Tears for Kevin

Have you been lucky enough to see a Purple Martin in the Seattle area lately?
If you have, thank Kevin Li.

Until I’d heard about Kevin’s project, I’d no idea that the largest of all the sparrows once lived and prospered in Western Washington when not wintering in South America. Since 1996, when he was first made aware of their absence, Kevin’s been faithfully keeping house for the Martins. I’ve just seen his gourds hung near Shishole Marina on long abandoned pilings, but I’m told he’s brought the Martins back to other sites around the Puget Sound region as well. He’s somewhat famous among the birding community for his efforts.

It is that community, and many others, that will gather this evening to celebrate the tragic and all-too- premature death of an outstanding person. Kevin was just 50 years old when he suffered what friends and family believe to be a heart attack while diving last Sunday.

The obituaries say he will be missed by the many lives he touched. True enough. I really only knew of him through my cousin Karen, but the few times I met him were enough to genuinely touch me. From Kevin I’ve learned the basics of birding and foraging for prized matsutake mushrooms. Both endeavors, like the rest of his life I imagine, he carried out with the utmost of respect for the earth. The one time he shared his binoculars with me to view some sea ducks on Lake Washington, I was lucky enough to see his quiet, intelligent approach in action. Little did I know, on that evening just last spring, that it would be the last opportunity I’d have to glean just a bit of his knowledge.

Let it be noted here that that this exquisite individual will be deeply missed by someone he hardly knew.