The PMCA is very pleased to honor Terry Anne Suchma as its 1994 Landlord of the Year, in recognition of the outstanding educational efforts she has made on behalf of the Purple Martin and its human landlords. Terry will be the first to tell you she doesn't have the biggest colony around; she runs from 14 to 24 pairs, on average. Nor has she come up with the latest innovation in martin house design, or discovered some new aspect of martin biology.

What Terry has done for the past three years is every bit as noteworthy as any technical discovery. Thanks to her, the Purple Martin has gone "High Tech." Along with its own publication, the Purple Martin Update, the martin now has its own international, public bulletin board on the interactive computer service, Prodigy. Through her computer bulletin board, Terry has educated and counseled hundreds of would-be martin landlords; her readers on Prodigy certainly number in the thousands, if not the millions - people "browse" through topics on bulletin boards the way cable television viewers flick through channels with their remote controls. By providing thousands of Prodigy subscribers with accurate information on Purple Martins, and by offering advice and help to the hundreds of martin fans who communicate with her through the bulletin board, Terry has given both the Purple Martin and its human friends a giant helping hand.

Her specialty is education, and she imbues her work with the character that makes her such a special individual. Terry is never content to give only 100%; she goes the extra mile, following up reader questions with phone calls, letters, faxes, house calls, whatever she thinks they might need to help ensure their success. All of Terry's work, from her hours on Prodigy, to her house calls and martin talks, is on her own time, and at her own expense. She is not compensated for her work by Prodigy or by the PMCA - she is a volunteer of the highest order. By making education her foremost priority, Terry dispels myths and ignorance, and sets an example for others to follow. Terry's electronic sign-off, "KEEP 'EM FLYING!," is more than just a clever way of ending her transmissions, it's her philosophy of life. Her friends, from coast to coast, join us in saluting Terry.

Now into her third year on the computer network, Terry has been busy "talking" with both novice and veteran landlords across the martin's range. From the computer terminal in her home, in the western suburbs of Chicago, Terry fields all and any questions regarding the Purple Martin. Much of the time, she writes personal replies to those who make inquires about martins. Her forte is helping unsuccessful landlords become successful, and successful landlords become more successful.

From Terry's "Purple Martin Command Central," she maintains that even experienced landlords can benefit from access to better information. With her educational and informative approach, computer networking is an ideal way for her supply this information. "On line" she discusses all aspects of the martin hobby, with topics ranging from how to successfully attract and keep martins, to martin biology and behavior. During the martin season, from the time the first birds are due back in southern states, Terry and her keyboard are busy answering questions, and coaxing information from landlords and interested parties all over North America. Scout dates are collected and posted, excitement and disappointments are shared, and information, perhaps the most crucial element of success, is dispensed accurately to all the readers on the network.

The messages Terry places, and the information she uploads from the PMCA, reach thousands of readers. For instance, since the beginning of March 1994, she has posted over 125 notes and articles on martins, and this does not include her responses to questions! As a result, Terry has friends everywhere, from landlords in Florida, to people wondering how they can help martins in the Pacific Northwest. She regards the bulletin board as a forum for education. After the Purple Martin Update, we feel Terry's computer bulletin board is the best source of martin information currently available.

Her topics range from strategies for dealing with sparrows or starlings, to dealing with cold weather during the nesting season. People will sign on, saying "It's my second year trying to get martins," or, "I need help dealing with starlings!" They quickly become part of Terry's "family" of martin fans and Prodigy members, not unlike an electronic support group. The friendships that have developed on the computer bulletin board have lead to several face-to-face meetings. Groups of Prodigy birders and martin fans gathered last year at the Third Midwest Birding Symposium in Michigan, and at Cape May, New Jersey, for fall migration.

Terry's work on Prodigy is not confined to helping landlords and landlord "wannabe's;" the information she acquires on new colony locations, unusual situations, and other items of interest are promptly shared with the PMCA. Through Terry and her friends on Prodigy, we have located and registered hundreds of new colony sites. This is especially valuable when one contact provides a dozen active sites in a New England state, like Vermont, where martins are somewhat scarce. During times of widespread bad weather, Terry helps the PMCA by collecting and dispersing information; the Prodigy landlord network helps us assess the scope and degree of the situation quickly. This sort of nationwide, immediate feedback is a unique and valued resource, and we greatly appreciate Terry's efforts in sharing her resources with the PMCA.

Terry likes to be familiar with the very latest improvements and innovations in martin management, and has turned her backyard into a research grounds where she tries out "cutting edge" martin technology. She will only recommend features she has tried herself. She is currently experimenting with Styrofoam nest inserts and a mealworm star feeder, courtesy of her landlord friend, Ed Donath (see Update 4(3):2-4). She is also experimenting with porch dividers, enlarged compartments equipped with starling-proof holes, and gourds with access doors.

On Prodigy, Terry contributes to the bluebird bulletin board as well as to the martin's. Both are birds in need of human assistance in the form of supplied nest boxes and regular management. Terry believes that martin landlords and bluebird managers are "managers of wildlife." She feels that with good managers, now and in the future, both species will continue to be enjoyed by future generations.

From her vantage in "Terry's Treetop" (her computer tag or "handle"), Terry has good knowledge of birds in general. Having spent some time working at the Pittsburgh Aviary (now newly-designated as the National Aviary in Pittsburgh), she has expanded her knowledge to include birds of the Old World, exotic birds, and birds of prey, as well as the usual wild birds outside at her backyard feeders. However, she says shorebirds and fall warblers are her avian Achilles heel, when it comes to field identification.

Also on Prodigy, Terry occasionally spends time doing Birdie Trivia on the "Treetop Trivia" board. Her relish for avian trivia has been extended into the Purple Martin interest, where in the past she has posted notes on "Birdie Guts" a direct tongue-in-cheek imitation of Prodigy's own "Guts" game.

At home, Terry spends most of her time on the computer helping martin landlords. In her spare time, though, she is chief wife, cook, and bottle washer for Ed, her loving husband of 28 years. Having fledged one (human) offspring of their own, Terry and Ed now direct their energies toward helping martin landlords with their fledglings. While Terry is the Purple Martin educator, she is quick to state that she and Ed are a team, and that his support of her efforts is crucial to her success. When it comes to rebuilding martin houses, or climbing ladders to perform nest checks, Ed is at hand to assist. Terry and Ed are currently members of the DuPage Audubon Society. Besides birds, their interests include cooking, astronomy, and traveling in their motorhome.

As if all that weren't enough, Terry recently took it upon herself to start a Purple Martin club for landlords in the Chicago area, in response to growing interest in martins in the area. Although unsure of what the outcome would be, she rented a space for the first meeting, provided martin information handouts, and even coffee and doughnuts. The turnout was more than respectable, and the attendees were pleased with the information they gained. Word has spread, and it looks like larger facilities will be required for their next meeting. If you live in the Chicago area and would like to find out more about this club, Terry can be reached by mail at: 8921 Royal Dr., Burr Ridge, IL, 60521.

The best way for us to tell you more about what Terry does is by letting you read some of the material she has posted on the Purple Martin bulletin board she established. The items she posts cover practical advice for landlords, like the PMCA's "Top Ten Reasons People Fail to Attract Martins." Any landlord who comes in contact with Terry is quickly informed about the values of porch dividers, the importance of predator guards, and the latest features of being a good martin landlord. Here is a sampling of one of the hundreds of essays Terry has posted on Prod-igy's electronic bulletin board.

In my martin work, I speak in great detail to prospective martin landlord, about the requirements for attracting Purple Martins to a new colony site. I mention that along with proper habitat and housing, one of the requisites is a certain a mount of "discipline."

Discipline, as defined by the dictionary, is "training that is expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior; a set of rules or methods, as those regulating a practice." For those of us in the martin interest, this discipline is a required routine of certain practices that we need to develop and perform on a regular basis to ensure a successful breeding season for the martins. Our goal as managers of this wildlife species should be "to fledge as many martin young as we can, without harming the ecosystem." Incorporating particular responsibilities, a discipline if you will, into our martin interest will result in a better martin season for both the martins and the martin landlord.

A basic routine of martin discipline should include the following: 1) complete eradication of the nonnative English House Sparrow and European Starling from the breeding area of the martin; 2) frequent nest checks of the houses and gourds. Of these two, the eradication of the nonnative sparrow and starling is the most difficult for many freshman landlords. This is due to the time required for such an undertaking, and the ensuing frustration in the constant battle with these very driven enemies.

Controlling by trapping or "recycling" the starling and sparrow is an exhausting struggle for any landlord, but it is one which can be critical to whether or not the landlord will ultimately be successful in attracting and keeping a colony of martins. Repressing the numbers of these exotic nest-site competitors is something that needs to be addressed, at the minimum, on a weekly basis. Better control entails a more aggressive schedule of starling/sparrow control on a twice a week basis. The very best control is the daily control and obstruction of these birds.

While we can surely understand that those who brought these birds to this continent meant only to bring a piece of their homeland to a strange and sometimes unfriendly new land, the consequence of their actions was an unwitting manipulation of mother nature, with the introduction of bird species that usurp nest sites from our own native birds. They have wreaked their havoc for the last century and will continue to do so well into the future. Our native birds have not as yet developed a defensive strategy against these alien birds. In the avian scheme of things, such a strategy can take a millennium of bird generations to evolve!

Because starlings and sparrows do not migrate, as do the birds whose niches they snitch, these birds are earlier and hardier on the nest sites than those birds, like the martins, who must withstand the arduous rigors of a several-thousand-mile migration. When martins arrive on the scene in North America, they are often greeted by multitudes of starlings and sparrows who have usurped their nesting sites. In many poorly-managed martin houses, starlings and sparrows have already claimed the house and constructed their nests, weeks before the martins return.

The discipline here is that the landlord must recognize that it will be necessary to take much time, endure much vexation, and experience many moments of frustration, in trying to keep the martin nesting area free of sparrows and starlings. Allowing these birds to live in your martin housing severely limits your chance of attracting martins to your yard. Showing mercy to starlings and sparrows shows no mercy to martins!

Once your martins are established, another discipline involves the regular checking of martin nests at various stages. A dedicated martin enthusiast will do so at regularly scheduled times during the martin season. At a minimum, these nest checks should be performed once a week. Every 4 to 5 days is better.

And why should you? There are many reasons. Without regular nest checks, how would you ever know how your martins are faring? Nest checks enable us to know the exact count of active nests and fledged young. Regular visits to the nestbox will give us an indication if there was predation of any type. Since many of us never see owls, which come at night on silent feathers, we would never know if our martins were diminishing in numbers due to nightly forays by owls, or any other nighttime predators, unless we checked on a regular basis. If we did not check on our martins, we would not know that they died from poor weather, or nearby pesticide usage. We would not realize that young nestlings could be in peril due to loss of one or both parents. Neither would we realize that the martins were plagued by insidious parasites or threatened by other aggressive birds.

Being disciplined and conducting regular nest checks, allows a landlord to troubleshoot any threats to their martins before they could cause permanent damage for the season and seasons to come. By doing frequent nest checks, we help to ensure our season's success, and the annual return of the martins for future years.

Yes, martins "are" loyal to sites in our yards, but only when they have nested and bred there successfully in a season. It is not enough to put up a martin house or gourds; we must have a martin agenda for the season and a certain amount of discipline so that we can be successful managers of this bird species.

We think you will agree that Terry Suchma is a rare bird, well deserving of the PMCA's 1994 Landlord of the Year award. She joins Charles McEwen, the PMCA's 1992 Landlord of the Year, and Andrew M. Troyer, the PMCA's 1993 Landlord of the Year. Each of these individuals have made a substantial contribution to the welfare of the Purple Martin, through technological, biological, or educational means.

I have had a passive interest in Purple Martins since the 1960's and have had a Trio Musselman martin house since the early 70's. Most years I had just a couple of martin pairs, but some years I had none. Then, in 1992, I joined Prodigy's Interactive Personal Computer Service and came across the Purple Martin subtopic under the Birding topic. I soon discovered that the martin discussions on Prodigy seemed to be led by a Chicago lady named Terry Suchma. When I sent a computer message to her, saying that I had a martin house, she immediately replied, and pumped me for all sorts of details on my martin house and past experiences. She wrote copious notes, and talked about things I'd never heard of, like the PMCA, porch dividers, enlarged compartments, predator guards, starling-proof entrances, the dawnsong tape, owl guards, and gourds! There were ten reasons for this, and twelve reasons for that, followed by eggshells, fallout shelters, green leaves and blowflies! I mean this woman knew everything about Purple Martins, and 95% of it was new to me. Terry insisted that these ideas worked.

Well, that first year I made porch dividers for my house, and I am not a handyman. Then I added some gourds. I got one pair of martins, but the female died during the cold weather that killed so many martins that year. I was devastated, so I posted my plight on Prodigy. Terry offered help and consolation, and fortunately, a sub-adult pair came and nested in a gourd. Before Terry and Prodigy, I had never even heard of a "subadult!"

In 1993, I added a Trio Castle and built a PMCA gourd rack. Then I enlarged the compartments on both of my aluminum houses. Fourteen pairs came and nested in the gourds! Due to continual starling problems, I was never able to leave the houses opened. I also used the PMCA's dawnsong tape, despite strange looks from friends and family. I have to say that I was skeptical, but now I am sure that the 14 pairs came because of the dawnsong tape.

In 1994, I added starling-proof entrances to the Castle and Musselman. Bonanza! The starlings could not enter; the Starling Wars were over. The Purple Martins entered with ease. This year I had 23 nesting pairs, 16 pairs in the gourds and 7 in the houses. In 1995 I expect the Castle and Musselman to be full.

Virtually everything I know I owe to Terry and her electronic postings on Prodigy. I have tried nearly all of the "new thinking" she has introduced to Prodigy readers. And it works! Because of Terry, I was introduced to the PMCA, and now I am helping others as they come along, too. In fact, I have met lots of martin lovers and we have become Prodigy friends, as well. We encourage one another, and offer help and suggestions to each other.

Terry has unselfishly thrown herself into the martin's cause. She has one goal in mind: to help others better help the Purple Martin. And she is succeeding! Thanks Terry, from all of your friends on Prodigy.