Hello Out about, It's very possible that the babies fledged. They can fledge as early as day 16 and since there were only two in your nest they had more room to grow and stretch their wings. You will have to wait a week or so and see if the parents bring them to the feeder. Then you will know for sure. In the meantime I would like to invite you to join the bluebird nut cafe and we will provide you with all you need to know about these birds. It is way more active and you will get fast answers to your questions. Hope to see you there. http://bluebirdnutcafe.yuku.com/

They eat all sorts of flying insects...not just mosquitos...but all flying insects...and only flying insects. They eat flying beetles, flies, wasps; dragonflies, about anything that will fit in their wide, soft mouths. My neighbors insist we have fewer mosquitoes in the area, and while the PMs do eat mosquitos, the Barn Swallows probably eat far more. They won't eat from feeders or bathe in bird baths. They drink and bathe "on the wing" by flying low over creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, etc. They're a native species bird that was on the brink of extinction due mainly to the non-native English House Sparrows and English Starlings - which also have severely threatened other cavity nesters that use to be so plentiful...bluebirds, chickadees, tree swallows, woodpeckers of all varieties, nuthatches, etc., and lack of available housing. The PMs winter in southern Brazil, and make the migration back each spring to nest in Northern America from the southern-most tips of Florida and Texas up to north of Winnepeg, Canada. They're beautiful; they sing and chatter and have lovely flight displays. They return to the same area to nest each year and they nest only in man-made housing. The east coast native Americans were providing gourd housing for the PMs around their villiages before Columbus discovered America. They're fascinating, fun, frustrating at times (when weather and HOSP destroy them), and they need us! I could go on and on...but (thankfully, LOL) I have to run to the commissary. The photo shows some of my babies last year. I've not had time to download my recent photos, but I'll get it done before too long. Here is a link that might be useful: Purple Martins! Read all about 'em here!

Hi McMann... SY (Second Year) males hatched the year before, migrated to Brazil, and returned this spring. They are considered immature, but some will breed. This is what their coloring looks like. From a distance they sometimes resemble females, but their throats are dark and mottled, and there will be at least a few black feathers on their chests. Some are heavily spotted, some have only one or two dark feathers. This is a very light, and lightly spotted, SY male. Here is a much darker, and much more heavily spotted, SY male, although they are both the same age. They hatched the privious season. This fall they will again migrate to Brazil and go through their molting into fully-mature adult plummage. When they return next spring they will be called ASY (After Second Year) males...and they will look like this! Big, bold, dark, beautiful, and iridescenting purple. Once they make this transformation, they will look the same the rest of their lives, whether they're two years old, or 15. These are not my photos. I only wish I could get shots this great. They were shared by other PM lovers.

"continually added fresh water through the fill tube in an attempt to dilute the hydrated lime solution (the soil is covered by a plastic cover, which is part of the Earthbox system)." OK, I get it. Since I'm a DIYer who reads but still won't follow directions (and have no patience for being on tour buses and the like LOL), removing the cover is something I wouldn't think twice about to get rid of the excess. But a single top flood if we could turn back the clock would have addressed the problem much more effectively. More importantly, I think it may also hold a clue for you to re-enforce your original thoughts on what happened when you didn't quickly refill with the balance of water. You'd wick up the let's say 2x concentrated solution, which you already worried about ... but if the top had somewhat dried, you'd also wick up more total volume ... we are not dealing with a gas tank, but rather a sponge. Now you are slowly removing it since there will be a concentration gradient through the small wicks and what is above stays (and this might be the situation that tigrikt was thinking and helping you with too). "I usually use a bagged planting mix from the local nursery (their own "custom mix"), which contains a variety of ingredients (peat, redwood, bat guano, etc.)." tigrikt could comment better than I on this one if they are an actual EB user in your sort of climate. I'm inclined to think you have bad advice from the nursery on the soil, if there is nothing in there to cut back on the sponginess of the peat - like perlite. Redwood? perhaps you mean redwood bark? Big difference there. I'm not up on shredded redwood wood, but I do recall Dr. Gericke had some issues with it, as being somewhat acidic at least, though as a composted ingredient it would probably be good. Either way these things seem to add up to high acid (hurts calcium uptake) and high water retention - outside the sweet spot. I am assuming a lot of things online so it is more of the concern I'd check on, and recommend you learn more about the properties of soils. I understand you've grown this way for years, with reasonable results, so I'm just suggesting you go to the next level now and experiment a little with your soil mix's water retention with something as simple as some added perlite in a few Boxes if you want to take it slowly. Sey has been experimenting with a mix in containers promoted by tapla, and probably could add a few thoughts on the soil if he's still following the thread. Cheers PC edit: maybe the cover is not removable, and I assume it is. If that's the case, I'm sure a DIYer could experiment with removable covers, which I guess is going against the EB concept of set it and forget it, so it will depend on the complexity you feel is appropriate for your situation. One difference between my containers and yours is that I use a lighter mix uncovered and depend on the rain to naturally flush with pure rainwater (free distilled water). It helps keep accumulation or any errors with fertilizer supplements in check, but I enjoy supplementing with fertilizers so that is part of my growing strategy.