In 1991, Chris Slabaugh formed the A.B.C.A., the American Bird Conservation Association, to promote avian conservation and management. It is best described as a "dynamically dedicated group of people actively improving conservation and the environment, promoting and providing better housing and habitat for our beneficial native birds, especially the Purple Martin (Progne subis) and the bluebird (Sialia sialis). Along with Chris, the A.B.C.A.'s board of directors include Merlin Lehman and Andrew M. Troyer. Any reader of the Purple Martin Update knows that this is quite a stellar group of landlords and innovators. All three have come up with new designs for martin housing, along with various other improvements. Andy Troyer was the PMCA's landlord of the year in 1993, and Merlin Lehman is now a banding subpermitee, banding martins at many sites in Indiana.
The A.B.C.A. motto, "Birds: Barometers of the Environment," is based on the statement that as we have been entrusted as stewards of the Earth, we must strive to care for it by replanting our forests, restoring lakes and rivers to their original pure state, and in providing clean air and a healthy environment for future generations and native birds.
The association's main publication is the Year-End Report , a 38-page (in 1997) report with features on martins, bluebirds, and related topics, comments from the editor, founder, convention coordinator and board members, letters to the editor, annual member records, and fledging results. The Year-End Report is published in December as an exchange forum for active members of the A.B.C.A. The report is free to current members and available to nonmembers for $6.00 per copy (the cost of annual dues for an individual membership). Back issues of the report are available. Contact the A.B.C.A. for details. Members receive a free calendar if they renew or join before Jan. 31st. A bonus 4-page newsletter comes out in the spring to get everyone "pumped up" as the nesting season gets under way. Annual membership dues are $6.00 for individuals and $10.00 for families. Canadians need to send $2.00 extra. A.B.C.A. logo decals are available for $1.00. Make payment to: American Bird Conservation Association, RR 3, 111-2nd B Road, Nappanee, IN 46550.
Members receive a survey form to fill out each year, which collects data on nesting bluebirds, martins, Barn Swallows, Cliff Swallows, and Tree Swallows. A separate martin landlord survey collects information on arrival dates of each age class and sex, plus number of nesting pairs, distance to next colony, and number of years a site has been occupied.
A.B.C.A. members are actively involved in research and management efforts to aid the birds they house in their yards. Many are proponents of Chris Slabaugh's ICM program of "intensive care & management," which is dedicated to fledging as many healthy young as possible, through use the latest advances in housing design, such as slide-out nest trays, and better management, such as nest replacements for healthier young.
Members make many contributions to the A.B.C.A. report, including poetry, cartoons, letters, and a variety of articles with well-thought out ideas and strategies for helping native birds thrive. You could not find a more enthusiastic and dedicated group of landlords anywhere. Their annual membership roster lists members from 22 states and two Canadian provinces. Membership has grown from 52 (in 1991) to well over 200 in recent years.
The A.B.C.A. has held an annual Bird Convention since 1996, and the convention is held at a different member's home each year; the second convention was at the Slabaugh's in Nappanee, and the third at Ernie Lambright's farm in Shipshewana, IN. The agenda for the 1998 convention listed many activities, including guided tours of the martin colony and bluebird trail in the morning, a potluck dinner at noon, and an afternoon program of speakers, "round table" questions and answers, and a benefit auction, with a queen-sized quilt, beautifully decorated with martins, auctioned off to benefit the A.B.C.A.. Members brought items to donate for the auction also. Display tables were set up on the grounds, for displaying everything from books to bird houses.
"Our lives are like a vapor, which appears for a while, then utterly vanishes. It would behoove us then, to strive, to seek, to endeavor, to put a rainbow into that vapor, while it yet appears. So, ladies and gentlemen, being associated with birds, in some way, shape, or form, is an excellent way to accomplish just that ... putting a rainbow into that vapor."
-Chris J. Slabaugh, Sr.