Today's post is just a few of the other photos taken over the last couple of days before their first flight. One funny thing - I was debating whether to remove the nest(s) from the planter and let the female start all over again. The two nests, stacked one on the other, are both pretty filthy with feces. A few hours after they all flew, I took the planter down and set it on the porch. I was going to wait and get my wife's thoughts on whether it might be better to start fresh. I don't think it was five minutes later, the parents and one of the babies flew in as though they were going to land on the planter - but it wasn't there! That really freaked them out! The male landed on the top of the hummingbird feeder while the female and chick flew on. He was raising a real ruckus about what happened to the planter, then he left. I decided to put it back, thinking that they may want to bring the chicks back to spend the night in the planter - especially since it has been going down in the forties the past several nights. As far as I know, however, they didn't come back to the nest. I didn't see them that evening or the following morning.
Dad congratulating the chick on it's first flight.
It's a big world after all.
Momma feeding one of the babies in the trees. I'm not sure how long parenting continues after they fly. I would think at least a couple of days. Remember, they learn extremely fast and I'm not sure how much new information they could impart to them after a couple of days. I remember last year, they were back within a week to set about raising their second brood!
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