Bird lovers are mourning the death of Kevin Dean Li, a Ballard man who played a key role in the return of the Purple Martin to the Northwest.

Li passed away on January 30 after a scuba diving accident in the waters around Whidbey Island. Hundreds of people attended a memorial service at the Center for Urban Horticulture on February 3 in his honor.

The Ballard resident was 50 years old and was a fixture in the local and national birding community.

The Purple Martin is a songbird and the largest swallow on the continent. The birds spend their winters in the Amazon River basin and fly as far south as Brazil. Purple Martins had been absent from the Puget Sound area for 15 years and Li's work was key to their resurgence.

Purple Martins return to North America for their breeding season during the spring.

Li's birdhouses can be found at Jack Block Park along the Duwamish River, Vashon Island and Ballard.

Li was known for traveling around the Puget Sound area by car and by canoe, looking for places to hang a birdhouse.

"...When martins show up like they did Saturday, it's kind of a magical moment. There's nothing else like it, and after experiencing it, I can't imagine letting them down. These birds come all the way up from Brazil, and seem to know that somebody will help them out. I've seen them perch on my ladder many times while I'm still installing gourds," said Li, in one of his journals.

The gourds Li referred to are large hollowed out fruits used as drinking containers in some countries. With a hole punched into them, they make perfect places for birds to nest.

Growing up in the Washington D.C. area, Li received an internship with the Audubon Naturalist Society while in high school. He was an avid nature photographer.

Li had a Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries from the University of Washington (UW). He worked as a biologist with the UW and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, working on marine ecology and the study of crustaceans.

At the time of his death, Li worked for the King County Environmental Lab, primarily on water quality projects. His job took him outdoors and gave him opportunities to scope out nesting areas for Purple Martins.

Kris Baker had just returned from a trip to Hawaii with Li before his death. The couple loved nature and went snorkeling.

"He pushed himself as hard as anyone I know, active outside throughout the year in skiing, bicycling, kayaking, hiking and windsurfing. He always had a minor injury somewhere to attest to those activities, but it never stopped him. He lived a good life. More important, he was in every way a good person, as easygoing and helpful as a friend as he was intense and focused on his interests," said Dennis Paulson.

Friend Diann MacRae said she moved back to Seattle in 1981 and the sight of Purple Martins was rare.

"Now thanks to Kevin's efforts, I can drive a few miles to Log Boom Park and watch adults twittering and zooming around the gourds off the end of the pier while the young wait for their return and food," said MacRae.

Mary Frances Mathis said Li's death was an incredible loss. She described him as a very nice, gentle man and a passionate protector of the environment.

"That one man could have had such an impact in the local distribution of a species is truly incredible," said Mathis.

"He just wanted to help the birds. When the birds were here, he would be out every night," said Baker.

"He was beloved by everyone. Everyone loved him. He was so generous; he could be your friend in an instant. He was a giving, quiet guy," said Baker.

"...we are personally saddened and devastated with the death of this enthusiastic, life-loving man who also did so much for Purple Martins in the last decade," said Terry Suchma, executive director of the Purple Martin Society of North America.

Li's friends are considering building a memorial park in his honor along Shilshole Avenue, near the Ballard Elks Club. It in this area that Li installed his first Purple Martin bird house.

Li is survived by his partner of ten years Kris Baker, his brother Christopher Li and family in Bethesda, MD, sister Suzanne Li of Flushing, NY, his uncle James Wong of Ann Arbor, MI, his uncle Frederick Wong of New York, NY, and his aunt Jean Wong of Flushing, NY.

Donations can be made to the Georgia Basin Ecological Assessment and Restoration Society which is establishing a foundation to further Purple Martin projects and research on the West Coast. Contact Kris Baker at blue_firetail@yahoo.com.

Visit www.purplemartins.com to see some of Li's photographs and articles.