Hello PMCA, Just finished re-reading Vol 34(4) Fall 2025 of the Update magazine. Once again, job really well done.
Joe, your article pp 22-24 states that Breeding season martins have a foraging range of only around five square miles. This is so counterintuitive for a bird that flies 350 miles a day in migration. Check my math, but that's a circle with a radius of just over 1.25 miles. I never thought it would be so small an area.
Here in Washington State we are running a survey/census that began in 2025 and will run through this coming season. In addition to counting pairs at known breeding locations we are using a review of eBird reports to try and find additional breeders. A five square mile foraging area for breeders will be a big help in distinguishing between eBird reports we consider indicative of "probable" nesting, and those we consider simply "possible" nesting.
Regarding the five square miles, is there anything now in publication other than the Update magazine that we can cite for that statement, or is this based on someone's as of yet unpublished data ? Thanks much. Stan Kostka
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