Hi Kimberly,

Thanks for this very noteworthy observation. To the best of my knowledge this adds to a very small number of breeding records for Lewis County, and only the second time I've heard of martins nesting in submerged snags in a WA lake well above sea level.

In recent years many martins using artificial cavities have been color banded in Southwest Washington. If you or anyone else can spot a color band on the leg of one of these Lake Scanewa martins, it would be a really big deal. To the best of my knowledge a nestbox or gourd fledged martin has never been documented breeding in a natural cavity anywhere in North America.

Stan Kostka
lynnandstan at earthlink.net
Arlington WA

Subject: Purple Martins on Lake Scanewa
From: Kimberly Mason <kim AT almostdailynews.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 07:31:46 -0700
I kayaked the Cispus River end of Lake Scanewa (near Randle) yesterday
and came across at least a half dozen Purple Martins with nests in tall
snags standing in the middle of the open water. I have never seen a
Purple Martin before, so you can guess my level of excitement!

Also, as we were paddling home a group of eight Turkey Vultures came
over the trees and started circling around us, dropping down as low as
25 feet above our heads. Spectacular! Especially when one of the Osprey
(also nesting in the Martin area) came to join them in their glide.

I thought Purple Martins usually stayed near the coast?
--
*Kimberly Mason, p/SSG *
360-269-5017
Cinebar, WA
Founder of the Almost Daily News