For the last few days the chicks have been fed about 20 minutes either side of 08:00 BST (local time). This is a good time before heading off to work to watch for clear views of the chicks and the two addled eggs. Feeding is now getting more frequent during the day. Our chicks are already much larger and will soon lose those charming looks they first had when they hatched. (That's the wonder of the Atkin's diet.)All our webcam pictures include a local date and time at the top, so those of you watching in different time zones - and we know there are many - will be able to work out how far ahead or behind us you are.
We do try to answer any questions included in viewers' comments - and we're starting to get quite a few now, and some helpful feedback too, but we apologise for any delay between posting and publishing. There's no need to repost - any delay is the result of the moderation process we use. We aren't online 24/7, though sometimes it seems like it.
5 comments:
I've just watched the chicks being fed, and I wondered - when and where do the adults feed? Do they feed away from the nest, or do they eat part of the kill they bring back?
I WONDER HOW LONG THE FALCON WILL CONTINUE TO INCUBATE THE UNHATCHED EGGS? SHE MUST STILL LIVE IN HOPE THAT THEY WILL EVENTUALLY HATCH. HAS SHE HAD UNHATCHED EGGS BEFORE?
is there any idea when the birds will fly the nest????
Fledging:
The chicks will fledge (ie fly for the first time) about five weeks after hatching. So they have a lot of growing up to do in readiness for fledging around 10-17 June 2007.
Eggs:
To use the word "hope" puts human emotions onto a creature whose actions are dictated by instincts. Her instinct now is to feed and care for the chicks in front of her. We suspect the egg is quite simply being ignored, even though it always rolls down under gravity in the nest depression. Eventually we will probably see it cracking and being trampled under foot as the chicks grow bigger.
Adult Feeding:
The male is now on guard and out hunting, bringing food back for the female to feed to her chicks. We do sometimes see her eating a little of the food at those times, but she also leaves the nest for a few minutes every few hours, and probably does then go to eat food which the male has cached for her on top of the tower. Now that we have watchers on Cathedral Green who are there to talk and explain things to the public, we'll be getting a better idea of what happens off the nest as well as on.
fascinating. full credit to you all.
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