A super busy weekend of checking nests….chicks are fledging all over the place now. I got this photo of a mother and chick and thought it might help people who are having some difficulty differentiating between adult and juvenile when the young ones are as big as adults! You can easily discern the difference in their plumage here….with adults having solid dark feathers on their backs and wings, and the juveniles have a white tip on every dark feather which serves as camouflage in the nest. They have an easily observed mottled appearance. As they age, these white tips begin to wear away and are less noticeable as they approach migration. You can also see here the difference in color of the eyes. Adults have a bright yellow eye, and the youngsters have a rusty red, or orange eye that begins to fade to a rosy gold color. Hope that helps some people to discern the differences!
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