Thank You, Kevin!

The previous post about Purple Martins elicited many comments. The major theme was an overwhelming desire to acknowledge the Purple Martin work and inspiration provided by Kevin Li. Not knowing the full story, I turned to my friend Elaine Chuang who is a strong advocate for Purple Martins and has great respect for Kevin Li and all of his accomplishments. The following is Elaine's tribute to Kevin.

"Kevin Li was a bird enthusiast and biologist, trained at the University of Washington, who worked as an ecologist for King County's Environmental Lab, testing water quality around the entire region. In the early 1990's, Kevin (who died tragically at the age of 50 while scuba diving) learned that Purple Martins (PUMA), previously seen in huge numbers at places like Green Lake and Montlake, had virtually disappeared from the area. Loss of habitat and competition with European Starlings and House Sparrows for nest spots had led to this decline: Washington State counted single PUMA nesting pair in Seattle in 1988. The idea of mounting a major effort to provide artificial nesting sites (PUMA are cavity nesters and so traditionally had relied upon 'prior work' by woodpeckers) grabbed Kevin's imagination, and he (with contributions made ultimately by Kris Baker and others) began exploring in earnest, how to do that.

One important influence was that PUMA were known historically to have learned to adapt to living near Native-Americans, who would hang hollowed out gourds for these migratory birds. They had learned that PUMA eat a lot of insects and thus were seen as valuable neighbors to have near their dwelling places; it is also known that when nesting, Martins are dedicated site protectors and will thus aggressively chase off predators.

Housing for Martins was commercially available through the Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA), both plastic gourds and wooden structures. Kevin had observed in the first seasons he worked in the Puget Sound region, that other less migratory birds (Starlings, House Sparrows to name a few) readily filled 'fixed' wooden houses if they were installed, but these species seemed not to enjoy a swinging, swaying home! thus by hanging gourds, there could be a competitive advantage favoring Martins. And Kevin and Kris wanted to pursue the idea of using natural gourds, thus they worked out techniques for turning Calabash squash (creating the appropriately sized hole, and after processing them by hollowing out, drying, treating them and installing wiring) into an appropriate nest gourd. N.B. On their very first date Kevin took Kris Baker, who would become his long time partner, to check out the Hylebos Marina area (Tacoma) as a site for Martins!

In his role with King County, Kevin had bonafide and easy access to any and all water points and thus began to employ old pilings and other support (e.g. structures at Jack Block Park) for Martin housing.  The team started and maintained nest sites all throughout King County, as far north as Deer Creek (near Edmonds) and toward the south at Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma) and Woodard Bay (Olympia), and following Kevin's death in 2006, that effort has continued.

Kevin Li is fondly remembered by many birders and conservationists as a champion of the Purple Martin, and single-handedly, is acknowledged to have reversed the loss of PUMA from this region.  In fact, the Washington State Senate passed a resolution in 2006 honoring him and this wonderful bird (the largest species of North American swallow). Senate Resolution 8731 ends thus: "NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate recognize the Western Purple Martin, the vital work of Kevin Li, and the continued efforts of committed citizens to restore these birds to their former prominence in the ecosystem of Washington State..."

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Elaine, 

Thank you for explaining Kevin's extraordinary effort to entice Purple Martins back to Seattle and for finding the following links and viewing sites! 

Larry

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More stories that demonstrate the ongoing impact of Kevin's efforts:

• June of 2005

• February of 2006

• February of 2006

• May of 2006

• May of 2016

• May of 2021

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Note: The Purple Martins will be heading south any time now. Plan accordingly. 

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Have a great day on Union Bay...where nature lives in the city!

Larry

Going Native:

Each of us, who breathe the air and drink the local water, needs to watch and protect our local environment. Native plants and trees encourage the largest diversity of lifeforms because of their long intertwined history with our local environment and native creatures. Even the microbes in the soil are native to each local landscape. 

I hope we can inspire ourselves, our neighbors, and local businesses to respect native flora and support native wildlife at every opportunity. I have learned that our most logical approach to native trees and plants (in order of priority) should be to:

1) Learn and leave established native flora undisturbed.

2) Remove invasive species and then wait to see if native plants begin to grow without assistance. (When native plants start on their own, then these plants or trees are likely the most appropriate flora for the habitat.)

3) Scatter seeds from nearby native plants in a similar habitat.

4) If you feel you must add a new plant then select a native plant while considering how the plant fits with the specific habitat and understanding the plant's logical place in the normal succession of native plants. 

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My friend Elaine Chuang shared several resources (that were new to me) from the January 2022 Washington Ornithological Society meeting. By the way, Elaine credits Vicki King for researching and supplying this information. The major new concept is that specific keystone native plants enable critical moths and caterpillars that in turn provide food for the great majority of birds, especially during the breeding season. Here are the top two links from her list.

Native Keystone Plants for Wildlife:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5cXccWx030

Resources for adding plants to your Pacific Northwest Garden:

https://wos.org/wos-wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/native-plant-resources-v2.pdf

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In the area below it is my intention to display at least one photo each week to help challenge us to know the difference between native and non-native lifeforms.  

What type of caterpillar is this? Is it native to our area?

Scroll down for the answer.

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Spilosoma virginica: It is also called the Yellow Woolybear. Eventually, it becomes the Virginian Tiger Moth. I understand it to be a native locally and across North America.

Douglas Tallamy in the book "Nature's Best Hope " explains that caterpillars supply more energy to birds than any other plant eater. He also mentions that 14% of our native plants provide food for 90% of our caterpillars. These plants he calls keystone plants and suggests we can greatly benefit urban birds by planting these in our yards.

Native Keystone Plants for Wildlife:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5cXccWx030

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The Email Challenge:

Over the years, I have had many readers tell me that Google is no longer sending them email announcements. As of 2021, Google has discontinued the service.

In response, I have set up my own email list. With each post, I will manually send out an announcement. If you would like to be added to my personal email list please send me an email requesting to be added. Something like:

                Larry, I want to see more of nature. Please add me to your personal email list. 

Thank you for your patience and interest!

My email address is:  

                     LDHubbell@comcast.net

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The Comment Challenge:

Another common issue is losing your input while attempting to leave a comment on this blog. Often everything functions fine, however, sometimes people are unable to make it past the robot-detection challenge or maybe it is the lack of a Google account. I am uncertain about the precise issue. Sadly, a person can lose their comment with no recovery recourse. 

Bottom Line: 

If you write a long comment, please, copy it before hitting enter. Then, if the comment function fails to record your information, you can send the comment directly to me using email.

My email address is:  

                     LDHubbell@comcast.net

Sincerely,

Larry

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Final Photos: