Boxes
Created several wildlife friendly brush piles
Built a nature trail
Cleaned up an 1871 graveyard

I don't know that anyone ever monitored nest box use on the mine. I'm guessing that the first nesting martins in this area were probably attracted by the nest boxes and that pairs were likely nesting on the mine, in boxes, well before the 2007 and 2008 discoveries of birds in natural cavities nearby.

I think I need to send some more emails. Unfortunately, scouts and other volunteers, while great for providing a pulse of quality labor, generally aren't into long-term monitoring or even short-term follow-up.

Kelly McAllister
Olympia, Washington