It’s all going well. The chicks are getting plenty of food. And I know some of you are concerned about the smallest chick. Don’t worry! It’s getting plenty of food, just as much as its siblings. If you’ve watched the second Live on Facebook you’ll have seen all three of them full to bursting after what was their eighth feed of the day!
Azina and the chicks – the small one at the front as usual
But I think this chick is going to be trouble. It wandered away during one of the feeds and Azina had to grab it to bring it back with the others.
The small chick has gone wandering
They managed to surprise me with another first: Tom feeding the chicks while they were under Azina. Very interesting interactions this year. As mentioned above, the chicks had eight feeds today. Again it was a mix of starling and pigeon.
With such a wet and cold day (and night) Tom and Azina have covered the eggs pretty much non stop. Tom came in at 4am for a first shift of nearly 3 1/2 hours! (I guess he wanted to shelter from the rain/snow 😉 )
Check the first two shots of Tom and Azina side by side at the entrance of the nest box. I don’t often to get to have them so close and cooperating to give such good comparative shots. Tom’s legs, cere and eye rings are orange whereas Azina’s are yellow. His chest is white and lightly speckled, hers looks darker with her big dark spots. His back is slate grey, hers is blacker.
The chick got four feeds today though the last feed was only a couple of minutes long, it was a bit close to the third and the chick was still full. Pigeon and Starling were on the menu.
Azina feeds the chick its first meal
Only a few minutes at a time but Tom got to spend a bit of time with the chick and the eggs. Very gentle as usual.
Tom ‘kisses’ the chick
A second egg has been pipping all day. It started with a tiny hole and a crack and didn’t seem to develop so I was starting to wonder if it wasn’t a bit of down stuck to the egg but at 6.30 the hole was bigger and the chick visible. It still had a bit to go and may be hatching under Azina now as I am typing this.
The chick and the eggs
There is a mark on a third egg that may be a pip but somehow I think it may just be a mark.
Two quiet days but very different. Yesterday Tom did little incubation (just under two hours). Today he did the most he’s done in a day so far this year with over five hours in two shifts. Today Azina did her longest day shift with seven hours on the trot. About two thirds of the way through now…
Chick #3 is making attempts at standing up. Chick #1 is almost a pro at it. Chick #2 doesn’t seem in too much of a hurry.
Chick #1 standing
Again they’ve spent most of the day sleeping. On their own. Azina paid them a few visits but was more a disturbance than anything, unless she brought food 😉
sibling pillow
Food was again just pigeon and there were 6 feeds, by both Azina and Tom.
Azina feeding the chicks
Feathers are starting to break and this is now the best way to distinguish between the three chicks.
I was out for most of the day but took my tablet to do some spot checks (which turned out easier said than done, but it worked which was the main thing). Azina waited until one minute before I was due to leave to finally get up and reveal that there were still two eggs and two chicks.
Two chicks and two eggs
A check early afternoon gave me a hint that there may be a third chick but I lost signal and it’s not until later in the afternoon that I was finally able to confirm it and put the word out.
If you look closely at the shot above, taken at 11am, it looks like pipping on the egg on the left.
At 11:46, Azina turns and walks on the chick that’s just hatched. It’s still curled up from being in the egg! That is quite a rough start…
The third chick has just hatched
An hour later Azina gives us another glimpse. The chick has dried up a little.
Glimpse of the third chick a bit fluffier
Then, two and a half hours after it’s hatched, we get to see a fully fluffy chick at the second feed of the day. It’s the one at the back. It doesn’t get fed then but that is not a problem, freshly hatched Peregrine chicks usually don’t eat for many hours.
First views of fluffy third chick during the second feed of the day
It didn’t have to wait too long in the end as it got its first bits of food at the next feed.
The third chick gets its first food
By then I don’t know if this chick was the one that had been trying to hatch since Thursday…
The chicks got 4 feeds, a mix of Pigeon and Starling.
