the distribution of Purple Martins in northwest Texas (Ray. 1995, 2004), and grew ..... the Abilene, Texas area, and Rod Hollis and Hal Thomas in the Woodward ...
Purple Martin Update 20(4): 4-7. Fall 2011.
Natal Dispersal of Eastern Purple Martins (Progne subis subis)
on the Western Periphery of Their Range James D. Ray1 and Monty G. Schoenhals2
T
Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Pantex, L.L.C. 1995, 2004), and grew from he eastern subspecies of Amarillo, TX there to include as many as the Purple Martin (Progne subis subis) occurs in North 41 colonies in some years. America east of the Rocky With the exception of a Mountains. In the United States, the western boundary single Shackelford County location, which is in the Cross of their range is generally well east of the mountains, out Timbers Ecological Region, the Texas portion of the study in the Great Plains. The installation and management of area was comprised of the High Plains and Rolling Plains artificial nesting cavities has allowed the species to expand Ecological Areas (for topography, vegetation, and climate, further west through the Great Plains than they occurred see Correll and Johnston 1979, and Ray 1995). Locations in historical times (Ray 1995; in reference to the High and in Oklahoma were confined to the Central Great Plains Rolling Plains of Texas). Ecoregion (see http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecoregions_ Most banding and dispersal studies have occurred in of_Oklahoma_(EPA). areas where colonies of Purple Martins, and housing, are more plentiful, and within the historic range of the species. In these areas martins can disperse in various directions from their natal colony to breed as subadults, and Banding: We opportunistically banded nestling Purple likely have a higher density of man-supplied housing. On Martins reared in man-supplied housing during 1997the western periphery of their range in the Southern Great 2010. All housing was equipped for management/bandPlains (SGP) the tradition of offering and managing nesting through ease of raising and lowering and accessible ing cavities by humans is recent, and not well established, contributing to the area having a low density of both Purple Martins and available, managed housing (Ray 1995). Figure 1. Number of Purple Martin colonies banded The purpose of this manuscript is to report dispersal per county, and 30-mile-radius circles encompassing data for eastern Purple Martins breeding on the western Canyon and Amarillo, TX, Darrouzett, TX, and Woodperiphery of their range, and more specifically, the SGP. ward and Vici, OK. The High and Rolling Plains of northwest Texas (NWT) and western Oklahoma comprise the study area.
METHODS
STUDY AREA This study was conducted in Callahan, Donley, Floyd, Hall, Hansford, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Potter, Randall, Shackelford, and Taylor Counties of NWT, and Dewey and Woodward Counties of western Oklahoma (Figure 1). All colonies were in, or within five miles, of 16 communities ranging in population from ~200 human inhabitants in Moran, TX, to ~225,000 in Lubbock, TX. The banding cooperator network developed from Ray’s contacts in documenting the distribution of Purple Martins in northwest Texas (Ray Page 4
Table 1: Band-type Use (# Colonies) on nestling martins in Northwest Texas and Western Oklahoma, 1997-2010. Number of Colonies Year
USGS Bands USGS, + Colony- USGS, + StateOnly Specific Bands Specific Bands
1997
10
-
-
1998
5
4
-
1999
8
5
-
2000
11
5
-
2001
19
4
-
2002
28
5
-
2003
36
4
-
2004
-
3
38
2005
-
3
26
2006
-
2
24
2007
-
2
28
2008
-
1
8
# Nestlings Banded
2009
-
-
4
Year
Western Oklahoma Northwest Texas
2010
-
-
4
1997
-
275
1998
-
194
1999
-
163
2000
-
174
2001
-
497
2002
-
661
2003
734
676
2004
607
778
2005
690
400
2006
744
464
2007
881
716
2008
366
273
2009
-
348
2010
-
335
Total
4022
5954
Authors Monty Schoenhals and Jim Ray Table 2. Numbers of Nestling Purple Martins Banded by State in Northwest TX and Western OK, 1997-2010.
nesting compartments. Housing types included aluminum, wood and plastic multi-compartment bird houses, single-compartment wooden bird houses, and systems of natural and artificial gourds (horizontal and upright). Nestlings were banded when they were between 10 and 20 days of age, and due to the distribution of clutch initiation dates at individual colonies, two or more visits were necessary to band all young in a colony. However, due to low numbers expected to be banded, distance, or logistical problems, not all colonies were visited more than once in a year, or in every year during the study period. Once housing was lowered, broods older than 22 days of age were retained in their cavity with a sock/cup blocking the entrance until they had the opportunity to settle down a few minutes after the house was secured in a raised condition after the banding session (Dellinger 1995). This minimized premature fledging. Broods were removed one at a time, banded, and placed back in their respective nest compartment. In the early years of the program, each Purple Martin received only a standard U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-issued leg band on its right leg, but evolved to additionally use colony-specific colored and numbered leg bands and, later, state-specific colored and numbered leg bands on their left leg (Table 1). Data recorded were brood size, USGS band number, auxiliary-band color and code, age and sex (usually local, unknown), colony name, city, and date. Noteworthy observations of the condition of the nestlings were recorded, if applicable. Band Returns/Observations: Band returns/observations of SY (second-year) and ASY (after-second year) Purple Martins were provided by four means during 19982011: 1) band recoveries through the USGS Bird Banding Lab, 2) incidental capture of adults in House Sparrow/Eu-
ropean Starling traps, 3) incidental hand captures of adults in cavities when doing nest checks, and 4) scanning of birds at colony sites with spotting scopes during banding trips and other visits to colonies. Data recorded were date, age, sex, location, status (live or dead), and note-worthy observations, if applicable. Later, the banding location and date were added to those records. Of uniquely-marked birds with multiple sightings, only the first sighting was used in dispersal tabulations. Unnumbered color-bands unique to colonies were also used in tabulations in some instances. Observations and data discussed here are focused on the months where most of the birds were likely to be nesting birds.
Page 5
Continued on page 6
Continued from page 5 Hill (2002) reported that the vast majority of Purple Martins disperse within a 30-mile radius of their natal colony, while a 50-mile dispersal radius is a common quoted distance. Thus we present data in two forms: 1) distances in 50-mile increments across all of our data, and 2) dispersal within and outside of three 30-mile-radius circles. These circles enclose areas containing a greater/higher number of banding sites and observation effort, compared to our other banding areas, and are also isolated from each other. They are 1) Darrouzett, TX, 2) Amarillo-Canyon, TX, and 3) Woodward-Vici, OK (Figure 1).
RESULTS Numbers Banded During the study period we banded approximately 10,000 nestling Purple Martins, with a high of 1,597 banded in 2007. Table 2 displays the number banded by year and state. Natal Dispersal A total of 255 band returns/observations was obtained during the study period. Two hundred and twenty-three (87.5%) bands were observed by us or cooperators, 13 (5.1%) were found dead at colony sites (usually following inclement weather), nine (3.5%) were reported through the Bird Banding Lab, six (2.4%) were hand captures in cavities, and four (1.6%) from captures incidental to trapping of sparrows and starlings. The oldest uniquely-marked birds encountered during this study were two 6-year old males, and a six-year old female. Eleven others reached at least five years, and eighteen more four years of age. We recorded band returns/observations of Purple Martins at colony sites as far away as 262 miles from their natal colonies. Most (86%, n= 179) were within 50 miles (Figure 2), and 28% (n=59) were observed at the colony where they were banded as nestlings. Notable long-distance dispersers included four returns/observations from greater than two hundred miles from their natal colonies (262, 229, 223, and 203 miles). Marked birds observed in 30-mile-radius circles also demonstrated a high propensity to disperse a relative short distance from their natal colony. In each case, >80% of Figure 2. Distribution of Dispersal Distances of TwoHundred and Fourteen Nestling Martins in Northwest TX and Western OK. 251-300 Miles (n=1) 201-250 Miles (n=3) 151-200 Miles (n=0) 101-150 Miles (n=13) 51-100 Miles (n=18) 0-50 Miles (n=179) 0
50
100
150
200
Table 3. Numbers of Purple Martin Returns/Observations Within and Outside of 30-Mile-Radius Circles, 1998-2011. Number of Returns/Observations Darrouzett
# of Colonies Within Outside
% Within
6
50
11
82
Amarillo-Canyon 17
88
11
89
10
31
4
89
Woodwar-Vici
band returns/observations were of birds observed within the 30-mile-radius circle where they were banded (Table 3). Efforts to scan birds for bands in Oklahoma were light due to logistics, although such scans with only binoculars always revealed numerous Oklahoma-specific bands not used in these tabulations because codes were not read to allow distinction among colony sites. Only on a rare occasion was a Texas band observed in Oklahoma. Similarly, the distance between our Oklahoma and Texas sites created a low probability for birds from our Oklahoma sites to be encountered at our Texas sites. Thirty-three marked birds were sighted in more than one year. Of these birds, 25 (76%) remained faithful to their breeding colony, while eight (24%) changed nesting locations; all within a 20-mile radius. In 2006, a SY male was observed twice within a month’s time (June 3 and June 24) at locations approximately 125 miles apart. Its earlier sighting (June 3) was in proximity to its natal colony, while its later sighting was at a more southerly location (June 24).
DISCUSSION Our data for dispersal distances for Progne subis subis on the western periphery of their range is similar to those reported for more easterly populations; usually, within 30 – 50 miles (Hill 1997, 2002, 2003). Sometimes an individual will disperse much further distances as did three ASY males that exceeded 220 miles in our study. Hill (2003) also noted long-distance dispersal by individual males, despite some speculation that such long distance dispersals usually involve females (see Hill 2002). Records exist of banded martins dispersing more than 650 (Miller and Barnes 2011) and even 1,100 miles (Mouliere 2010)! Both of those birds were also males. Although Purple Martins will disperse in all directions of the compass (Hill 2003), the eastern subspecies is considered absent west of our study area (Ray 1995, 2007). It is believed that Purple Martins can expand westward, for example into the western Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, and Eastern New Mexico (Lord and Lord 2010), provided properly constructed, erected, and managed housing is provided (Ray 2007). In testimony to this, breeding has recently been documented in multi-compartment housing in Eastern New Mexico, 70 miles northwest of the closest previously documented, western-most colonies (Monahans and Odessa, TX; Ray 1995).
Page 6
Color-marking added greatly to our study, compared to conventional banding with only USGS bands, which require a “recovery”, either through capture or finding (injury or death), and then the finder must know about and be willing to report the recovery to the USGS Banding Lab. The sightability and readability (spotting scope) of our color-bands resulted in 87% of our data, whereas only 4% were reported through traditional means (banding lab).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Logistical support and some funding were provided by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration, in cooperation with Babcox & Wilcox Technical Services Pantex, L.L.C. Early in the study, colony-specific color bands were purchased by hosting enthusiasts in Texas, namely Don and Harriet Watkins and Carl Jeans of Amarillo, Susan Ray and the Palo Duro Retirement Village Cooperative in Canyon, George and Fay Schoenhals in Darrouzett, and Louis and Nina Sinclair in Lubbock. We are indebted to many martin enthusiasts for access to their properties and colonies. Abilene residents, Laura Packer of Big Country Audubon, and Mike McDonald, City of Abilene, are instrumental in the success of the effort in the Abilene, Texas area, and Rod Hollis and Hal Thomas in the Woodward, Oklahoma area. Many “landlords” and our families assisted with banding activities. Many martin enthusiasts and citizens, the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory, and graduate students of West Tex-
as A&M University provided banding data supplemental to our observation efforts. Figure 1 was constructed and provided by Dr. Raymond Matlack, West Texas A&M University, whom also provided review and comments on the manuscript. Spencer Hoff, B&W Pantex, provided helpful comments on the final drafts. LITERATURE CITED Correll, D. S. and M. C. Johnston. 1979. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Texas Research Found. Lener, TX., 1881 pp. Dellinger, T. B. 1995. Monitoring Tips: Preventing Premature Fledging Purple Martin Update. 6(3):8. Hill, J. R., III. 1997. A color guide to sexing and aging Purple Martins. Purple Martin Update. 8(1):15-17. Hill, J. R., III. 2002. Banding Purple Martins. Purple Martin Update. 11(3):2-7. Hill, J. R., III. 2003. Where do Purple Martins at a typical colony come from? Purple Martin Update. 12(2):26-29. Lord, Bill and Bob Lord. 2010. Purple Martin Landlords in New Mexico. Purple Martin Update. 19(3):19. Mouliere, R. 2010. A Robin’s nest is home for Purple Martins. Purple Martin Update. 19(4):22-25. Ray, J. D. 1995. Purple Martins in northwest Texas. Purple Martin Update. 6(3):10-12. Ray, J. D. 2004. Promoting Purple Martins in NW Texas and Western Oklahoma. Purple Martin Update. 13(2):14-17. Ray, J. D. 2007. The Purple Martin and its management in Texas Third edition. Texas Parks and Wildl. Bull. PWD BK W7000-254 (3/07). (Footnotes) 1 Wildlife Biologist, and Certified Wildlife Biologist (The Wildlife Society) 2 Agronomist
Right. L-R Monty, Jim and Abilene landlords. Far Right. Back rowresidents of Palo Duro Retirement Cooperative, Canyon, TX. Front Row, L-R Monty, Jim, and Jim’s middle son, Jason Ray. Below. Monty and Jim, and neighbors of the Monty Schoenhals’, Canyon, TX. On right is Monty’s wife Heidi, daughter Liesl (sitting), and sonin-law, Kyle Parks (visiting from South Carolina).
Page 7
PURPLE MARTIN
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With Purple Martins heading to South America, or already there, it's time for landlords to heave a big sigh of either relief or satisfaction, and take stock of how their seasons went. We hope you'll share your nesting data with the PMCA, either through Project Martinwatch, or via letters, emails, and photos. For those who couldn't attend the PMCA's conference, we have a report & photos on page 2. Conference speakers Jim Ray and Julie Hovis expanded their conference programs-about banding and natal dispersal-for this issue. Articles about banding in Missouri, and a group effort to save a martin site in Ohio, will hopefully inspire similar projects next season . Illinois landlord Dan Cross shares the story of a unique martin, and from Delaware, we have the story of a unique nesting site. We hope you'll enjoy the articl.es and our regular Update features.
ur
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Table of Contents News from the PMCA ................ ... ....... ...... .......... 1 PMCA's 2011 Conference: A Purple Martin Lovefest ................................ 2 Natal Dispersal of Eastern Purple Martins at the Western Periphery of Their Range ....... .4 The Doctor's House Calls ...... ..... .. ....... ...... ... ........ 8 Color Banding Purple Martins in South Carolina ....................................... ... l0
Landlord Letters ... .. ............................................ 14
Banding Purple Martins in Missouri ............ .. .... 18
Becoming a Landlord is Worth the Wait ........... 20
A Unique Purple Martin ...... ... .. ....... ... .... .. .......... 22
Working to Aid Purple Martins
in Lorain County, Ohio ............................... 24 Vandals in Delaware Create Purple Martin Nest Sites .................... 27 Fro"t Cover: Stretching adllit 111011' Pllrple l'v!artin by Chuck Fill/mer, Geurgetown, Dr:. Btlek Cover: The Eric, PA, martin roost by Tam Dodge.
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