Noteworthy West Coast First Arrival
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stan kostka
- Posts: 154
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 7:59 pm
- Location: Washington, Seattle
This past Sunday March 26 an adult male martin was observed within a flock of Cliff and Violet-Green swallows over the Columbia River in Kittitas county, Eastern Washington. This first reported martin of 2006 is noteworthy for two reasons. First, it occurrs in March, one of only a very few March arrivals on record for this far north, and only two days after the first birds were observed in California's Central Valley, about 700 miles to the south, and at a time when no reports of martins have yet come from Oregon. Secondly, there are no known breeding locations in Eastern Washington, so, this bird may represent an unknown migratory route, or an unknown eastern Washington breeding location. Martins in Eastern Washington are rare, and this report represents, to the best of my knowledge, only the 13th all time report/record of martins east of the Cascade Mountains (not including Klickitat County). A more detailed account of the status of martins in Eastern Washington can be found at the last link on the Western Archives Page of http://www.purple-martin.org/
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Dick Sherry
- Posts: 774
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 5:30 pm
- Location: Tulsa, OK
Stan, could this be on a migration route for martins heading to Alberta? Or is it too early for that?
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stan kostka
- Posts: 154
- Joined: Fri Nov 28, 2003 7:59 pm
- Location: Washington, Seattle
Hi Dick,
At this point seems it's anyone's guess as to what that bird is or was doing there.
As far as a migratory route, I was thinking more of the bird heading up into BC and then west, down a major drainage into the Georgia Basin. Past few years there have been reports of first arrivals on Vancouver Island ahead of other nearby areas to the south on the north Pacific Coast. The spotty breeding distributions of western birds seems more or less seperated along the lines of mountain ranges that run north south, so it seems reasonable to assume it would be unlikely that the birds cross these distributional boundaries in migration. But that's just a guess.
Perhaps a more likely explanation for this sighting is the difference in climate between eastern and western Washington. The Cascade mountains keep the west side wet, a maritime climate, while the eastern side is dry, and warms sooner in the spring, a continental climate. Last year I observed a first arrival in northern Puget Sound on April 8, so its not way out of line to expect them somewhat sooner than that in good weather years. But this is not one of those years, predominant weather pattern has been cool and rainy lately. So, it's possible this bird is a breeder on the lower Columbia River, on the west side, where there are many martin colonies. Maybe he has simply moved up river , into the dryer east side of the state, searching for food. However, if this is the case, it then becomes more of a mystery as to why there are no known breeders on the east side, where the weather is presumably better for aerial insectivores.
Another possible reason for this sighting, may be the one I hope it is, that there are unknown breeders in eastern Washington. The handful of reports and records of martins in eastern Washington have all occurred along major waterways , some during the height of the west side breeding season. The distribution of these sightings pretty much falls within the distribution of breeding White-throated Swifts in Eastern Washington, and so, since "wild" Purple Martins are known to have a breeding association with White-throateds in other parts of their western range, seems reasonable to assume there may be some martins breeding in and among White-throated colonies in eastern Washington. I'm hoping to get over there a few days this summer to have a look and listen.
Stan
At this point seems it's anyone's guess as to what that bird is or was doing there.
As far as a migratory route, I was thinking more of the bird heading up into BC and then west, down a major drainage into the Georgia Basin. Past few years there have been reports of first arrivals on Vancouver Island ahead of other nearby areas to the south on the north Pacific Coast. The spotty breeding distributions of western birds seems more or less seperated along the lines of mountain ranges that run north south, so it seems reasonable to assume it would be unlikely that the birds cross these distributional boundaries in migration. But that's just a guess.
Perhaps a more likely explanation for this sighting is the difference in climate between eastern and western Washington. The Cascade mountains keep the west side wet, a maritime climate, while the eastern side is dry, and warms sooner in the spring, a continental climate. Last year I observed a first arrival in northern Puget Sound on April 8, so its not way out of line to expect them somewhat sooner than that in good weather years. But this is not one of those years, predominant weather pattern has been cool and rainy lately. So, it's possible this bird is a breeder on the lower Columbia River, on the west side, where there are many martin colonies. Maybe he has simply moved up river , into the dryer east side of the state, searching for food. However, if this is the case, it then becomes more of a mystery as to why there are no known breeders on the east side, where the weather is presumably better for aerial insectivores.
Another possible reason for this sighting, may be the one I hope it is, that there are unknown breeders in eastern Washington. The handful of reports and records of martins in eastern Washington have all occurred along major waterways , some during the height of the west side breeding season. The distribution of these sightings pretty much falls within the distribution of breeding White-throated Swifts in Eastern Washington, and so, since "wild" Purple Martins are known to have a breeding association with White-throateds in other parts of their western range, seems reasonable to assume there may be some martins breeding in and among White-throated colonies in eastern Washington. I'm hoping to get over there a few days this summer to have a look and listen.
Stan
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Guest
Very intresting. Please keep us posted. Do the PMs there use human supplied housing or tree cavities or ? I assume its alot harder getting a colony going up there than around here. How many birds are usually in a colony?
Thanks
Chuck
Thanks
Chuck