Purple martins fill the skies around the port’s nesting site.

The growth of the port’s purple martin conservation efforts is great news all the way around, although it did create one new challenge:

A bird housing shortage.

That’s why in 2025, the port expanded its purple martin habitat by installing a new tower with eight additional nesting gourds bringing the current count to 40.

This is the latest development in a successful program that began in 2011, when the port installed 16 artificial gourds at its Columbia River Wetland Mitigation Bank to attract the purple martins when they were listed as a ”species of concern” in Washington due to declining numbers.

New nesting gourd ready to be hung.

Over the years, additional gourds have been added to increase habitat. A redesign in 2016 made the gourds more suitable for purple martins and less appealing to competing birds. Following these improvements more than 60 chicks have successfully fledged in recent summer nesting seasons.

In 2023, the program reached a milestone when the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife determined that banding baby purple martins was no longer necessary, thanks to the birds’ consistent return and stable population. However, the port continues its efforts to support these birds.

Kids help hang gourds during Bring Your Child to Work Day.

Each year, the port uses Bring Your Child to Work Day as an opportunity to educate the next generation about the importance of wildlife stewardship. Kids are given the chance to hang the gourds for the upcoming nesting season.

Purple martins, the largest species of swallow in North America, migrate thousands of miles from South America to the Pacific Northwest each year. The port’s carefully maintained habitat has become a reliable nesting site for these aerial insectivores. Because of human nesting intervention efforts, like the port’s, the purple martin population is identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as low but stable and possibly increasing with approximately 600 breeding birds in Washington. Their presence signals a healthy habitat for both nesting and foraging, relying on an abundant and diverse insect collection to feed which they catch in the air.

“We’ve seen tremendous success in a relatively short time,” said Matt Graves, the port’s environmental manager. “It’s incredibly rewarding to watch these birds return each year and know we’re playing a role in their recovery. This expansion reflects our long-term commitment to balancing industry and ecology.”