Last of my martins fledge August19

[John Balga]

The four remaining young which were victims of blowfly infestation fledged last Saturday and all seems to be going well with them. I investigated their nest yesterday and found some blowfly larvae still present. It really helped to change out the nests and I would still recommend this to any Landlord as a precaution to saving their young.

In addition, there have been visiting martins here all week and even today many birds continue to investigate the empty housing. This is August 22nd and I am really surprised to see so many more second year birds-young males and females. This indeed looks promising for next year. The young males are vocalizing and running in and out of the compartments trying to lure a female as if it were May. Several young banded martins are prevalent among them and they appear to be some of the ones we banded earlier indicating that they really have not left the area for their trip south. I look forward to seeing them around as long as they are able to stay and until the call of the south beckons them.

[Donna Rieck]

Glad to hear these birds have fledged. There's something so satisfying in knowing you helped these little guys get their start in life and hopefully go on to make some wannabee happy next year. Congrats. We did not have a serious blowfly problem this year but lost one martin last year. We were able to save its sibling. Nest changes are very important, especially before they are 10 days old. We had our last visitors on Sunday, Aug 13. Our last nest fledged July 28. The yard is so quiet now. Only a few red-winged blackbirds are still here. Hope to see some migrants start to come through soon and the juncos will be along in a month or so.