[Tweeters] Purple Martin nest at Green Lake, Seattle

[Martin Muller via Tweeters]

I spent 1.5 hours trying to get a head count of the Purple Martin fledglings at Green Lake this morning.
I never got more than six fledglings.
The last time I checked (August 6) the adults were bringing food to the Wood Duck nestbox attached to the floating wetland in the NW corner of the lake. The islands are viewable from land but also from the fishing pier north of the island (Waldo J. Dahl Waterfowl Refuge, most of the time referred to as "Duck Island").
Today, the youngsters are on the wing and were mostly perching in trees on "Duck Island" with both adults hunting over the lake and feeding the young.
The assumption is that these are the young produced in the Wood Duck nest box.

To my knowledge this is the first record of Purple Martins breeding a Green Lake in a long, long time.
There are records of Fall gatherings of 2,500+ Purple Martins in the trees at the south end of the lake in the 1950s. But no nesting records.
Since most trees (including snags) around Green Lake were cut down in the 1880s (a sawmill was located approximately at the present day Starbucks location), it may well be this is the first record in almost 240 years.

The Taiga Floating Wetlands were installed on the lake in the spring of 2023 in cooperation with Friends of Green Lake to commemorate Taiga Brant Hinkley. As predicted the Canada Geese loved the islands and have tried to take over. Attempts to discourage them have had mixed results. A nest box for Tree Swallows was attached to the west island. Tree Swallows used it last year, and again this year. A Wood Duck nest box was attached to the eastern island. Wood Ducks haven't used it (the expectation is they won't until the shrubbery on the island are more established) and this year the Purple Martins took up residence.

Other birds on the lake (observed from the fishing pier) included some 250 Gadwall, 70 Mallards, 80 American Coots, 9 Northern Shovelers, a handful of Pied-billed Grebes, and some 200 swallows (mostly Barn with their progeny). I heard a Belted Kingfisher but never saw it. Apparently perched on the far side of the island.

Martin Muller, Seattle


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