Date: 8/4/26 6:23 pm From: Peter Schneekloth via groups.io <peterschneekloth...> Subject: [sbcobirding] Figueroa Mountain Purple Martin breeding update
Back on May 31 of this year, I had reporting sighting Purple Martins on Figueroa Mountain and seeing some indication they may be looking to breed in the area. A small group of us including Glenn Kincaid, Mark Holmgren, John Lewis and I undertook the task of tracking the bird's activity. Over time we were able to detect food delivery to the nest cavity and ultimately the presence of a recently fledged bird. Per Paul Lehman, in spite of a small number of other recent sightings, this is the first confirmed breeding in the mountains and away from the Nojoqui/Alisal area in over 35 years, the prior history is found in his "Birds of Santa Barbara County".
Glenn was particularly active in visiting and observed and recorded some unusual behavior. There was at least one additional adult male in the area and several younger birds which at times were active and attentive around the nest cavity. See Glenn's list here which includes some interesting video for starters: California Bird Atlas Checklist - 3 Jul 2026 - Figueroa Mountain area (parent hotspot) - 26 species. ( https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S367187392?continue )
With the known second adult male around we made some effort in searching for an additional nest site but were unsuccessful in that search. If interested in more I suggest you use the eBird species map function and look at the other list posted for the event. Hopefully Glenn, Mark or John will share any additional insight or photo's they collected in their visits.
