The sad news today is that the chick is not doing very well. I am not surprised, considering the length of time they were left up there without parents. (approx ten days in extreme heat). I tried my best to watch over them and stimulate some action. I care so much for each of these chicks that to lose any like this is painful to me. I watched them suffering and shared my observations every day with those in charge of the rescue at Three Rivers Park District. Please keep your fingers crossed for this little chick...lets hope for a miracle.
This update is from Dr Ponder at The Raptor Center :
"the one surviving chick had a tough night and is struggling this morning. Not surprising given its weakened condition and a pretty stressful day yesterday - while we were pleasantly surprised at its appearance when it presented, once the stress hormones abated, the chick was pretty down and out. The next 24 hours will be very telling as we see if the chick has enough reserves to respond to treatment.
Relative to the adults, the best hypothesis (and an extremely strong one) is that the tower was hit by lightning while they were perched on it, resulting in acute, simultaneous death. The birds' bodies showed clear evidence of extensive electrical burns. Given the sources of electricity (or relative lack thereof) at the top of the cell tower, the only logical source was lightning. The towers are engineered extensively to withstand such a thing, so it is within reason to consider that it was hit, the birds electrocuted and no other significant signs occurred. He also answered my bigger question of how the chicks could survive in that situation (twigs would not be near enough insulation against a lightning bolt) . Given how the nest was suspended within the structure and the composition of the tower, he suggested it basically acted like a Faraday cage or shield (similar to being in your car during a lightening strike)."
Hoping for better news tomorrow...
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