1 Nest to go

[ToyinPA]

It's been a very trying season.

I have a late nest of 5 chicks. ASY Pair had a nest with 3 eggs. A starling breach their cavity & 1 egg was smashed, another damaged, the last one did not hatch. She laid 5 more eggs & they all hatched. The 5 chicks are now 23 (3chicks) & 22 (2 chicks) days old today. The last one hatched was very tiny. They hatched right before the 2nd heatwave hit us. I knew he would dehydrate & not make it, so I started hand feeding him crickets dipped in water twice a day, starting with day 2 & leaving him in the nest. On days of pouring rain, when we'd get a short break, I flipped crickets to the parents, who then fed them to the chicks. My hope was he would catch up to the rest, but he is still smaller than the rest. At one time he was only 1/3 the size of the 3 oldest chicks. The 3 oldest have lost all the sheath off their feathers, while he & the other younger one still have about 1/3 of it to flake off yet. August 4 & 5th they will be 26 days old & should be ready to start fledging. So far not one has ventured out on the balcony. Only just starting to peek out the entrance the last few days.

Blowfly larva was a problem due to the weather, extreme heat & humidity & a ton of rain (we got over 9 inches in 4 days & another 3 inches after). We had the wettest July on record here. I found larva & changed the nest on day 2, day 6, day 7, day 14, day 15, day 20. On day 14 there was at least 100 or more larva in the nest. We'd had tons of rain between day 7 & day 14, so I couldn't do any nest changes. Blowfly can lay eggs & in 23 hours they hatch. This is why nest checks are very important in areas where there are blowflies. Mostly in northern states.

I lost 2 nests, with 5 chicks each, during the first heatwave. They all died within 2 days. I also lost a 22 day old chick. That nest had 2 chicks, they were coming out on the balcony. He apparently fell or got pushed off & laid on the ground in the hot sun & died. We were not home at the time or I could have saved him.

I had a nest of 4 chicks fledged 16 days ago, during the heatwave, & they are still here. They come in for the night with their parents & spend the day away from the houses.

I've had 1 SY Pair & 2 other SY Males visit often, but not nest.

I'll post end of season update after the last nest of chicks fledges.

Toy in PA

[Buckeyefarmer]

You’re due for a less stressful year!

[Hanover Bill]

As usual Toy you are doing Yoeman's duty tending to your Martins. I agree with Buckeyefarmer, you are due some good luck with your Colony, hopefully it comes next season.

Things are wrapping up over here, just a few visitors returning occasionally to check things out. I ended up taking just one to a bird rehabber, all of the others fledged successfully.

Hanover Bill.

[ToyinPA]

Had pouring rain last night & more rain this morning. Expecting rain over night & tomorrow. With any luck we may have the weekend rain free. It's been a very wet martin season here. I sure could use a break & get a season where I don't have to flip so many crickets or hand feed chicks to keep them from dehydrating.

I just did a nest check. I wasn't going to due to their age, but worried about the blowfly being so bad, so I decided I'd better at least get one last check in.

Chicks are 23 & 24 days old & a few have been peeking out. Mom was here & did the alarm call, so the 2 that were peeking out headed to the back. I placed them all in a bucket, checked each one for blowfly larva & fed each one a few crickets dipped in water. I checked the nest for blowfly too. Thankfully there were none this time.

"Little Chick" still has some feather sheath to wear off yet. I helped some, by gently rubbing it off, but he still has the end of the blood feathers to finish developing.

I these 5 chicks all fledge OK I will have fledged 2 more this year than last years bad season.

Toy in PA