Purple Martins at Point Wilson Lighthouse, Port Townsend Washington

The last pair of purple martins left my site around the last week of July, 2017 this year.  We had a great year, even with the frequent hawk attacks at the end and as always, I hated to see them leave.  My summer vacations are planned around my purple martin season, so after they leave, I have to find other things to do.
My family and I just returned last night from a tour of the upper North western area of Washington state.  While there, we went on a light house tour, a whale-watching tour and of course, ate tons of sea food.  There is so much to share about this trip - learning about the old light houses and when they were established, how they were protected, the people that manned the light houses along with their families, the beautiful coastline, the whales that live and/or migrate through this area (YES, we spotted Humpback whales AND Transient Orcas!!), and so much more.  But, the icing on the cake came on our very first day - August 19, 2017.

As we walked around Point Wilson Lighthouse, located just outside Port Townsend, Washington, (where they also had a great little Arts & Crafts show AND the best street-vendor crab cakes by the way!), I heard a very familiar sound.  

The martins were nesting on the Western end of the house (left side in this picture).

It was one of those surreal moments where your mind registers it before you fully comprehend and realize - you're on an upper west coast peninsula.  Right next to the Pacific ocean.  I must be hearing things.  Nope, there it is again - a familiar and very distinct male purple martin call, with the clicking at the end.  That's impossible.  As the cold northerly winds whipped at my ears, I spun round and round in the sand, until finally, I looked almost straight up and there he was at the top of the weather vane, preening in the cold, salty air, striking an oh so-familiar pose.

A silhouette that I would recognize anywhere.  Hello, handsome!  I had heard of the Western Purple Martins (Progne subis arboricola), but it had not crossed my mind that I would be so lucky to spot one, much less a nesting pair, on this trip!  Apparently, they are recovering on the West Coast - check out this link:  http://saveourmartins.org/recoveryprogram.html
and this one: http://saveourmartins.org/

As I watched and refocused my ears, I heard another familiar sound - that of nestlings begging for food - and I zeroed in on the opening in the eaves of the caretaker's house.  There she is - a female purple martin delivering food back & forth to an unknown number of young.  WHEEEE  - what a thrill, to drive all the way up to an unfamiliar place and be welcomed by such a heart-warming sight!

Aegir, the Norse God of the Ocean, is indeed a most benevolent and gracious host, providing a bewitching and beautiful front-porch view to this dauntless, courageous pair!