The following poster was created by Ella MacQuisten for Wild Wise Sooke. Click on the poster to see the original, larger sized work. For your reading convenience, the text is printed out below.

Purple Martin

Progne subis arboricola

BC Ministry of the Environment: Blue List

Blue List Species due to:

• Small population size
• Historical decline in numbers and range
• Continuing loss of nesting habitat

Did you know?

• Largest swallow in north America
• This western subspecies occurs only from west of the Rockies from southwest BC to southern California

Nest Box Programs:

• Volunteer-based programs that encourage the re-establishment of nesting colonies
• Have rebounded from only 10 known breeding pairs in the 1980s to 1200 breeding pairs in 2016-2018
• Almost all breeding pairs nest in nest boxes provided by people near water bodies

“Aerial forager”: They catch insects in mid-air!

See other posters by Ella MacQuisten

• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Purple Martin
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: The Barn Owl
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: Pacific Great Blue Heron
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: The Painted Turtle
• Wildlife in Focus from Wild Wise Sooke: The Rufous Hummingbird

WildWise Sooke