Martin Changing of the Guard

This morning, two of the chicks in gourd #1 fledged, one about 9:30 and the other at about 13:00. This evening, the five resident adults and two fledglings made passes around the colony before dispersing. Tonight, the male martin is taking care of the two remaining chicks and the female is presumably off roosting with the two escapees.

Meanwhile, in gourd #3, the female has laid her first egg. This is the new mate of the male whose previous mate was killed by Starlings. As far as I can tell from videos, the male has yet to succeed in entering an unmodified gourd. I am a little worried about how this pair is going to feed its chicks.

Update June 9 - Third martin from gourd #1 fledged today at 17:40. As I watched later from outside, the last chick was making thrusting attempts to get out of the hole. These were especially frenetic when the rest of the family was chirping and strafing the colony.

In gourd #3, a second egg was laid at 09:30. This female lays much later in the morning than the last two broods I have watched.

Update June 12 - This pair in gourd #3 seems to have abandoned the nest with no further eggs.