Early July….

 I have been spending a lot of time in the field lately, and writing posts here always suffers. We are seeing  so many nests full of weeds and greenery, as a result  of all the rain! This  photo is one of the least dense! Some nests are so thick, I have not been able to count chicks! And I seriously don’t know how chicks will fledge out of a jungle. Some of these nests have already failed. Some at least have an open part of the nest so the weeds provide some shade, but they have room to move and flap. 

It appears that we have a handful of nests where something has happened to the male and there appears to be just a single female caring for chicks alone. I am still spending long periods at some nests to determine what’s going on. In the last few days I have spent up to three hours at a nest where the chicks and Mom had very empty crops to see if she was leaving to feed chicks or if there was a male bringing food. Sometimes I just have to stay until I get a definite answer, no matter how long it takes. At another nest I witnessed some very odd behaviors. The monitor reported the possible loss of a chick so I went to watch for a while. A female and one chick were visible. This chick was not very old, still very downy, approximately 3-4 weeks old.  The male brought a fish and the little chick stood up very tall, extended its neck, pushed its breast out in a threatening way as if to try to push the male off the nest! Wow. The female grabbed the fish from the male and then the chick did the same thing to the female! She responded aggressively, pecking and bonking the chick. It was a little frightening to witness. But it quickly calmed down and the mom started feeding the chick. This is very unusual behavior for a chick and a mom. I wondered if the missing chick might have been a victim of siblicide. These behaviors speak to a lack of food. I returned today to recheck this nest and the adult female was there with the chick in her shade. An adult male was perched lower on this cell tower. About ten minutes after I arrived, the adult female left the nest. About 20-30 minutes later the male left also. This young chick was alone for almost two hours. I searched all around for an adult watching from a distance but found none. After all that time alone, the female returned with a fish. Her crop was full. She stared at the chick for a while and then began feeding it. Apparently the chick was behaving and sending the right signals so Mom would feed it. It’s unusual for a female to leave such a young chick alone for so long. It’s hard to add all the pieces up here. Lots of odd behaviors and I will try to keep a closer eye on things. But we have so many nests with single parents and situations that I feel I need to watch. I am stretched pretty thin and driving a lot, but I must evaluate behaviors and keep an accurate chick count. 

On the positive side, I have some new nest monitors that make me feel like I have hit the jackpot! I have enjoyed spending some time in the field with some of those in recent weeks. They are experienced, have good equipment and most importantly they are curious and enthusiastic! I am already so impressed! There is still a huge learning curve the first year, so much to be observed and understood. It’s like learning a new language, but I am certain they will  be successful! It’s been exciting for me to share my stories with people who are so keenly interested! My deepest gratitude to all the nest monitors, new and old, who are so critical to the success of this project. I suspect that some of these people may end up being more than just important participants in this research, they will become friends. 

It won’t be long before our very earliest chicks to hatch will take their first flight and that will keep us all VERY busy, looking for chicks, and documenting successful fledges.