Purple Martin Colony News

Since my last entry I have performed two additional nest checks and as of today my totals are as follows: 23 nesting pair, 105 eggs, and 6 nestlings.

In the photo below you'll note near a newly hatched nestling is a remaining portion of the egg it hatched from. Normally the adults will either eat it for its calcium content or dispose of it away from the nest. Dropping it near the colony would only attract predators. When performing nest checks its best to remove any egg shell remnants to prevent egg "capping". If you read my previous post on this subject you'll recall that capped eggs usually fail to hatch because the attached shell can prevent the nestling from hatching.

Now the real work begins for the adults as they begin the rearing process which means repeated sorties to collect food for all of the hungry mouths to feed.