Summer '22 Landlord Letters

[lindapridgeon]

I am very disappointed that PMCA would even publish not one but 2 letters from people who have PM housing promoting allowing HOSP and starlings to coexist with PMs. There are so many proud PM landlords who do all we can to provide safe housing and reading these letters is so deflating. In fact, the Number 2 PM Commandment is "You must control the European Starling and House Sparrows". I know the Managing Editor did not overlook these letters. Others have mentioned them on Facebook and are shocked that the letters were published.
Your administrators are NOT adhering to your mission statement which you publish on the first page of your Summer Issue. I don't know how many talented PM landlords you will lose with this type of sorry content, but it is likely quite a few.

[John Barrow]

I ran across a single Facebook post in which a handful of people commented on the matters posted above, and subsequently reread my copy of the PM Update. There is a single landlord's letter that basically tells about how that landlord rescued 6 of a brood of 7 that prematurely jumped. He was excited that his actions enabled the 6 to fledge the next day; giving him a sense of satisfaction. As an afterthought he stated that he allowed house sparrows and martins to coexist this season without (noticing) complications. The editor did not comment on that action as would normally be done. As a long time mentor to numerous landlords it has always been my policy to not compare or compete with others; to share my ideas and listen to their practices. I have always tried to control invasive competitors, but at the same time I have had neighbors who did not. The results speak for themselves.
The second "landlord letter" was really an article called "Teamwork Makes the Purple Martin Dream Work". It was about a landlord managing a long established successful martin colony in PA. After knee replacement surgery complications, and living 30 miles from the colony, starlings started to take over the colony. That problem was solved by meeting with another highly experienced landlord who agreed to manage the colony working as a team with the handicapped landlord handling needed housing upgrades and equipment management. That enabled the "team" to add SREHs throughout the colony, exclude starlings and salvage a large public colony.
In defense of PMCA, as a long time member and supporter, and having visited their offices on several occasions, and hosted a PMCA-TX office when Louise Chambers moved to Texas and continued for several years to edit their magazine I posted on Facebook, in defense of what is characterized in the lead post herein as disappointing, deflating, and designed to drive away membership what I see as a reasonable explanation.
PMCA held a purple martin conference that was scheduled to be in OK, but necessities moved it to a Zoom virtual conference centered from its offices in Erie, PA., necessitating zoom setups and three different rooms. I attended much of the conference via zoom, and it was spectacular to see what PMCA is part of on an international level. There were 30-40 presenters over a two day period, including multiple outstanding landlords talking about their practices; the head of Avian work for Disney foundation, a huge contributor to PMCA's tracking and S. America roost monitoring; several talks from graduate students and teachers working on research projects, partially grant-funded by PMCA , and a half day of talks by partner researchers in Brazil who have worked with and on behalf of PMCA. I have no doubt that the shifting of the conference parameters conflicted with the publication deadline of the issue, which for the most part, was outstanding. A great performance by the small number of dedicated people who work for PMCA.

[Dave Reynolds]

I ran across a single Facebook post in which a handful of people commented on the matters posted above, and subsequently reread my copy of the PM Update. There is a single landlord's letter that basically tells about how that landlord rescued 6 of a brood of 7 that prematurely jumped. He was excited that his actions enabled the 6 to fledge the next day; giving him a sense of satisfaction. As an afterthought he stated that he allowed house sparrows and martins to coexist this season without (noticing) complications. The editor did not comment on that action as would normally be done. As a long time mentor to numerous landlords it has always been my policy to not compare or compete with others; to share my ideas and listen to their practices. I have always tried to control invasive competitors, but at the same time I have had neighbors who did not. The results speak for themselves.
The second "landlord letter" was really an article called "Teamwork Makes the Purple Martin Dream Work". It was about a landlord managing a long established successful martin colony in PA. After knee replacement surgery complications, and living 30 miles from the colony, starlings started to take over the colony. That problem was solved by meeting with another highly experienced landlord who agreed to manage the colony working as a team with the handicapped landlord handling needed housing upgrades and equipment management. That enabled the "team" to add SREHs throughout the colony, exclude starlings and salvage a large public colony.
In defense of PMCA, as a long time member and supporter, and having visited their offices on several occasions, and hosted a PMCA-TX office when Louise Chambers moved to Texas and continued for several years to edit their magazine I posted on Facebook, in defense of what is characterized in the lead post herein as disappointing, deflating, and designed to drive away membership what I see as a reasonable explanation.
PMCA held a purple martin conference that was scheduled to be in OK, but necessities moved it to a Zoom virtual conference centered from its offices in Erie, PA., necessitating zoom setups and three different rooms. I attended much of the conference via zoom, and it was spectacular to see what PMCA is part of on an international level. There were 30-40 presenters over a two day period, including multiple outstanding landlords talking about their practices; the head of Avian work for Disney foundation, a huge contributor to PMCA's tracking and S. America roost monitoring; several talks from graduate students and teachers working on research projects, partially grant-funded by PMCA , and a half day of talks by partner researchers in Brazil who have worked with and on behalf of PMCA. I have no doubt that the shifting of the conference parameters conflicted with the publication deadline of the issue, which for the most part, was outstanding. A great performance by the small number of dedicated people who work for PMCA.

..
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.. Well said, John....

Dave