Extreme Makeover at Boone Elementary
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Guest
Here are some pictures before and after of the Boone Elementary PM colony in Austin, which had been neglected until this year. With the help of PM mentor Suzanne Harm, and her husband, we were able to fix it up and make the martins very happy. The martins utilized 9 of the 12 compartments and fledged 35 or so this year. I was unsuccessful attracting martins to my backyard, so when I saw the colony at Boone I asked the principal if I could adopt the colony. I also placed my Coates house about 20 feet away from the original house and had one clutch this year, chicks are about 16 days old. I've worked with the school to supply display materials about martins. I hope to partner with a teacher next year for some of the nest checks. If anyone has worked with a school colony and has some good resources to share, let me know! I have searched high and low for a kids' PM book. Looks like I'll have to write one, perhaps about Patty the Purple martin and her life. A big thanks to Suzanne for guiding me through my first year as a landlord!
Katherine,
Sorry for the late reply to your post. One of the forum members, Scully, is a high school teacher in San Antonio, and does done some great things there to educate students about martins.
He has set up a nice colony there on site, that he uses to give the students hands on experience by assisting in nest checks, and colony monitoring. There were many threads from him I was going to link you to, but due to some recent server problems, most of his previous threads about his school's colony have been lost. Except for one! He has set up a camera system that allows the students and faculty there to watch the goings on in one of the martin nests from TV monitors inside the school. Here's that thread:
http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16
Anyway, he must be out of town or on vacation as I'm sure he'd of responded immediately.
OR he may have already responded via private message or e-mail, and I am currently looking like a complete goof!
Matt
Sorry for the late reply to your post. One of the forum members, Scully, is a high school teacher in San Antonio, and does done some great things there to educate students about martins.
He has set up a nice colony there on site, that he uses to give the students hands on experience by assisting in nest checks, and colony monitoring. There were many threads from him I was going to link you to, but due to some recent server problems, most of his previous threads about his school's colony have been lost. Except for one! He has set up a camera system that allows the students and faculty there to watch the goings on in one of the martin nests from TV monitors inside the school. Here's that thread:
http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16
Anyway, he must be out of town or on vacation as I'm sure he'd of responded immediately.
OR he may have already responded via private message or e-mail, and I am currently looking like a complete goof!
Matt
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John & Linda - KY
- Posts: 599
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:19 pm
- Location: Kentucky/Hawesville
Katherine -- What happened to the pictures? -- John
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Guest
Sorry the pics didn't post. I'm new to the forum and I think they are too big. I hope to play with the formatting. If anyone can do this in a flash and help me post them, let me know and I will email the pictures to you. Thanks for understanding. Once I get them up your jaws will drop.
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Guest
Katherine Murray wrote:Sorry the pics didn't post. I'm new to the forum and I think they are too big. I hope to play with the formatting. If anyone can do this in a flash and help me post them, let me know and I will email the pictures to you. Thanks for understanding. Once I get them up your jaws will drop.
Hi Katherine, I can. I have several photo editing programs that can do it in a 'flash'. Just send them to [email protected]
Take care,
Peg
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Guest
Here you go Katherine!
- Attachments
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- Before makerover, both sides..
- Before01.JPG (35.81 KiB) Viewed 22671 times
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- Next side...
- Before02.JPG (65.89 KiB) Viewed 22671 times
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- And after the makeover, wow
- PM01.JPG (17.97 KiB) Viewed 7983 times
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Guest
Thanks Peg for posting the pictures. I look forward to where this project will take me. I especially like involving the school. Thanks for all the responses!
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Guest
Katherine- for futire reference:
If you are using windows XP then its an easy process to size the pics for the web. Just highlight the photos you want to post and right click. Choose "send to" and choose "mail recipient." A pop up box should appear and ask you if you want to make your pictures smaller. Click this button and choose yes. Your mail window will pop up with the attched photos and all you have to do from here is to drag the resized photos your desktop. You now have pics that are small enough for the program and large enough to see. Just be sure to upload them from the desktop.
Hope this helps you and possibly others.
If you are using windows XP then its an easy process to size the pics for the web. Just highlight the photos you want to post and right click. Choose "send to" and choose "mail recipient." A pop up box should appear and ask you if you want to make your pictures smaller. Click this button and choose yes. Your mail window will pop up with the attched photos and all you have to do from here is to drag the resized photos your desktop. You now have pics that are small enough for the program and large enough to see. Just be sure to upload them from the desktop.
Hope this helps you and possibly others.
Katherine- for futire reference:
If you are using windows XP then its an easy process to size the pics for the web. Just highlight the photos you want to post and right click. Choose "send to" and choose "mail recipient." A pop up box should appear and ask you if you want to make your pictures smaller. Click this button and choose yes. Your mail window will pop up with the attched photos and all you have to do from here is to drag the resized photos your desktop. You now have pics that are small enough for the program and large enough to see. Just be sure to upload them from the desktop.
Hope this helps you and possibly others.
dkjtwo, Thank you for the above instructions!!!! I have Windows XP, and had no idea you could do that! I just posted a photo under my post "30 Days Old?" and was able to use your instructions. Thanks so much!!!
.... Pat-
Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
and many more thanks to you, djtwo, from me for the simple instructions on sizing a photo. I had tried so many different ways and it never worked!
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne
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Guest
Glad I could help Girls!
Hopefully, more photos will be posted of everyones PM experiences!!
Hopefully, more photos will be posted of everyones PM experiences!!
Katherine, I have indeed been offline for a bit.
We have operated a successful colony at our high school in San Antonio for nine years now.
I would be more than happy to be of any help, now and in future years.
Mike Scully
We have operated a successful colony at our high school in San Antonio for nine years now.
I would be more than happy to be of any help, now and in future years.
Mike Scully
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Guest
Hey Katherine,
Yeeaaahhh! You did it. Thanks so much for posting the story and before and after pictures on the forum. Hopefully others will see the possibilities and more beat up old houses can be renovated for the martin's benefit. I think the martins are actually grinning with joy in the "after" picture. And THANK YOU again for letting us help out with this worthy project. It feels great to have been a small part of this colony's success.
Hugs, Susanne
Yeeaaahhh! You did it. Thanks so much for posting the story and before and after pictures on the forum. Hopefully others will see the possibilities and more beat up old houses can be renovated for the martin's benefit. I think the martins are actually grinning with joy in the "after" picture. And THANK YOU again for letting us help out with this worthy project. It feels great to have been a small part of this colony's success.
Hugs, Susanne
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Guest
The last group of four fledged this weekend. I didn't think they would all live through this heat wave and drought. It felt good to see them learn to fly.
In the meantime I've been catching lots of male sparrows using the spar-o-door. I only was able to catch female Englsh sparrows using a wire trap earlier in the season. I'm catching one sparrow a day now. YAY!
I did see about 100 PM circle and land in a live oak tree this evening at my H-E-B (Brodie and William Cannon). It was about 8 or so. I wonder if some of these guys are my martins? I think I read that they roost within a mile of their nests, so I'd have to measure mileage as the maritn flies.
I have also seen lots of martins hunting on the wing when I take my dogs to lessons in Oak Hill. I have a feeling those are probably some of The Natural Gardener's martins.
In the meantime I've been catching lots of male sparrows using the spar-o-door. I only was able to catch female Englsh sparrows using a wire trap earlier in the season. I'm catching one sparrow a day now. YAY!
I did see about 100 PM circle and land in a live oak tree this evening at my H-E-B (Brodie and William Cannon). It was about 8 or so. I wonder if some of these guys are my martins? I think I read that they roost within a mile of their nests, so I'd have to measure mileage as the maritn flies.
I have also seen lots of martins hunting on the wing when I take my dogs to lessons in Oak Hill. I have a feeling those are probably some of The Natural Gardener's martins.