Thursday, May 11, 2023

Three chicks for Christo and Amelia

Three chicks have revealed themselves in the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk nest, although they have been a challenge to capture all together.

These photos, taken May 9, clearly show three nestlings. Mom Amelia is behind the branches on the right side of the nest.


I am unable to tell who is who, but it seems like the older two are big enough to observe fairly well, while the third is still very small and not tall enough to see over the edge of the nest. The oldest is three and a half weeks old.

This brief clip from May 9 shows one of the older two stretching and showing off a full crop.

This clip from the same day shows Amelia feeding one of the chicks.

Backing up a bit, this is what was visible on May 1:

Hellooo world!

You can see the little ear hole in this profile shot.

Mom serving dinner:



Fast-forward to May 9 and the chicks are significantly bigger.


The crop on this chick is bigger than its head - they're eating well.


At three weeks old, the pin feathers are starting to emerge on the wings.


These photos taken on May 10 show Amelia resting with her kids.
 


Amelia flew out briefly and brought back a sprig of locust pods to add to the nest.

Dad Christo made a food delivery.

After Christo dropped off the food, Amelia picked it up to prepare the dinner menu, which turned out to be European Starling.

The older two nestlings:


The chicks are starting to show dark feathers on their wings, and at least one of them has pin feathers on their tail that look to be about an inch long. Their appearance will start to change rapidly now, so we will relish this fleeting time of fuzzy white cuteness.


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