The late Kevin Li did a tremendous job of building up the martin population
in the Seattle area. He wrote an article for WOS News several years ago that can be found here (scroll to page 6): http://www.wos.org/issue100.pdf

In the western U.S. martins prefer to nest in houses or gourds that are placed on pilings over water. (Starlings, their main competitor for nesting sites, do not like nesting over water.) There are a few land sites in the region, but primarily they nest over water.

Through the dedication of Kevin and other volunteers who provide nesting sites and keep competitors away, the small population of Purple Martins in western Washington is slowly growing.

There are lots of places in the Seattle area that would be great spots for martin housing: Green Lake, South Lake Union, Lake Washington.
Does anyone want to adopt a place and put up a gourd or two? Do you know someone who lives on Lake Washington that has a dock or boathouse where you could put up housing?

You can buy gourds at the Seattle Audubon Nature Shop, or through the Purple
Martin Conservation Association (who also sell lots of other things for
martin enthusiasts) at www.purplemartin.org.

Mike Donahue
Beacon Hill, Seattle