Chris J. Slabaugh, Sr.:
1997 PMCA Landlord of the Year

Reprinted from: Purple Martin Update 8(3)

Louise Chambers & James R. Hill, III
Purple Martin Conservation Assoication

Chris and friends, Andy and Adam Troyer, admire a swirling flight of Cliff Swallows from Chris' second floor barn door.

The PMCA is pleased to honor Chris J. Slabaugh, Sr., of Nappanee, IN, as its 1997 Landlord of the Year. A landlord for over 35 years, he has been fascinated by martins since childhood. The Slabaugh home in Nappanee is filled with the beautiful sights and sounds of Purple Martins, Cliff Swallows, Barn Swallows, bluebirds, and Tree Swallows, along with many other native birds, all surrounded by colorful flower beds and well-tended lawns. Chris and his wife, Alma, raised their six children, along with countless generations of birds, at the farm which has been in the Slabaugh family since 1852. In the introduction to his book, Purple Martins: 400 Questions and Answers, Chris notes that the Potowatimi Indians that lived in the area until forcibly evicted in 1837, lived in harmony with nature, putting out gourds for Purple Martins centuries before the white man ever set foot on this continent.

Employed as a kitchen cabinet maker in Nappanee for the past 8&1/2 years, Chris has also been a dairy and grain farmer. He describes himself as just a common Amishman, enjoying life to the fullest with his wife, Alma, out in the country with nature and feathered friends, encouraging and inspiring other bird friends to fall in line with one of his mottoes, "helping to enlighten, educate, and lead the way." Like all those who have received the PMCA's Landlord of the Year award, Chris Slabaugh's high level of interest in Purple Martins has motivated him to find new ways to help martins thrive. Chris is always thinking ahead to next year and his plans for the coming martin season.

One of the innovations Chris has come up with is the Trendsetter line of Purple Martin houses. These are a line of aluminum houses he designed that are equipped with large, 6" x 6" x 12" compartments, an adjustable ventilation system, insulated compartment ceilings, and a special porch design that keeps rain from working in under compartment doors. The houses are mounted on a square metal post, and they raise and lower with a winch system that makes monitoring safe and easy. Porches are 5" wide, offering superior protection from predators, as well as protection from blowing rains, and ample shade on hot days. A strong believer in the importance of keeping House Sparrows and starlings out of nest boxes, Chris also designed a sparrow-trap for use in the Trendsetter. [Editorial comment: For more information on Trendsetter Martin Houses, contact Helmuth's Metal Fabricating, RR 2, Box 48, Nappanee, IN, 46550.]

Another management innovation that Chris was the first to conceive of was the use of "slide-out nest trays," an effective tool that allows landlords to maintain parasite-free nests without the use of potentially-harmful pesticides. Noting that nest parasites can reduce breeding success by 50%, Chris devised the nest tray concept to make it possible to easily remove nests, nestlings, and parasites from the housing, clean the tray, add new nest material, replace young, and then slide the nest tray back into its compartment. The nest tray eliminates any need to use pesticides in martin nests.

Chris recognized that helping other landlords is one of the most effective ways to help martins, and this realization led him to found the American Bird Conservation Association (A.B.C.A.) in 1991, and to write and publish a 208-page book, Purple Martins: 400 Questions and Answers, in 1994. The A.B.C.A. promotes all native birds, buts puts special emphasis on Purple Martins and bluebirds. Purple Martins: 400 Questions and Answers covers every imaginable question that a neophyte or an expert landlord might have. Just as importantly, it allows Chris to share his joy of Purple Martins with others. [The book, Purple Martins: 400 Questions and Answers is available from Chris J. Slabaugh, RR 3, 111-2nd B Rd., Nappanee, IN, 46550, for $12.95 + $2.00 shipping and handling. Indiana residents add 5% sales tax.]

Chris promotes the "ICM" (Intensive Care & Management) program that includes nest checks every 5 to 7 days, parasite control through nest replacement, and total elimination of the birds he regards as "weeds of the air," House Sparrows and European Starlings. The ICM program is designed to help martins fledge the optimal number of healthy young possible. Because of Chris' intense management efforts, he was the first landlord ever to detect and document Type C Avian Botulism in Purple Martins.

Another innovation attributed to Chris is his unique nest-check cart that he trundles on his management rounds (see top photo on page 2). It's a two-wheeled garden cart equipped with everything a landlord could possibly need, from a desktop for writing records to containers filled with clean, dry nest replacement material and crushed eggshells.

And there is his amazing 132-room martin house (see photo, above), designed to allow him to crawl up inside the center of the house and remain concealed there, with a view into the nest compartments. The house is constructed from native hardwood and is surrounded with a one-piece wraparound sheet of metal. The big house was erected in 1982 and housed a nesting pair of American Kestrels when the entrance holes were 2&1/2". Since the holes were reduced to 2", the kestrels found quarters elsewhere, and between 15 and 20 pairs of martins nest in the big house each year.

More recently, Chris has conducted tests with a computer-routed starling-resistant entrance hole on all his housing. Chris says that if a truly starling-proof entrance hole can be perfected for use throughout the martins' North American breeding range, just think how the martins will benefit from having one of their most serious threats removed!

Chris' years with the martins have not been without real tragedy. In 1995, his colony site was devastated by two outbreaks of Type C Avian Botulism, which had not previously been documented in Purple Martins (see Update 6(2), "Purple Martin Die-offs During the Summer of 1995"). During the anguish of seeing Purple Martins literally fall from the sky, unable to sustain flight, and then die, Chris collected dead and live martins from the ground, sent dead birds off to be tested, and spent hundreds of dollars in phone calls seeking the cause of the disaster. With his typically positive faith and determination, Chris salvaged as many nestlings as he could by fostering orphaned young (it was the adult birds who died in the botulism outbreak) into the remaining active nests, making sure they had a chance to survive. He managed to fledge 92 young out of the 62 nests, despite the loss of an estimated 106 parent martins, plus 112 dead young and 41 unhatched eggs.

Since the summer of 1995, when the botulism outbreaks reduced the number of breeding martins from 62 pairs down to 12 surviving pairs, Chris followed all the guidelines he espouses to rebuild his site. For the next three years, the number of nesting martins increas-ed 30% annually, reaching 52 pairs by 1998. His "goal," not yet achiev-ed, has been to have 100 breeding pairs.

The following excerpt, taken from the introduction to his book, Purple Martins: 400 Questions and Answers, describes Chris' attitude towards the natural world and its gifts.

"The distant stars were still twinkling brightly in the heavens on a warm spring morning in May. Being a grain and dairy farmer, I was on my way out to start morning chores, stopping briefly to scan the skies and admire God's handiwork when a new sound reached my ears. The Purple Martins' dawnsong! The first time for this season! The adrenaline started flowing and my heart leaped for joy. It was a sure promise and sign of yet another successful season. Periodically glancing out of the barn, hues of pale pink and a yellowish orange were etched in the morning sky. As the family was helping with the chores, the milking going smoothly, I again stepped outside to listen to the endearing dawnsong. To my surprise, there now were three male martins gracing the early dawn skies "dawnsinging"! My, what a pleasure, how thrilling and satisfying. The morning chores were soon done, and breakfast eaten. On my way out, the first glowing rays of the golden sun were just peeping above the azure horizon, bathing the countryside in warmth, new life, and brightening the dew droplets on the verdant green grass to glistening crystals. Indeed, it was "America the Beautiful."

"As I headed for the fields, the leader of the Purple Martin colony seemed unusually exuberant and his happiness knew no bounds. Deciding to inspect his compartment, I walked over, cranked the winch and lowered his house, removed the front and yes, the golden morning sun streamed in on five clean white and shiny eggs in a green-leaf-lined nest cup. How exquisitely beautiful. Now I was able to share their joy. Hence the reason for writing this book."

"In today's fast paced world, enjoying birds is a dimension that is missing in far too many peoples' lives. We need to get back to the basics of living a family life. Wherever possible, by becoming a Purple Martin landlord and host to these beautiful and graceful birds, will provide a golden opportunity to get the whole family involved at an early age. These semidomesticated birds are not only "people oriented," but also "family oriented!"

"As concerned and dedicated parents, it's our moral obligation and duty to encourage and instill in the next generation the profound joys that can be had, the importance and real value of nature, and to let our youth personally experience and become involved in improving the environment. To teach them the need to promote and assist our numerous feathered friends such as Purple Martins by providing housing, keeping records, to delight in and enjoy the pleasures of watching the eggs being laid, brooded and hatched, and young grow to adulthood."

Andy Troyer, the PMCA's 1993 Landlord of the Year, and a close friend of Chris, describes him as a person that "once you have met him, will always be remembered. With his strong love for God and nature, his keen sense of humor, and his oversized heart, he has touched many people."

James R. Hill, III, Executive Director of the PMCA, states that "twice I have had the great pleasure of spending time at the Slabaugh home in Indiana with Chris and Alma, touring Chris' Purple Martin and Cliff Swallow colonies. I am always impressed with Chris' creativity in devising better housing, and by his determination to enlist others in his mission to aid native birds. He is capable of surprising me each time we visit, whether it's by acting as an auctioneer's assistant at a meeting of the Ohio Bluebird Society, or by the way he expresses himself in writing or song. One of the most moving things Chris ever shared with me was a song he wrote after he lost so many martins to the botulism outbreak. He called me from a pay phone and sang the song which expressed the deep grief he felt. He said the death of those Purple Martins was the most intense loss of his life, after the loss of his parents. Chris Slabaugh is highly deserving of this award, as all who know him will attest. Congratulations, Chris, from your many friends and fellow members in the PMCA."