Hey tweets, I am putting together a Purple Martin project with the
help of the UW Botanic Gardens and Friends of Yesler Swamp.

We plan to put up 8 Purple Martin gourds on a post near the
greenhouses in hopes of starting our very own Purple Martin colony
this year!

I met with the UW's arborist, the UW horticulture supervisor, and a
member of the Friends of Yesler Swamp steering committee this morning,
and we figured out where to start the colony.

I am going ahead and ordering the gourds today, but I sure could use
some donations from Tweets out there to help out. The gourds are made
out of heavy-duty plastic, with a simulated gourd skin painted white.
We decided to go with plastic rather than real gourds, to discourage
insect infestation. The white skin will help keep the inside of the
gourds cool for the nestlings. The gourds we are buying have specially
designed entrance holes that prevent takeovers by starlings.

The pole they will be mounted on will be located inside the fenced
area of the greenhouses to prevent vandalism. (Kevin Li tried to put
up gourds twice in years past, out on the Fill proper, and both times
the gourds were stolen.)

We are going to devise a pulley system to raise and lower the gourds
for cleaning and maintenance.

The gourds are expensive: $25 each. But I think they're worth it. I
don't have a figure yet for the pole and pulley system, but the labor
to do the installation will be donated.

I'd like to try to raise about $600 to pay for all the materials. If
the final figure comes in lower, we will use the extra money to build
and install some bat houses in Yesler Swamp (Surber), and a kestrel
nest box also (if the habitat is suitable enough). We'd also like to
put up some informational signage explaining to the public all about
Purple Martins and their gourds.

If you'd like to help out, please send checks to: Friends of Yesler
Swamp, c/o Connie Sidles, 4532 48th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98105. -
Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com
www.constancypress.com




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