Too hot...

For all the readers in Minnesota, you know we are struggling thru a long, very hot stretch of weather. The dew points are very high with temps in the 90s most days. This weather is hard on the very young chicks, since they have difficulty thermoregulating in their first few weeks of life. We had some very late hatches and I do worry about those chicks. Some of the earlier hatches, chicks who are now close to 30 days old, will find it easier to survive. Remember, the only fluids they get are from the fish, so it’s critical that the males deliver a lot of fish to keep their families going. I personally find this weather difficult, so I have been going out very early, 6 a.m. and checking as many nests as I can till about 11 a.m. when it just gets too hot for me. I have been watching the chicks on the Arboretum nest cam, and I must say that everytime I check in I see them being fed , or they are in a food coma with bulging crops! Last night as I watched the female feeding, it almost looked like a video being played high speed! She was shoveling the food in so fast, it made me laugh. This evening I watched her feeding one chick, while the other was just laying there, showing no interest in eating. It concerned me. But after a while the female picked up that fish and dragged it past the eating chick, to the one that was laying down and very intentionally offered food until the second chick got up to eat. Great mom.

On the nest where we did the rescue, the sad news is that the little chick, which was so much smaller than the one whose legs were dangling thru the nest, seems to have perished. But the larger chick, who had the skin worn away from trying to extricate himself, is doing great! He is super active, moving all over the nest now that it’s flat and safe, standing tall, and developing his leg muscles since he is no longer stuck in a hole. He eats a lot and is growing very quickly.

So now we just keep counting heads thru this heat wave, hoping for the best for all these little guys. Stay cool people!