Two days ago they looked really big. Their bills were getting longer, their feathers looked just about ready, and they were very visible from down below.
day 21 from below. Photo property of Green Dog Pet Supply
From above it’s looking pretty tight in that nest
Not much room at all. Photo property Green Dog Pet Supply
Yesterday they seemed more upwardly oriented.
Day 22: What’s up there? Photo property Green Dog Pet Supply
One of them in particular started to seem really restless
I got one of the best photos yet of mom and babies together. I hope you can make out that their bills are open, asking for food
Photo Property Green Dog Pet Supply
Last night before we left the more restless one was really fidgety, but this morning it was still in the nest. As the day went on, that one really started to make some moves towards flight – stepping out of the nest, really fidgeting, and looking up up up. Finally it started to practice beating its wings – you of course can’t see the wings in these next shots as they beat so fast!
Practicing! Photo property Green Dog Pet Supply
Last night, I was showing a customer the nest and we were laughing because the active nestling had climbed up and was standing on its sibling’s head to practice flapping. The interesting thing was that we heard cheeping that sounded like mom coming back in, but she wasn’t around – I realized that both little babies, especially the active one was making the noise. I offered to show her the new nest, and while we were looking at it, wouldn’t you know it – I heard a loud “cheep!” from the nest – we went back over and there was only one baby in the nest! I’m certain that was an excited lift-off noise. It had made it about 10 feet up, and was perched on the branch. We waited to see mom come back. She came back in and we saw the fledgling flapping in a begging gesture. Mom landed at the nest and the fledgling above made a very high-pitched noise that sounded like a hearing test beep. She looked all around, fed the baby in the nest and flew off again – a little disappointing for the humans below – we of course wanted her to visit the fledgling right away and congratulate it. 🙂
That fledgling made a few more little flights, buzzing and sort of bumbling through the bamboo.
Fledgling! Photo property of Green Dog Pet Supply
Meanwhile in the nest, the other fledgling seemed very restless and started right away to do a lot of preening of its feathers and stretching up towards the sky. You’d think he’d enjoy the newfound roominess, but of course it seemed more urgent at that moment to get on out of there like it’s sibling.
one is the loneliest number… Photo Property of Green Dog Pet Supply