PMCA's Electronic Project MartinWatch Data Sheet

[Robert McCallum]

For those of us not computer experts, is there any way to put the program into the Microsoft Excel program?

I'd like to print out a blank of part of it for field data collecting rather than taking data on scratch paper or whatever and transfering. Or can it be partially printed out from the web site?

[Louise Chambers]

hi Robert

So basically you want to reformat the page(s) to give yourself more space on the page for notes? I know what you mean about not wanting to use scratch paper for notes, it's hard later on to remember what they're about. I am trying to tweak the pages we use at home so that it's a horizontal rather than vertical layout, with more space at bottom for notes. I had to copy my pages over to send them in - they get kind of messy with erasings and notes and the random bit of martin poop.

The PMW sheets download in excel when you get them from PMCA online. I don't know if they can be altered after that though - will work on it and let you know. At least there is some time!

Louise

[Louise Chambers]

Robert,

The answer I got is that the PMW form cannot be altered, it's set up so that columns, etc, are locked. I will see what I come up with for my nest check sheets and let you know - all the data can be entered into the online forms to send in later, or the paper forms can be copied and mailed, or scanned and emailed.

Louise

[KathyF]

I have some questions about my project martinwatch data sheet:

1. My last nest check was on 7/2/10. I now have nestlings ready to fledge on all 3 systems almost every day over the next 10 days. But I also have younger martins on those systems too. With our weather being hot & dry now for over a month, things are getting stressful here and I don't want to lower my systems to cause an early fledge or stress them more. What should I do - will this render my data useless now, if I can't do a nest check for more than 10 days???

2. Apparently, I've had a few "false nests / nest dumping" - about 3 with 1 egg each (which have now disappeared). Another nest has 4 eggs that have never hatched. It's hard to tell with all the comings & goings of the birds, if they are real pairs nesting in those nests, or if they're just using those gourds to stay in during the night. Do I still report these as "nests" and count the eggs, even though I can't get a good report on the age of the nesting adults?

Thanks!

[Louise Chambers]

Yes, report all the eggs - leaving out eggs that didn't hatch would not be accurate.

Gaps of 10 or more days do not hurt as much if they are mid nesting cycle (such as between days 7 and 17) - but if a nest is checked at say, 15 days old, then not again until AFTER those young have fledged at 26-28 days - the data for that nest will not be usable. But it's going to happen. Just do the best you can, we can't always squeeze in a nest check when we'd like to, due to age of older nestlings particularly.
We usually manage pretty well with the plug and string method, but there are times when so many nests on one system are fledge age, we can't plug all the gourds fast enough and have to defer a check a few more days. Or round up some helpers who can put plugs in with us!
Nests that get a final pre-fledge check when the young reach 19-20 days old (or older) will all get a thumbs-up, since once they reach 26 days old, they are good to go, and an empty nest at that age counts as a successfully fledged nest.
You should be able to catch up with younger nestlings, as long as they are not more than 10-14 days old - they'll still be there in 10 days. If you aged them after hatch, that always helps with scheduling checks and calculating earliest fledge dates.

[KathyF]

Yes, report all the eggs - leaving out eggs that didn't hatch would not be accurate.

Ok - I guess what is confusing me, is that I don't really know if there's a "nesting pair" in those gourds or not, because of all the activity (the gourds face away from my viewing area. Should I just assume there's a nesting pair in there and report the nesting "pair" as "UNK"?

I didn't realize it would be so hard to keep track when you get a larger colony!!! Oh woe is me!

[Louise Chambers]

sounds like a good way to handle those - probably one confused SY female laid them all, but in the data soup, it will all blend together. I have several nests like that at the botanical gardens site here, single eggs that never hatched or got hosp pierced.

[Caroline94535-ND]

Hi Emily/Louise,

Can we complete the watch sheet "the old fashioned way," with paper and ink, and snail mail it in? And still have it counted and included?

My summers are so short and so hectic. I know I am not going to sit at the computer trying to learn Excel to simply have the old dinosaur give up the ghost on me and lose all my data. I can see it happening.

I like ledgers; I like pen and paper; I like journals. My motto: "To err is human, to really foul it up you need a computer!"

My birds just got here; the temps are cold and wet; there's not a hint of nest building (I think they're still all piling up together in the gourds just to stay warm) and it will be at least a month before I can even think about an egg.

[Louise Chambers]

Sure you can - that's how I do ours

[joeincan]

I still don't know if last years data sheet reached PMCA and was included in last years count. I hopefully e-mailed it but I sent 2 e-mails to Emily confirm receipt and I never received a response. I hope it arrived because I fledged 80 birds

[Louise Chambers]

You can download the PMW sheet from this link on the main web page:

http://www.purplemartin.org/pmw/MartinWForm.pdf

Thanks for participating! We appreciate it, and thank all who are willing to do the work so we can track nesting success each year.

[Diane Porter]

In Column AM there is a list of Martin Codes: X= Empty Cavity, N=Nest, etc.

Where on the form do you put this information for each cavity?

[Louise Chambers]

That info would go into the day of the nest check, say column for 5/21, for each cavity, fill in X, N, 3 e, 5 y, etc.

[Tony Lau]

Is anyone developing a smartphone app to do nest checks?

[Louise Chambers]

Not yet, in discussion though - hopefully for the not far off future.