10 Jun Elementor #17575
The Best-Kept Secret in Silver Lake
Posted from Seattle, WA on June 9, 2023
It’s not well-known–in fact it’s nearly a secret, but Silver Lake WA hosts the largest colony of Purple Martins west of the Mississippi. Its the creation of one man–Ken Buker, who has loved Purple Martins since the age of 8. In the process of stewarding the West’s most successful colony, Ken has blown away an old trope–that Western Purple Martins aren’t as social as eastern Martins. The colony has grown since Ken first put up a couple of Martin houses over 30 years ago–and may finally be stabilizing at about 110 pairs. But “stabilizing” is the wrong word: Ken has also learned that there is always a calamity waiting in the wings. So far he’s figured out how to defeat the biggest threats to the safety and prosperity of the birds.
Ken is third-generation on the land near Castle Rock, WA at Silver Lake. He remembers being at an old stock pond on the property when a Purple Martin family came by for water. He was only 8 years-old, but it left an indelible impression and he has loved Purple Martins ever since.
Here two males and two females hang around their chosen houses on June 8, 2023. Everything about this scene is thought out. Very evident are the curved Owl-guards at the entrances, invented after disaster struck the colony one year when a single Great Horned Owl made quick work of all but six clutches of youngsters. The use of manufactured gourds rather than natural gourds is also calamity-driven. Owls can be so strong a natural gourd can be pierced and crushed until it yields a dinner.
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