Scout Arrival Study

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING:

Please note that you are participating in a scientific research study and your data will be combined with other data from throughout North America for statistical analysis to learn more about the Purple Martin. This study is designed to explore the migration and arrival times of adult (ASY) and subadult male (SY-M) Purple Martins as they may relate to other phenomena, such as weather or the progress of spring. For these reasons, we ask that you make every effort to ensure accuracy of your reports. We also ask that you include your name and contact information in case we have any questions regarding your data.

This project is ongoing. Why should you participate? Because through the combined efforts of citizen scientists, such as yourself, we can add to our knowledge base on martins. Remember, we can only protect what we know, and by adding to our knowledge, participating landlords can help ensure long-term survival of the birds they love.

This form should be completed once for each location you have reports for. Please do not submit an adult report for one location and an SY from another.

YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION:
Name	*	* Required Fields
Home Address	*
City	*
State/Province:	* Zip/Postal Code: *
Phone:	- -
E-mail:	*

COLONY LOCATION:
Please describe the location where your Purple Martin Scouts were observed.

My scouts were observed at the address above. If different, please fill in the fields City, State, and Zip below:	*
OR
City:	*
State/Province: Zip/Postal Code:

LANDLORD STATUS:
Please select one of the following that best describes your Purple Martin landlord status.

If Active:	How many years has your colony been active?
	How many martin pairs did you host last year?

SCOUT-ARRIVAL REPORT:
Date first adult (ASY) male or female Purple Martin was observed at your colony site this year:

Month Day Year Today's Date is May 12, 2008

Observation Description:

Please note: If you have previously reported an adult scout date, do not report this same date a second time while posting a subadult report. Doing so will result in your adult scout date being displayed twice or more on the online scout pages. Instead, type your adult scout date in the description box above for our reference. Thank you!

SUBADULT MALE REPORT:
Date first subadult male (SY-M) Purple Martin was observed at your colony site this year:

Please be absolutely sure you have spotted a subadult male (SY-M) Purple Martin and not a female. Our Purple Martin Identification page has photos and description of adult and subadult plumages. SY-M martins generally do not return less than 4 weeks after the ASY reports in the north, 6 weeks in the middle states, and 8 weeks in the south.

Identification Tip: Only the males (adult and subadults) sing the extremely common song that ends with a rapidly clicking 'krieeek' sound, which they deliver with a conspicuous, thrown-open beak. Listen to it here.

Month Day Year Today's Date is May 12, 2008

SY-M
Click for detailed description

Observation Description:

MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS/QUESTIONS:

POST THIS REPORT ON WEBSITE?
Do you wish to display your date on our website allowing others in your region to view it for reference?

Post my date on the web with my name shown. (Default)
Post my date on the web using my alternate display name below. **
Post my date on the web using "Name Withheld".
Do not post my date on the web.

** If you would like something other than your name (as entered in "your contact information" section above) to be displayed online, you may provide an alternate name. This field is intended to accommodate those posting on behalf of schools, organizations, and other landlords. Note: the alternate name is only used if you choose to "display your date using my alternate display name" option above.

Alternate Display Name:

SUBMIT YOUR REPORT
Please click the button once to prevent multiple submissions.

Be absolutely sure the birds you saw were not Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, cowbirds, grackles, or European Starlings. Tree swallows have pure white bellies and are 1/2 the size of Purple Martins. Purple Martins have short black beaks and are either all-black (adult males) or all-gray (females and subadult males). Starlings have long yellow beaks and a vocalization that is an annoying squeal. Barn Swallows have orange bellies and long forked tails. Grackles and cowbirds are iridescent purple like martins, but they frequent seed feeders and walk through the grass; Purple Martins don't.

Further information about identifying Purple Martins can be found at the following pages:
Purple Martin Plumage Identification and Purple Martin Vocalizations

Also, northward migrating martins travel alone, or in very small, loose, groups of 2 or 3 individuals. If you are seeing flocks of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of birds, they aren't Purple Martins. If the first "martins" back at your site immediately start to clean old nesting material out of the housing, THEY ARE NOT MARTINS - they are probably starlings. Martins don't even think about nest building for several weeks after the earliest ones return. Also, if the birds you see are more than two weeks earlier than the average first-arrival dates shown on the migration-timing map displayed at this web site, it's very unlikely they are Purple Martins.

PLEASE NOTE: We are only interested in "scout" dates from active sites (i.e., sites that housed breeding Purple Martins last year), and are only interested in the date of first sighting of adult martins seen perched on martin housing (or seen or heard flying above active martin housing). If the site did not have breeding Purple Martins last year, we do not want your adult (ASY) date, just your subadult male (SY-M) date. Subadult female reports are not collected due to the level of difficulty in accurately identifying them. Thanks!