Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine Article

Kevin Li

Gave wing to a cause that others now carry on

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TOM REESE / THE SEATTLE TIMESKevin Li made homes for dozens of pairs of Western purple martins TOM REESE / THE SEATTLE TIMES Friends of Kevin Li hang new gourds in West Seattle to honor and continue his work.

Just more than a year ago, Kevin Li worked alone, hanging seven gourds high on rotted pier pilings along Shilshole Bay. It took him an hour, but before he could finish, about 10 purple martins had already moved into their summer homes, chirping, flapping and chasing off a crow. From desolation to a bustling community in an hour.

Li, 50, died four months ago, but the Western purple martins he reintroduced to Seattle a decade ago fly our skies again this summer, a living legacy to his tireless work.

Last month, on a cold, windy morning, Li's friends and fellow bird-lovers climbed 20-foot ladders to hang new hollowed gourds on an old pier at West Seattle's Jack Block Park and carry on his mission. He did so much that his fatal scuba-diving accident left a giant void for people and birds alike. Last month's gourd-hanging was organized by Kristina Baker, whose longtime companionship with Li began with their mutual love of birds.

"I remember one night at Shilshole, there was an incredible sunset. Kevin and I sat there watching two purple martins watching the sunset. They leaned their heads together, and Kevin and I did the same thing, watching them watching the sunset."

Some say the birds once roosted in the thousands at Green Lake and Montlake at the end of each summer, but the numbers began dwindling in the 1970s and '80s, and the state counted a single nesting pair in Seattle in 1988. In 1996, Li began establishing roosting spots. Last year, he counted 75 pairs in homes he had erected.

Li, an environmental scientist, began installing bird boxes, but they were often taken over by starlings and house sparrows. Several times a week, he climbed a ladder to evict the invaders. Then he learned that ancient Native Americans used natural gourds for the purple martins. He tried them and found the purple martins loved the gourds, but their competitors didn't.

In his home office, Li left a map peppered with sites where boxes have been installed and purple martins have nested. He also left this:

"Best places for viewing martins: Nisqually Reach Nature Center at Luhr Beach, and Jack Block Park in West Seattle. Late July and August are often best . . . At low tide, the Ballard Public Access Beach (behind the beach club, 6411 Seaview Ave. N.W.) is another excellent viewing spot ..."

If you go, take a moment to thank Kevin Li.

Link to article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw05282006/2003013669_pacificportrait28.html

Seattle Post Itelligencer Obituary

Kevin Li, 1956-2006: He brought purple martin back to area

Friday, February 3, 2006

By GORDY HOLT
P-I REPORTER

There may not be a birder or a naturalist in all of the Puget Sound area who did not know -- or know of -- Kevin Li, a friend to creatures big and small, but especially to the United States' biggest swallow, the hand-sized, beleaguered purple martin.

"He was the man who brought them back to Seattle," said state Sen. Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle, himself a birder and purple martin fan.

A biologist and water-quality specialist in the King County Department of Natural Resources, Li died Sunday while scuba diving near the Keystone ferry dock on the west side of Whidbey Island.

Li's longtime companion, Kris Baker, a Magnolia Library employee, was at work when she got the call.

She said the captain and crew from the ferry Klickitat went to Li's rescue after seeing him struggle against the current, try to haul himself and his equipment onto jetty rocks, then slump and tumble back into the water.

A heart attack is the suspected cause of death, but has not been confirmed.

Li turned 50 Jan. 5 while he and Baker were vacationing in Hawaii. Sunday's scuba trip was scientific. He was searching for what he might find among the invertebrates -- squishy, boneless sea creatures.

But it was the purple martin, not the sea cucumber, that consumed his zeal in recent years.

Jacobsen bears the responsibility, he said.

About 10 years ago, he wrote a piece for the local Audubon Society magazine that urged a campaign to bring back the bird, gone from much of the region since the 1940s.

"Kevin saw the article and called me," Jacobsen said. "Next thing I knew, he was the one who had became the parent to these purple birds. And he was so good at it that I just couldn't be envious."

Most of the work involved building, collecting and placing special birdhouses in places where purple martins are likely to flit, usually by water.

To see examples of Li's birdhouses, check out the pilings near Ray's Cafe off the entrance to the Lake Washington Ship Canal at Shilshole Bay.

"He never had to recruit people to help him," said Jonathan Frodge, a King County colleague of 16 years and a close friend.

"People wanted to go out with him."

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Li went to the University of Washington in the 1970s to study biology and earned a bachelor of science degree in fisheries in 1978. But he was already on a roll, friends said.

While in high school, he had worked in the invertebrate lab at the Smithsonian. He went on to participate in an Audubon Society puffin recovery project in Maine. He counted fish in the Bering Sea, worked on a lizard project in Honduras and attached himself to a shrimp program in El Salvador.

Word of his death spread at a frantic pace over Tweeters, the Seattle e-mail service for birders.

E-mailer Dennis Paulson helped spread the word with a message that included this note about Li's work on behalf of purple martins: "He had help from many others, but I think Kevin, by his enthusiasm and many hours of hard work, can be single-handedly credited (with) turning around the decline of (this) charismatic species."

Survivors include Baker, his partner of 10 years; a brother, Christopher Li of Bethesda, Md.; a sister, Suzanne Li of Flushing, N.Y.; uncles James Wong of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Frederick Wong of New York City; and an aunt, Jean Wong of Flushing, N.Y.

A memorial service is set for 6 p.m. today at the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 N.E. 41st St., Seattle. Directions can be found at depts.washington.edu/urbhort/html/info/contact.html, or call 206-543-8616.

In lieu of flowers, donations may go to the Georgia Basin Ecological Assessment and Restoration Society. For details, e-mail blue_firetail@yahoo.com.

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P-I reporter Gordy Holt can be reached at 206-448-8356 or gordyholt@seattlepi.com.

© 1998-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Memorial Service Update

From Tom and Jan O'Callahan

To All Friends of Kevin Li,
As many of you are aware, we are saddened this week by the loss of our friend Kevin Li. He died January 30 of an apparent heart attack while on a diving trip.

We plan to celebrate his life with a memorial reception this Friday, Feb. 3 from 6PM to 9PM at the University of Washington Urban Horticulture Center. Address and directions will be at the end of the note.

Please plan to attend to see Kevin's friends and family, and spend a few moments reflecting on his great but tragically short life with us. We all remember a special time that we spent with our dear friend, whose love of nature and the outdoors inspired so many of us.

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please consider a remembrance to a charity that we will represent at the reception, or your favorite organization in Kevin's name.

Dress is Seattle casual such as Patagonia and ExOfficio. H'ors d'oeuvres will be served.

Center for Urban Horticulture
3501 NE 41st St.
Seattle WA 98105

Driving Directions:
http://depts.washington.edu/urbhort/html/info/images/drivingdirectionsmappdf.pdf

Sincerely,
Tom and Jan O'Callahan
206 232 4048

Friends

This was posted by Kristin Gile

It's hard to know where to start. kevin has been my friend for 15 years. he befriended me when i arrived in seattle at 21 without any family or friends within a thousand miles. i remember lots of backyard barbeques, always with seafood and always with ice cream! kayaking, road trips, microbrews, tennis, and biking...his excitement and courage when he traveled to el salvador and his stories bringing that part of the world alive to me. he came to my rescue when my dad was so sick with his hope and all of his support. i learned all about puffins and would choose a purple martin over a bald eagle for our national symbol after all his work. i pray that those of you in seattle will be able to continue his work with the nesting boxes as this was so important to him.
i'm grateful for his visit to south carolina last fall, i never would have thought it was the last time i would see him. i'm thankful my children got to meet him. he lived his life so well, he is a great example to them.

my heart goes out to kevin's family and all his friends. i will always remember him and try to live simply and honestly as a tribute to him.