A visit to English Boom this evening and a search of the beach turned up
one dead prematurely fledged martin. This bird was about 24 days old
on Sunday and should not have been out of the nest cavity (if this was
the same bird seen at that time) , especially with the weather as it
was. It weighed less than 44 grams, within the range for that age ,
but about 20% less than average. It was from the only clutch of 6
nestlings at that colony, and most likely came out early trying to get
at the incoming food. In the years I have been keeping records,
breeding pairs fledge about 3 young on average. I was wrong about
fledging age in my previous post. Martins can and do fledge at 26 days,
and most will be fledged by 28 days generally. With the improved
weather today, I watched the martins until dark, and observed multiple
visits by adults bringing food to begging young. At least one
fledgling was perched atop a piling begging and being fed by an adult.
With warmer dryer weather forecast, it should be good viewing at the
colony during the next week or so, as more birds fledge and return to
their nestboxes at the end of the day.
Stan Kostka
lynnandstan at earthlink.net
Arlington WA