[bcbirdclub] Last Purple Martins
- From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 21:21:58 -0400
The last two Purple Martin nestlings fledged day before yesterday. They were
still in the gourd with parents bringing food early that day, but in the
evening, just as a thundertorm was approaching from the east (always the worst
ones) I checked and found that the nestlings had left the gourd, and I could
hear them in the nearby trees. I finally spotted one of them among the leaves
of a Sassafrass tree. Between calls it was picking insects from the leaves
around it.
The storm was a pretty severe one, so I wondered how the young ones would
weather it. Yesterday and today I have seen the young ones flying overhead with
the adults. Sometimes there were 5 birds flying. Most of the martins have
already left. They seemed to leave as soon as their young could get into the
air, so I never got to see the large flock at once that I was hoping for. I'm
guessing that the group has joined up with a larger group nearby, maybe with
Johnnie Ratliff's flock, that will eventually head for Brazil to spend the
winter.
Here is a photo of the last two nestlings shortly before they fledged.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
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