The juvenile Purple Martins are doing well. They should fledge between June 16 and June 18. Yesterday was the last day I could safely lower the gourds to check on them. The general rule of thumb is not to lower the housing once the babies reach 20 days old or you run the risk of premature fledging. So, I'll have to just wait and see what happens. Here's the last picture I got of them. It was kind of bitter-sweet seeing them for the last time. I'm looking forward to years of having Purple Martins nesting with me!
I spent Sunday through Thursday at the H.E. Butt Foundation Camp north of Leakey, TX at a church camp. I completely forgot my binoculars, but as it turns out I didn't need them at all. The most exciting bird I saw was an Ash-throated Flycatcher. He was life bird #368 for me. I was sitting by myself in the pavilion and he flew into a tree about 15 feet from me and sang. I listened to their call on my iPod and it matched perfectly. Two other pretty exciting birds for me were the Zone-tailed Hawk that flew along the cliffs that overlook our campsite. I could hear him early in the morning calling from the tree or rock where he perched and then he would fly and call. Also, Golden-cheeked Warblers were everywhere. Here's my list of birds I saw at the camp:
HEB Birds (27 species): Green Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Zone-tailed Hawk, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk, Chuck-will's-widow, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, White-eyed Vireo, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Black-crested Titmouse, Canyon Wren, Bewick's Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Mockingbird, Golden-cheeked Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Painted Bunting
I checked the bluebird nest box yesterday and there is no sign of a second brood being started at all. I'm surprised they haven't even started constructing a new nest. I'll keep checking.
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