Texas landlords: Project Martinwatch needs you!

[Louise Chambers]

As PMCA staff begin going through Project Martinwatch data for the 2011 nesting season, they have noticed a lack of reports from Texas - and Texas landlords usually contribute more records than any other state.

Yes, it's been a rough year for martins and landlords due to the drought and heat, especially in Texas, and also in OK and LA, other areas too. But even if your results were disappointing, we still want them. The long-term picture that we are building with years of data is a valuable tool for martin conservation - let's not have a big hole in 2011. That said, I need to get our records for our Corpus area sites totalled up and mailed in...... I'll do it this week, and hope many of you will do the same, please.

We thank every landlord who takes the time to keep records and share them with PMCA for Project Martinwatch - whether one pair, a dozen, or more, it's all valued and appreciated.

[Scott D.- La]

My records are terrible for this year and can see no scientific value in record's that are less than 100% accurate and why I have no plan's to submit them this year. I know my number of pair's and approximately what fledged. I lost at least 41 + babies for sure due to starvation. The problem was with nest check's, or lack of, once the situation became stressed. I did not want to disturb them as I normally would do and a lot of rehabbing took place. This caused relocation of many babies to different nest. I have a lot of incomplete information and would have to do a lot of guessing to even fill out the Martin Watch sheet's. I can't see why this information would be wanted and would hate to send what I have.

[John Miller]

Kathy Freeze probably sent one in. She lives in Texas County and the county seat is Houston.

It's Houston, Mo., -- ha -- but we Missourians will do what we can (grin).

Like Scott, I sometimes question my data, especially for some nests where I moved a few runts. But I filled out the form for three of about six houses/gourd racks I manage as best I could, and came up with a fledge rate of 75 percent, which I understand is about what one would expect at a managed site in a good year. I initially run the numbers for two houses and came up with 65 percent, and thought it low. Those houses are in Forest Park, St. Louis, with full occupancy, and several nests failed to hatch eggs or nestlings died because of loss of adults. I think I have more owl predation than I realize. Then I worked in a third house from the Missouri Botanical Garden that had less occupancy, but about 90 percent fledge, and brought the fledge average up. Maybe I fiddled with the data too much. Not sure. But now I'm wondering if houses with half to 75 percent occupancy tend to have better fledge rates -- maybe attract fewer predators and fewer sub adult male disruptions. I don't have answers, but I'd not have any of these questions to ponder if I didn't do nest checks.

John M

[Louise Chambers]

You're right, John - nestchecks give us so much information, I am hooked on them. I was thinking, maybe many Texas landlords gave up checks this year due to discouraging results, or feeling nest checks were too much disturbance on top of the drought.

We kept our checks up and I think our results are about 50% (eggs to fledge), which is very low for southern states, but not bad considering conditions. The last bad drought we did not do this well, even with supplemental food (we fed all this year too).

I hope any and all landlords who did weekly checks will send in their info.

[rdhd]

L

[Louise Chambers]

Randy, if you have weekly check data on at least some nests, up til one week before fledge, we can use those - if it's on paper, mail to

PMCA
301 Peninsula Dr Ste 6
Erie PA 16505

[Donnie Hurdt MN]

Louise I will be sending mine as soon as I can get to it. The data at my neighbors is incomplete after a few nest checks will exp;lain why in letter that I send in with Data sheets.

[trisha]

I finally did mine and will mail today.

[flyin-lowe]

Is there an email address we can e mail the Excel form to?

[AllenH]

Bob@purplemartin.org

Hope This helps

Al

[JHeap]

Sent my excel spreadsheet to Bob@purplemartin.org. Should I expect any sort of confirmation that I did it correctly?

[Virgil McCoy]

Louise, I'll have my data in the mail this week. I wanted to clean it up where its neat before mailing.

[flyin-lowe]

I have emailed mine in as well.

[Louise Chambers]

If your report is sent in via email, you'll get an acknowledgment that we received it. Written reports sent via snail mail will not be acknowledged, unless they contain an error, which we'll notify them about so they can avoid repeating it in future years.

Beyond that, if most of the report is good and there are no specific things to change the landlord will not get a letter or email, but if they stopped checks too early or didn't start them early enough, or didn't fill out the sheet or did it incorrectly, we will send them a letter.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

Making the ASY & SY pair IDs is the tough part. I spent many hours last summer with binoculars and spotting scope making the IDs, then just after completion of the list my notebook went missing.What a bummer! I looked everywhere with no results, then this past weekend my wife found it in her desk drawer. It's a complete mystery how it got in there.