Guess What?

(Not a very good picture, but hopefully you can see it is 1/2 of an eggshell.)

Today is the 28th of June,2010, and we have baby Martins hatching. Oh,happy day. We have long awaited this day. Now comes the hard part. Wishing and hoping they survive to adulthood and return next year. I have learned that the activities of the Purple Martin are very unpredictable.You can hear and read so many tales of the experiences of others with their Martins, and still find that you cannot predict what any of them will do in your particular case. You simply have to observe your birds and learn as you go.That is what we are doing and it is a never ending lesson.You learn something new each day as to how they act. From watching them daily, we have decided that the female sits on the eggs during the incubation period, and the males gather food for her during that time. They come in and feed the mate several times during the day. We have noticed them early, about midday, and then later in the day, on a fairly regular basis. That is why we came to the conclusion,he is feeding her while she sets. Now that they are hatching, we figure both parents will be active, collecting food for the young ones.We'll learn more about that in the next few days. I am anxious to learn how they learn to fly, without ever hitting the ground. That is going to be a dangerous time for the babies. Leaving the nest for the first time. Many folks say they leave the nest flying,but we'll need to see that first hand to believe it.Most every being needs to practice anything,before they master it.But, Oh well, I guess we'll see what happens!