Fledging...

I can report that our first chick has fledged. Yesterday  I watched a young one fly a beautiful loop and made a damn fine landing for one who is new to this. As I have said repeatedly, flying is easy, landing is hard. It's been a few days since I have visited this nest so I suspect this one has made a few loops previously. It looked to me like the sibling was still a nestling, having not ventured forth yet. At least while I was there, this chick preferred to lounge in the nest than do any jumping, flapping or flying. She was also eating a lot, ripping and tearing a fish on her own, which is an important developmental stage.  However, they often eat less right before fledging. So now begins the most treacherous time of the breeding season. Things do go wrong on those first flights, young ones do land on the ground sometimes, perhaps uninjured but unable to achieve lift off from the ground. So we must visit often, count the heads often, search for fledged chicks when possible, and sometimes a rescue is required. Sadly, some serious injuries also occur at this time as these young ones are not good at steering. Sometimes listening carefully is useful for finding a grounded juvenile....I have discovered a chick on the ground by its food begging. (Unfortunately they go silent as you approach them so finding them can be a challenge!) The parents usually will not feed a chick on the ground as it may put the adult at risk of predation. They cannot get the chick safely back to the nest, nor can they stay on the ground 24/7 to protect the chick. Having said that, I did see an adult feed a chick on the ground once. It was at a nest in a gravel pit where a chick had landed on a small hill of sand. The female fed the chick there and I watched for many hours as the chick walked up higher and eventually made very short flights from one pile of sand to another and, yes, made it back to the nest! I spent about three hours planning a rescue in my head that, in the end, was not required! I love a happy ending!