Observation date: 11 May 2015
Since my last posting, more young have been making appearances at the north side eyrie of Morro Rock.
Appearance of first chick Photo by Cleve Nash
Yesterday, we observed two young; today, there were three. It seems as though the female takes prey into the eyrie, after a few moments she will leave and perch outside, then one or more chicks will venture outside while whomever got the prey is eating. They don’t share the prey, but mantle* it to keep it away from the other chicks. Only when he is full will he give it up. They all get their turn. The last one that fed will be too full when the next prey item arrives. Prey items seem to arrive about every 30-45 minutes.
Two of the young are very bold and come all the way out. The third is “peek-a-boo” who barely shows himself at the left corner of the hole. This makes us think, there could be a fourth chick feeding in the back. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but you can never tell.
Since 2001, between the two pair of falcons north and south sides, they have produced four clutches of four chicks each. One clutch on the south side and three on the north.
Speaking of the south side, things are pretty sketchy. No chicks have appeared and the parents don’t seem to go into the nest. This is very unusual behavior. The few of us that watch are all baffled as to what is going on over there.
Happy trails, Bob
Item:
*mantle – To cover the prey with spread wings to hide prey and fend off others.
