12 May 2025
Usually we can’t see the chicks during feedings at the Pitt peregrine nest but yesterday evening at 6:30pm Carla stood in the back of the nestbox and faced the camera while all three chicks stood in a row to grab food from her beak, and from each other. See their 10 minute feeding in the video below. Here are some things to notice.
- The two larger chicks are 17 days old, the smallest is 14 days old. At this point their size difference is a good indication of sex: the two largest are probably female, the smallest is probably male.
- Notice that the small chick grabs the food before his sisters can and sometimes has a tug of war with one of them. In a couple of weeks, just before they fledge, I bet he’ll grab the entire meal and mantle over it.
- Near the end of the feeding when the sisters are not hungry they move away and Carla feeds the small one exclusively.
Stay tuned for more feedings at the National Aviary streaming cam at the Univ of Pittsburgh.
It is such a joy to see these 3 chicks thrive! What a joy to watch. Thank you Kate for all the updates!
Today the chicks are wandering around the nest.
Carla is taking great care of her chicks. They look very healthy
Will the chicks be banded?
Yes, they will be banded. Because it’s a closed event I reveal the date just a few hours ahead of time.