4 hungry mouths to feed!
May 15, 2016 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Lisa Reh Reports:
On Wednesday, May 11 at 11:00 a.m., Caster was observed in the nest box. We haven’t seen many trade offs lately and seems it is mostly Mystery in the nest bringing in the meals and sitting with the chicks. There are many long periods where neither adult is in the box. Caster didn’t bring any food this time but started pecking at a carcass in the nest. He was only feeding himself, until the kids got wind of it. The bigger chicks quickly moved up to the front of the pack and got the most of the food. The third one muscled in to get his share, while the last little chick was struggling at the back of the nest box to get into the group. Finally, with some wobbly manoeuvring, he managed to get up to the front to get a few tidbits. When Caster left, he was left alone in the sun close to the balcony. A little while later, one of the parents returned and he snuggled in, while the other 3 were sleeping off their lunch at the back of the nest box. At 4:30, Mystery brought in another gull and the family had another big feed.
On Thursday May, 12 we watched around 6 feedings, one at 6:00 and 8:00 a.m. and another feed around noon and two more in the afternoon. There was more gull, grackle and some smaller birds on the menu. On Friday, May 13th Mystery brought in a grackle at 11:30. She took great care to feed all the chicks and is proving to be a great mom. At one point, all 4 chicks were lined up in row getting their tidbits. We have a feisty bunch of kids on our hands this year!
On Sunday night, May 15 as a cold air mass hit the area, Mystery could be seen snuggling in with the chicks around 7:30 p.m. They are getting bigger by the minute and she can barely cover them all now. A little before 8:00 she flew away and the chicks nestled together trying to keep warm.
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