View of the North Cove from the Homestead Property on Vendovi Island | Staff archive
Every April on Vendovi Island, we are greeted by a group of travelers from the Amazon Basin and other parts of South America who seek our North Cove. The Purple Martin (Progne subis) journeys more than 6,000 miles, traversing rivers, gulfs, and seas to to migrate north, where they spend the warmer months nesting and raising their offspring.
These beautiful swallows are communal by nature. Due to nesting site competition and human development elsewhere, they now mostly rely on nest boxes placed over water. Purple Martins need about a 15-foot radius of clear space around their nests, and it just so happens the end of the Vendovi Island dock and inner breakwater cove provide that perfect spot.
View of the North Cove from the Homestead Property on Vendovi Island | Staff archive
We’ve installed nine nest boxes here, and it’s a joy to see them all become occupied come mid-spring. By the time summer rolls around, coinciding with Vendovi opening to the public, the boxes are filled with fledglings being fed a steady diet of flying insects. This is truly a sight to see. The Purple Martins often become the first friendly point of contact for boaters visiting the island, greeting them right as they tie up on the dock.
Just as the Purple Martins arrive, Vendovi springs back to life on April 1st, opening for day use, Thursdays through Mondays, between the hours of 10am through 6pm. It is especially comforting knowing that a collective consciousness exists to safeguard its beauty and preserve both its flora and fauna–including these amazing migrants–while connecting people to this land in perpetuity.
The Purple Martins leave us sometime in August, signaling Summer’s soon-to-come end and eventually make their way back south to South America. The preserve stays open through the end of September before closing to the public, and the cycle repeats. May it always.
Camas Wildflowers on Vendovi Island | Staff archive