Fledging!

 I forgot to mention that we are offlcially into fledging season.....with some chicks beginning to fly as of last week! Many more are displaying pre fledge behaviors.....self feeding, flapping, hopping, hovering. I watched one chick yesterday hovering up 2-3 feet above the nest......ready to fledge any minute! This year the nesting dates are so spread out that we will be watching for fledging until late August! Its one if the most treacherous times for these young birds....not all first flights go well, and as they disperse a bit from their nest they can get into all kinds of trouble. On the other hand, they are also able to fly away from some predators. Its a time of high anxiety for those of us watching over these young birds. Monitoring gets harder as we have to search for the fledglings. I kind of enjoy the searching tho....”where’s waldo“! You have to use all your senses, and listen, look, watch for clues from the parents about where these young ones may be hiding. They land in such weird places sometimes!

I also need to send out a huge thanks to Ken Fisher and Tamalyn Page for their donations! Its been a tough year with gas prices so high, and I remain furloughed from my job. I have driven 6,000 miles in the past three months! So I am deeply grateful for the support! A million thanks!