Protection Island sign photo by Dee Renee Ericks

Article by Dee Renee Ericks

On July 21st, Dow, Ken and I accompanied US Fish and Wildlife (USFW) staff on their scheduled maintenance trip to Protection Island. Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society (OPAS) maintains the Purple Martin nest boxes on the island. This was a routine check for nest viability.

USFW and OPAS volunteers leave John Wayne Marina, headed to Protection Island. *Photo by Dee Renee Ericks*

We sailed from John Wayne Marina in the USFW craft with fog still hovering over the inner straits. Never having been on Protection Island before, I was ripe with anticipation! The crossing was beautiful with sunny skies and a light chop. We paused briefly for USFW staff to warn a boater of the 200 yard buffer that watercraft must maintain from the island, so that nesting birds are not disturbed.

Crossing to Protection Island with remnants of fog in background. *Photo by Dee Renee Ericks*

Pulling into the small harbor and docks on the southeast side of the island, our senses were assailed by the distinctly pungent odor of guano. Gulls were numerous, and flying watch over their brown-spotted, fluffy chicks on the cobble shores below. Seals and their pups reclined lazily on shore, while numerous Pigeon Guillemots dived nearby for prey fish. Tying up to the dock, we spotted a Purple Martin with a dragonfly in its beak, perched above a nest box.

A male Purple Martin pauses with a captured dragonfly for his hungry chicks. *Photo by Dee Renee Ericks*

Dow unloaded our ladder from the boat, and readied the implements for peeking into the Purple Martin boxes. To be as unobtrusive as possible, the person on the ladder uses an endoscope, which is a tiny camera on the end of a wire, that is then threaded into each box opening. The camera’s images are transmitted wirelessly and are then displayed on a tablet and cell phone. As the images come into focus, photos are taken of the nest box contents. The hard part is working in bright sunlight and trying to view the screens!

Scoping Purple Martin boxes at the docks. Note the abundance of guano! *Photo by Dee Renee Ericks*

The tally for the 10 Protection Island PUMA nest boxes was 8 eggs and 21 chicks! One box had a female Purple Martin on the nest who would not budge. She no doubt had chicks or eggs under her and was reluctant to leave. All of the chicks observed still had their eyes closed, and no feathers.

Two Purple Martin nestlings as seen by endoscope. *Photo by Dow Lambert*

Protection Island is a magical place with its abundance of bird life. A bald eagle floated by in an effortless glide sending the gulls into panic mode. Their shrill calls were instructions to their chicks to seek cover. The dry hillsides are dotted with seabird burrows. On a disturbing note, a researcher told us that this year they were able to locate only one Tufted Puffin nest on the island.

Mama gull and her chicks. Excellent camouflage! *Photo by Dee Renee Ericks*

Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge provides some of the last remaining undeveloped habitat for many burrow-nesting seabirds including North America’s third largest Rhinoceros Auklet colony. Seventy percent of Washington's Salish Sea population of breeding seabirds nest on Protection Island. Washington State’s largest Glaucous-winged Gull colony resides here, as well as Pigeon Guillemots, Pelagic Cormorants and members of the seal family.

Pigeon Guillemots in animated chorus. *Photo by Dee Renee Ericks*

I eagerly await our next nest box check, hoping the warm weather does not harm our growing Purple Martin nestlings.