A small colony of Purple Martins (8-12) are using both snags and abandoned pilings in the Columbia River to nest at Steamboat Landing in Washougal, WA. The birds are just to the east of the dock area in the pilings and then again approximately 1/4 mile east along the dike where the river height monitor sticks out of the river (a grouping of 3 pilings shaped like a pyramid). The birds are very vocal and do a lot of territorial sparring around the prime spots. They are working the dike bank and the sewer treatment area and adjacent newly mown hay field just north of the dike (between the dike and Hwy 14) to hunt for insects. I got very close up looks of less than 10 feet on several occassions yesterday morning. There are also Tree and Violet-green Swallows (and perhaps others) in the same area, with many tree swallows using the large cottonwood grove next to the dock area. The Martins with their beautiful coloring and generally much large size are easy to separate from the swallows in the area.

Also in the same location were 3 singing male Lazuli Buntings (hay field fence), a number of RW Blackbirds, an Eastern Kingbird, Harrier, and dozens of Eur Starlings all doing immitations of the other birds and making location and ID a little fun. I could hear both Yellow and Nashville Warbler song in the riparian area, but never got a sighting of the birds. There was a tractor turning over the cut hay in the field to dry and several Crows and a single Raven were working behind the tractor looking for stirred up creatures and other tidbits. There was a single Loon sp. well out on the Columbia. Many many fishermen were on the river in small boats working the Sandy River delta area. I also saw several successful fisherman walking back to downtown Washougal through the tunnel with salmon in their bags.

The whole stretch of the dike from Steamboat Landing to Cottonwood Beach has been cleaned up with removal of Himalayan Blackberry and other shrubs, making the river easy to scan. I've seen both Sea Lions and Otters in the river pretty near shore in the past several weeks.
Good Birding

Rob

Rob Conway
Camas, WA
45.58?N 122.44?W - elevation 310 ft.
robin_birder at hotmail.com