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14 of the 17 chicks have fledged; busy in my front yard

14 years ago

Three of the four Purple Martin nests, 14 of the 17 chicks, have fledged.

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This shows a gathering of my fledglings, along with visiting Purple Martins from other sites, and some SY males that have been terrorizing the neighborhood.

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We can FLY!

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The chicks in Gourd 4 still have some growing to do. They should fledge in a week or so.

They're being fed constantly by their ASY dad and SY mom, and once in a while by a lone SY male that must have a strong nesting instinct. For the past two weeks he's been feeding chicks in all the gourds.

The rest of the colony is still staying in the gourds at night. The fledglings spend the days flying and hunting with all the other PMs in the area, but return to the home place several times a day. They're still fed by their parents, too.

It's a busy, busy time of the season right now.

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Big Boy

This was taken two or three days before they fledged from Gourd 6.

The chicks were "big and beefy" this year. They had a lot of heft for their size.

We've been having low 50s-high 40s at night. I guess it takes a lot of size to deal with the cooler temps. They've been fed, and are now feeding, well in the daytime.

The things you notice when you download photos...forgive the state of my cuticles. I'd been grubbing in the dirt and scraping grout this week. There's no time or energy to be prissy in the short summer. LOL

What a difference. This is how Big Boy looked in mid-July. They grow so fast.

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Comments (9)

mcmann
14 years ago
You can be a proud PM Mama- what a healthy brood you have. I'm impressed- how can you tell them apart? How can you tell the SY male from the parents?
caroline94535
Original Author
14 years ago
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.
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lydia1959
14 years ago
Thanks so much for the updates and the great photos!! I love reading about the purple martins.

One of these years I might just decide to start my own colony and I'll know where to come for advice!
chisue
14 years ago
Big Thank You! If I live long enough I might learn more interesting new things -- like this!

Do you notice a mosquito reduction by having the birds there, feeding? (I was up at five once last week, watering pots, and saw a bat, first in a very long time. It was eating as fast as it could.)
mcmann
14 years ago
Thank you Caroline for the explanation. Now that I can see the photos I understand how you could tell them apart. How nice that that SY male is so nurturing- almost like an uncle.
kim_okla
14 years ago
Great pictures. Thanks for showing us.
grammahony
14 years ago
Great shots Caroline. I love their big yellow mouth (beak). Funny how fast they grow into it. Mine are all fledged (I think). Bad me, I didn't check their nest last weekend. I will this weekend though. Probably have to clean it out, and close it up until next spring. At least they're still hanging around and 'talking' in the mornings and evenings, and some through out the day.
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jannie
14 years ago
Gorgeous-thanks for sharing. I have a Purple Martin house in my backyard, but nobody lives there!
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14 years ago
How exciting! I think you are a wonderful person for helping the birds.

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