As of today, June 30, I still have 12 successfully nesting pairs of Purple Martins.
In the past three days, 40 chicks have hatched. One chick died within hours of hatching, so there are 39 chicks in the gourds today.
There are 23 eggs still being incubated.
The Tree Swallow chicks are growing by leaps and bounds. I'm still saying there are six in the nest, although I'm having a dickens of a time counting them.
I saw three teeny-tiny House Wren heads in the nest box I maintain behind a neighbor's house. These chicks' noggins were no larger than a small green pea. Teeny-Tinys for sure.
I hear young Crows making a terrible racket, but I've not actually seen them. I swore after fighting Cooper's Hawks for three years I would never,
ever complain about crows again. Crows keep the Cooper's Hawks away; crows don't eat (
or can't reach) the young martins. I do everything possible to encourage the crows. Cat kibble, anyone?
There is a pair of crows nesting at the far end of the block across the road from me. Haven't seen a Cooper's all season, knock on wood!
JUNE 30, 2015
Tier #1 - 8 gourds
Gourd 1 - 5 live chicks, 1 chick dead - from original six eggs
Gourd 2 - 6 eggs
Gourd 3 - 5 chicks - from the original 7 eggs (
I didn't want to move them around to find the other eggs)
Gourd 4 - 6 chicks - from the original 6 eggs
Gourd 5 -
Empty
Gourd 6 - 7 chicks from the original 7 eggs - I'm so happy!
Gourd 7 - 6 chicks plus 1 egg from the original 7 eggs
Gourd 8 - 2 chicks - from the original two eggs
Tier #2 - 7 gourds
Gourd 9 - 4 eggs
Gourd 10 - 3 eggs, up 1 from last check
Gourd 11 - 2 chicks, plus 4 eggs from the original six eggs
Arm 12 -
No gourd hung
Gourd 14 - 5 eggs
Gourd 16 - 0 eggs
Gourd 17 - 0 eggs
Gourd 18 - 4 chicks from the original four eggs
Here are the six chicks in Gourd 4. Each season I keep one special photo to represent that year's Purple Martin adventure. This very well may be my 2015 photo.
The big guy, lower right, is just a smidge over an inch tip to tail!
Here are some of The Mamas and The Papas after I finished the nest checks and raised the rack back up.