This post covers days 5 and 6 after hatching. Both parents are feeding the chicks and the pace is very frequent. The times of day for feeding is from about 7:30 to 11:00 am and 3:20 to 7:30 PM. In the later morning the female sits on the nest for about 3 to 4 hrs, but gets off to inspect the chicks and if chick poop is present she removes it. She was sitting on the nest through the night.
Removing chick poop is frequent with both parents performing this clean up task. The days were hot above 90 and I noticed the female, while on the nest, sitting with her beak open and her wings lifted. In some heat stress, I set up a fan on the ground facing up under the umbrella on low speed. This helped her a lot as this behavior decreased. I did not get a shot of this behavior.
The chicks eyes are open now. When I did a nest shot they no longer popped up for food. They are really developing feathers now. From the previous post their heads are clearly visible when fed and they are also getting voices with much chirpping. Not loud, but very clear when either parent shows up with food.
Very nice and educational series!
You are our own Discovery Channel, Dave!
Well done, Dave! I really enjoyed these!
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