Nicole Vergalla/Audubon Photography Awards
With autumn settling across Puget Sound, the Kitsap Audubon Society Purple Martin team officially closed out the 2026 monitoring season. Our final task of the year is an essential one: cleaning out the nesting gourds, recording nesting data, and conducting a thorough end-of-season inventory across our local colonies.
Because our gourds at Oyster Plant Park in Poulsbo are accessed via floating marine structures, timing is everything. We had to wait for one of the highest tides of the season to lift the docks high enough for our team to safely reach and clean the gourds.
Season Highlights & Colony Reports
Long-time stewards Sandy and Robert Pavey, along with team members Catherine Ward and Justin Carrington, spent a full morning tackling the nest clean-outs at both Oyster Plant Park and Brownsville Marina.
Oyster Plant Park (Poulsbo): Out of 18 gourds, 13 contained active nests this year—a encouraging increase from past seasons. While a few unhatched eggs and a small number of lost chicks were documented during the audit, the overall picture points to a solid, successful breeding year. Anyone who attended our summer Purple Martin Hours can attest to the hive of activity around the gourds and the wonderful sight of young fledglings soaring over Liberty Bay.
Brownsville Marina: The Brownsville colony had an exceptionally strong year, boasting an even higher number of active nests and very few mishaps reported during the clean-out.
Looking Ahead to 2027
Our Purple Martins have long begun their long journey south and are currently enjoying the warmer climate of South America for the winter, likely Brazil or maybe Bolivia.
If you haven't had the chance to experience these remarkable aerial acrobats up close, make plans to join us next year! We look forward to welcoming our colony back when they return to Kitsap County next May. Keep an eye on the Kitsap Audubon newsletter and calendar for upcoming Purple Martin Hour meetups and volunteer opportunities.
