Songbirds love Mealworms

Mary & Susan used their Birdcam to capture their birds chowing down on mealworms.

Purple Martins by Thomas Wiatt

Purple Martins are Thriving in Tallahassee!

As of May 11, I have 14 active nests with 50 young and 22 eggs. I check the nests every 5 to 7 days in the afternoon. Conducting nest checks helps landlords find problems like parasites, predators, wet nests, chilled nestlings on bare floors, etc. while there is still time to provide help. Purple Martins lay one egg per day in the morning until they have laid one to seven eggs. Incubation begins when the last egg is laid and requires about 15 days. Nestling martins fledge about 28 days after hatching. The martins will only stay around for a few weeks after fledging. They will winter in South America and return to the same colony next year.

Hosting Purple Martins is a very rewarding hobby. It provides hours of entertainment while watching the dynamics of the colony, which can sometimes take on very people-like characteristics. It is amazing to watch a group of neighborhood martins come in to help celebrate the babies being born or learning to fly! It is entertaining to watch the squabbling as apartments are picked out and defended, and it is heart-warming to watch a pair of martins cuddling on the porch and taking turns feeding their young. One parent will watch the babies while the other gathers food.

Being a landlord is not as simple as putting up a house and forgetting about it. Predator guards must be in place to protect them from snakes and raccoons. Additionally, owl guards, starling resistant entrances, and nest checks help ensure a successful colony.
An open site with a 50 foot clear fly-way is preferred so the martins will not be ambushed by hawks.

If you have an open site and are willing to spend some time loving and protecting them, the martins need you. They have come to rely on human provided housing and will pay you back with lots of joy. There is nothing like the happy dance of seeing your first returning martin that has wintered in South America and is coming home to you.

Here are some pictures of my year so far:

Thomas Wiatt

Birdcam Fun!

I've been enjoying my birdcam of late especially now we don't have as much time to bird. I can leave the birdcam out all day and program it to take either video or pictures. The results are pretty good.





Carolina Wren



Tufted Titmouse




Brown Thrasher



Brown Thrasher


thanks for looking

Andy

for more info on Birdcam visit

http://www.wingscapes.com/

for more of my birdcam images please visit

http://www.pbase.com/limeybirder

St Marks Colors

Sylvia Cohen sent us a collection of pictures taken at St Marks NWR.

Baseball and Birds

Summer Tanager


White-eyed Vireo



Scarlet Tanager




Cedar Waxwings

On a trip to Atlanta to watch the Braves play Friday night, we stopped at Albany to bird the Riverside Park. Saturday morning on the way home, we went to Kennesaw Mountain where 23 warblers were logged on Wednesday. The highlights at Albany were Cedar Waxwings everywhere, and a brilliant Scarlet Tanager. The weather on Saturday was not cooperative, and we were disappointed in our (lack of) warbler sightings, but everywhere we looked there were Scarlet Tanagers and Red-eyed Vireos.


Carol Miller

Dale Austin's Bluebird

Dale Austin sent us this great picture of his nesting bluebird.

Bald Pt & Bottoms Rd

female Blue-gray Gnatcatcher sitting on her nest


male Scarlet Tanager

Susan saves a Turtle!

Eastern Ribbon Snake