Progress!

 There are so many things I would like to write about but it takes time to write posts and the demands of the fieldwork right now are so great. BUT I gotta say I watched the Arb female feeding the three chicks this morning and for the first time I saw her intentionally trying to give fish bits to each chick. In those early feedings it seemed like she would feed the biggest and most aggressive chick most of the food, and I was worried that the smaller chicks might not make it. But just like humans, a young first time mother will make mistakes and then start to figure out how to do better. This morning she was reaching over the closest and biggest chick to get a bite into the beak of the smaller one in the back. Wow! Yes she was clearly trying to feed each one and moving around in a circle to care for each one. Their crops, where they store the food as its digested, are still tiny and fill up quickly, so its normal for smaller chicks to get their fill and fall into what we call a food coma….they fall asleep.…they quit reaching out for food. The bigger chick will be able to take more food, and it will.

All normal. But this subtle change in the females behavior is uplifting….now she stands closer, she reaches out to each chick, and she puts the chicks needs before her own. During those early hours after hatching, she didnt feed the chicks at all….she fed herself, she stood so far way from the chicks, she acted like she couldnt reach them. So these changes are all so positive! I was so happy to see her reaching over one chick to feed another!

Tho it was uncomfortable to watch her early mistakes….her struggles to figure things out, she too is growing and learning! They still have many hurdles ahead….but I think we have crossed over a significant one!