It’s hatching time! Our colonies here at PMCA headquarters are full of newly hatched nestlings. We currently have 123 active nests with either eggs or nestlings out of our available 139 cavities. This is a lot of nests to keep track of!
We conduct nest checks two times each week from when nest building begins and until all young have fledged. During these checks we are lowering the housing to taking a quick look inside each cavity. For each nest we are keeping record of its contents (nesting material, eggs, nestlings, etc.), monitoring for excess parasites and looking for signs of predation. These frequent nest checks allow us to quickly address any issues that may arise so that we can ensure the Purple Martins at our colonies remain safe and healthy.
A perfect example of the importance of nest checks happened this week. On Tuesday during a check, we found a one day old nestling out on the porch. It had likely been dragged out of the nest by a sub adult male Purple Martin. It was still alive but cold and had a bite mark on it neck that was bleeding – likely from where it was grabbed and dragged outside.
We quickly put the little hatchling back in the nest and placed it within the pile of it’s siblings so it could warm up quickly. We were pleasantly surprised to find this little nestling alive and well during the nest check 2 days later. It had a small bruise where his cut had healed but was otherwise healthy!
We highly recommend that Purple Martin Landlords lower their housing at least once a week to check on their nests. If nestlings or eggs are missing, you can make updates to be better prepared against predators. If nests are over run with parasites, you can do a quick nest change to eliminate most of them. Eggs and nestlings that have been displaced by subadults can be returned to their nests. Even walking around the housing a few times a week can be a big help to your colony – you can look for instances of wing entrapment, fallen nestlings that can be returned to their nests and even signs of predation, like a pile of feathers on the ground.
The ability to address any of these issues quickly can have a huge impact on the health of your colony and the decline of the Purple Martin population.
Season 6 of Martin TV has been live for a couple of weeks now. The clutch of six eggs began hatching on June 23rd. As of Friday morning, all but one egg have hatched. Jolene and Ragnotha have been excellent parents. Both are very busy taking turns collecting food and covering the hatchlings to keep them nice and warm.
We were very excited to spot a familiar face return to the LiveCam colony site. A subadult male wearing the band number Z888 was spotted hanging around this location and our records show that he was one the the nestlings that hatched from our LiveCam nest last season! We will continue to look for him through our spotting scopes and see if he has a successful brood this season.
After the eggs hatch, it is an exciting time on the Live NestCam. The nestlings grow so fast and it is neat to watch it all unfold in real time. Tune in now so you don’t miss out!
Mercedes
PMCA Field Biologist