Every summer, Purple Martins can be found flitting around homemade bird boxes at the Plover Ferry dock in Semiahmoo.
Phil Calise — a Semiahmoo Resort engineer and a self-described bird enthusiast — said he’d seen the birds flying around the Semiahmoo spit, but not stopping. Seven years ago, he installed the 11 boxes to give them a place to rest, nest and care for their young.
The birds arrived the following April, claiming the boxes for their own. They return each spring and depart by the end of August after their young are strong enough to head south to warmer regions.
Purple Martins in the West traditionally nest in woodpecker holes or other nooks they can claim as their own. In the East, they almost exclusively rely on human-made houses and bird boxes.
The birds primarily feast on insects and were used as pest control by Native Americans. When they hung hollowed-out gourds to dry, the martins would nest in the cavities and eat many of the bugs in the surrounding area.
Males are black with iridescent purple feathers on their heads and backs. They are the largest of the swallow family.
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Hailey Hoffman is a CDN visual journalist; reach her at haileyhoffman@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 103.
